Michael Schiniou, known professionally by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Jazzy M, is a British DJ and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He was highly influential role in introducing

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

to Britain in the 1980s and has been described as the Godfather of UK House (a nickname given to him by fellow DJ

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

). Schiniou has also released music and performed under the pseudonyms Klubzone 1, Sao Paulo, Dub Nation, Zoogie, Erotic World, J+M Connection, RipJazz, Bernard and Phillip, JZJ, and Bushbaby.

Biography

Early life

Schiniou was born in London in 1962. He studied at Kingston University.

Career

Schiniou began his professional interest in music after taking a weekend job in record shop Shady Deals. He has described being influenced by funk, disco, jazz, and soul music in his teens. He began DJing aged 17. His first radio spot was on pirate radio station Radio Fulham, at that time performing as DJ Mick. In the mid-1980s Schiniou began hosting The Jackin' Zone on pirate

LWR The light-water reactor (LWR) is a type of thermal-neutron reactor that uses normal water, as opposed to heavy water, as both its coolant and neutron moderator; furthermore a solid form of fissile elements is used as fuel. Thermal-neutron reac ...

, possibly the first dedicated electronic and house music programme on UK radio. Jazzy M was the first DJ to play at the

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

nightclub, going on to be resident DJ there for a record 15 years. He has worked in, run, or owned a number of record shops over the years, including Spin Offs, Vinyl Zone. Later in his career, Schiniou turned to record production, running labels OhZone, Delphinus Delphius, Red Giant Recordings, Spanklin Records, Le Plug Rouge, and Who Killed Disco?. In this capacity he launched the careers of the likes of Orbital.{{Cite web , last=Mullenpublished , first=Matt , date=2021-07-23 , title=15 questions for... Orbital's Paul Hartnoll and Murray Lachlan Young: "Sometimes nothing but a 303 will do" , url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/paul-hartnoll-murray-young-15-questions , access-date=2023-01-29 , website=MusicRadar , language=en

References

British DJs British record producers 1962 births Living people