DJ EZ
Encyclopedia
DJ EZ is a DJ
from Tottenham
, North London
, specialising in UK garage
music. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest DJs ever to grace the UK garage scene.
station called Dance 93FM playing House music
, where he remained for 4 years. In early 1994, EZ set up his own pirate radio station based in Tottenham called Dimension FM, playing mostly Hardcore dance music
, Rave music
and House music. Dimension FM didn't last long due to being closed down by the authorities. EZ then landed himself a 4 hour Saturday and Sunday morning show from 8.00 am to 12.00 pm on another pirate station - Freek 101.8 FM (it was at this time that he changed his name from Easy O to EZ). As EZ started getting more well known he was given extra show time and was also made a member of the station's management team. EZ then started his own weekly club night
called Club Z at the Gas Club in central London
. DJ bookings for EZ started to soar and he was playing an average of 4 clubs a night every weekend.
DJ Steve Jackson's breakfast show (Morning Glory) and house DJs Bobby & Steve's show. The guest appearances became more and more frequent and EZ was offered the chance to stand in for Tuff Jam on a few occasions when they were not able to attend to perform their 2 hour show.
In November 1999, Kiss 100 offered EZ a permanent show on Tuesday mornings from 2.00 am to 4.00 am. Due to its success the show was moved to a Friday night (Saturday morning) slot from midnight to 2.00 am, directly after Bobby & Steve's show.
In 2000, after coming ninth place in a Kiss 100 top DJ of the year poll, DJ EZ was given a primetime
show on Saturday nights from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm, called 'Saturday Satisfaction', and another show on Friday nights from 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm, called 'The Hour of Power'.
In 2002, his Saturday show changed to the earlier time of 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
In 2004, he won awards for 'Best DJ', 'Best Old Skool DJ' and 'Best Radio Show' at the People's Choice Music Awards in London.
DJ EZ currently hosts a popular UK Garage radio show called Destination Weekend on London's Kiss 100
every Friday night from 10pm. He does a 2 hour show packed with old skool classics and the latest tunes from the UK garage
world and featuring occasional special guests. With him always is his sidekick Winston.
As of Friday 4 September 2009 the Destination Weekend show was expanded to air across the entire Kiss network. This includes South Wales and South West England, covered by Kiss 101
and the East of England, covered by Kiss 105
.
From 8 March 2008 until November 1, 2008, DJ EZ hosted a second Kiss radio show titled 'The Bassline Mix'. This was broadcast on Saturday nights from 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm across the Kiss Network
(Kiss 100
, Kiss 101
and Kiss 105-108
). The show featured UK Garage music and Bassline
anthems mixed non-stop by EZ.
chose DJ EZ to mix Pure Garage
, a new garage compilation CD
. Pure Garage went on to receive platinum record sales and peaked at number two in the UK national compilation chart. This led to a series of albums mixed by DJ EZ. The Pure Garage series is the most acknowledged and best selling UK Garage compilation series to date. As of September 2007, the Pure Garage series had sold over 1.7 million records.
on 15 June 2009. It was called Ministry of Sound Presents DJ EZ - The Essential Garage Collection and contained over 50 tracks on 3 CDs.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
from Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, specialising in UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
music. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest DJs ever to grace the UK garage scene.
Biography
In 1989, at the age of 15, EZ (known at the time as Easy O) started his radio career on a pirate radioPirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station called Dance 93FM playing House music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, where he remained for 4 years. In early 1994, EZ set up his own pirate radio station based in Tottenham called Dimension FM, playing mostly Hardcore dance music
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
, Rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
and House music. Dimension FM didn't last long due to being closed down by the authorities. EZ then landed himself a 4 hour Saturday and Sunday morning show from 8.00 am to 12.00 pm on another pirate station - Freek 101.8 FM (it was at this time that he changed his name from Easy O to EZ). As EZ started getting more well known he was given extra show time and was also made a member of the station's management team. EZ then started his own weekly club night
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called Club Z at the Gas Club in central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. DJ bookings for EZ started to soar and he was playing an average of 4 clubs a night every weekend.
DJ EZ on Kiss 100
EZ's first time on commercial radio was as a guest on high profile Kiss 100Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
DJ Steve Jackson's breakfast show (Morning Glory) and house DJs Bobby & Steve's show. The guest appearances became more and more frequent and EZ was offered the chance to stand in for Tuff Jam on a few occasions when they were not able to attend to perform their 2 hour show.
In November 1999, Kiss 100 offered EZ a permanent show on Tuesday mornings from 2.00 am to 4.00 am. Due to its success the show was moved to a Friday night (Saturday morning) slot from midnight to 2.00 am, directly after Bobby & Steve's show.
In 2000, after coming ninth place in a Kiss 100 top DJ of the year poll, DJ EZ was given a primetime
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
show on Saturday nights from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm, called 'Saturday Satisfaction', and another show on Friday nights from 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm, called 'The Hour of Power'.
In 2002, his Saturday show changed to the earlier time of 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
In 2004, he won awards for 'Best DJ', 'Best Old Skool DJ' and 'Best Radio Show' at the People's Choice Music Awards in London.
DJ EZ currently hosts a popular UK Garage radio show called Destination Weekend on London's Kiss 100
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
every Friday night from 10pm. He does a 2 hour show packed with old skool classics and the latest tunes from the UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
world and featuring occasional special guests. With him always is his sidekick Winston.
As of Friday 4 September 2009 the Destination Weekend show was expanded to air across the entire Kiss network. This includes South Wales and South West England, covered by Kiss 101
Kiss 101
Kiss 101 was a radio station in Bristol broadcasting out to South Wales and South West England playing Hip Hop, dance music and R&B. It now forms part of a national Kiss station, which also includes Kiss 105-108 and Kiss 100 and is owned by Bauer Radio.-History:The station originally started...
and the East of England, covered by Kiss 105
Kiss 105
Kiss 105 was an dance music radio station based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was part of a new breed of regional radio stations as opposed to independent local radio.-History:...
.
From 8 March 2008 until November 1, 2008, DJ EZ hosted a second Kiss radio show titled 'The Bassline Mix'. This was broadcast on Saturday nights from 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm across the Kiss Network
Kiss Network
Kiss is a brand of a group of dancemusic radio stations, a TV channel and music merchandise in the United Kingdom.-Stations:Radio:Television:*Kiss TV-Former Kiss Stations:Radio:...
(Kiss 100
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
, Kiss 101
Kiss 101
Kiss 101 was a radio station in Bristol broadcasting out to South Wales and South West England playing Hip Hop, dance music and R&B. It now forms part of a national Kiss station, which also includes Kiss 105-108 and Kiss 100 and is owned by Bauer Radio.-History:The station originally started...
and Kiss 105-108
Kiss 105-108
Kiss 105-108 is the East of England's regional radio station broadcast from Reflection House, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, broadcasting dance music and R'n'B across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and North Essex....
). The show featured UK Garage music and Bassline
Bassline house
Bassline is a type of music related to UK garage that originated from speed garage, and shares characteristics with fellow subgenres dubstep and grime for their emphasis on bass. The style originated in Sheffield around 2002....
anthems mixed non-stop by EZ.
Pure Garage CDs
In January 2000, Warner MusicWarner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
chose DJ EZ to mix Pure Garage
Pure Garage
Pure Garage is a successful series of UK garage compilation albums. Nearly all of them are mixed by DJ EZ.In January 2000, Warner Music chose Kiss 100's DJ EZ to mix Pure Garage, a new garage compilation CD. Pure Garage...
, a new garage compilation CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. Pure Garage went on to receive platinum record sales and peaked at number two in the UK national compilation chart. This led to a series of albums mixed by DJ EZ. The Pure Garage series is the most acknowledged and best selling UK Garage compilation series to date. As of September 2007, the Pure Garage series had sold over 1.7 million records.
- Pure Garage (2CD) - Released: 31 January 2000
- Pure Garage II (2CD) - Released: 3 July 2000
- Pure Garage III (2CD) - Released: 13 November 2000
- Pure Garage IV (2CD) - Released: 5 March 2001
- Pure Garage V (2CD) - Released: 29 October 2001
- Pure Garage Presents Bass Breaks & Beats (2CD) - Released: 3 December 2001
- Pure Garage Platinum The Very Best of... (3CD) - Released: 9 December 2002
- Bass Breaks & Beats 2003 (2CD) - Released: 30 December 2002
- Pure Garage Classics (3CD) - Released: 24 November 2003
- Pure Garage Presents Four to the Floor (2CD) - Released: 29 December 2003
- Pure Garage Presents The Main Room Sessions (3CD) - Released: 16 May 2005
- Pure Garage Rewind Back to the Old Skool (4CD) - Released: 3 December 2007
- Pure Garage Presents Pure Bassline (3CD) - Released: 30 June 2008
Ministry of Sound CDs
On 16 May 2009, EZ announced on his Kiss radio show that his next UK garage compilation CD will be released by Ministry of SoundMinistry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
on 15 June 2009. It was called Ministry of Sound Presents DJ EZ - The Essential Garage Collection and contained over 50 tracks on 3 CDs.