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Jim Masters - Artists | Kozzmozz

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Jim Masters


Jim Masters

Jim Masters has been immersed in the UK dance scene since the mid 80’s. As DJ and promoter Jim has been responsible for some of the most popular nights in the UK. Probably most famous for BASE, one of the strongest and longest running techno nights in the UK, which Jim ran with Carl Cox for 7 years, it has proved ever more popular with regular nights in London at Velvet, The End & Europe plus events around the world. The cream of global DJ’s played there with the vibe and not the fee being the pulling factor.

Jim started in the world of DJ’ing & promotion as early as 1985, with Soul, Jazz and Funk. Progressing through rare groove and acid jazz with DJs such as Norman Jay and Giles Peterson, it was the Acid House scene which captured Jim’s imagination. He was Dj'ing & promoting these warehouse events and a trip to Ibiza did nothing but encourage him. There he discovered clubs offering an alternative to the tabloid rave scene in the UK. - The Balearic sound where the beats came slower and the crowd vibe much more relaxed.

Around this time Jim was at Touch magazine, part of Kiss FM & from there he joined the soon to open Ministry of Sound running press & promotion, then becoming a director . Responsible for the club & record label, he took them to world famous status. Coupled with Open all Hours at the Ministry his other project, the Drum Club was a key element in the whole evolution of the UK dance scene. With debut shows from acts such as Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Leftfield alongside first time UK appearances from Sneak, Vath, van Helden, Tenaglia among many others.

His party “It Is Where It Is” featuring acts such as Laurent Garnier, Aphex Twin and Derrick May created a genuine love for house & techno. Jim was also set up the Ministry’s labels including the ‘sessions’ series, the first with Tony Humphries in 1992 surely the forerunner of thousands of mix CD’s since.

His label ‘Open’ achieved cult status with Paperclip Peoples seminal ‘Throw’ The label mirrored the music of the nights & had artists such as Green Velvet, Carl Craig and Francois K. Such varied music reflected Jim’s DJ style. In 1996 after 5 years he left the Ministry. The next 3 years saw Jim establish himself as true player on the global circuit.

As well as his UK residencies at The End & Velvet, Jim also had residencies in North America (Twilo, Industry) Spain (Florida 135) and Portugal (Rocks). There were major festivals featured on a global scale , plus regular guest sets at pretty much every major club worldwide. Also Jim was hosting the Open to Torture nights, with The End providing the backdrop again for this well respected and extremely popular experimental Techno & Electro night.

1999 saw 2 mixes for BBC Radio 1 as well as the release of the Ultimate B.A.S.E mix CD. with a 27 date tour across the US. The BBC asked him to prepare 1 of only 2 mixes celebrating the history of electronic dance music for the millennium, a prestigious accolade to his knowledge and respect within the music scene. His mix “Origins (end of the 20th Century)” featured 50 tracks with everything from pioneers like Kraftwerk & New Order to the latest purveyors of Techno. It has become a sought after classic, regarded as a complete look at the history of Techno.

His gigs since reads like a top 200 of clubs around the world, more than 50 countries and over a 1000 flights has seen him accumulate a legion of passionate die-hard fans. And who can question a man insane enough to play 3 different gigs in 3 different countries in one day?!! more mix CD’s followed as well as remix projects. At the stroke of midnight 1999 Jim could be heard at Cream 2000 London doing what he does best , looking to the future .

NYE 2000 and Jim’s set in Manila is being broadcast live to over 6 million people on satellite TV. 3 weeks later and its 200,000 people at the Rock in Rio festival. 2001 saw the world famous Sonar festival in Barcelona, Homelands, numerous European festivals and a prestigious slot on the main stage at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

2002 saw BASE finish at Velvet after 7 glorious years and move into a hosting a series of successful residencies around Europe. In 2003 Jim released 3 mix CD’s, including the first in a new series for the world renowned Florida 135 club, as well as a host of production & remix projects. 2003 also saw jim start to concentrate more on studio and cut back slightly on the relentless touring schedule that he had been pursuing for the last 10 years.

2003 also saw Jim collect the award for best techno/electro dj at the prestigious dj awards 2003 held in Ibiza at Pacha, the award came from votes collected from the public and showed the support he has from his legions of fans around the globe. More info www.djawards.com

With studio work increasing jim continued to travel and concentrate more on the global festival scene with appearances at rock in rio - lisbon, love - brazil, global gathering, monegros – spain, technolandia – portugal, exit – serbia, echo – bosnia & summer of love – czech republic amongst many others. Plus successful tours of asia (taiwan, singapore, malaysia, bali, jakarta, phillipines) & south america (brazil, uruguay, argentina, columbia & venezuela)

Joining up with former cubanate artist phil barry proved to be the catalyst in the studio the first fruits of which the massive track ‘SWARM’ being released on Carl Cox’s Intec Label in 2005 riding high in charts in mixmag, DJ mag & many others. Its been one of the biggest techno tracks of 2005 and the follow up ‘Roll Dat Shit’ being just as huge. Always looking forward 2006 saw a change in direction in the studio with a slower bass heavy sound for his new act String Theory. Already very much in demand their first release ‘Viral Infection’ came out early 2006 on Intec Rocks and work is already well advanced for live shows and their first album for Carl Cox with a release planned for later in 2007.

The art of the DJ is growing and always staying at the forefront, Jim obtained the world’s first commercial unit of the amazing mp3 manipulating vinyl software tool ‘final scratch’, this combined with the use of ableton live plus efx units & drum machines has moved his performances onto a new level.

2007 saw another new project unfold when Jim teamed up with Detroit Legend DERRICK MAY to launch a new series of parties called HI-TEK-SOUL which was swiftly followed by a new residency at The Ministry of Sound and appearances this year at such major festivals as Glastonbury, Monegros, Exit & Glade.


Whether it’s house, techno, electro, latin, jazz or just pure experimental electronica the crowd gets all of Jim’s energy & enthusiasm when he’s performing and that why he’s become a law unto himself and a legend to his followers.