Biography
Every musical journey begins somewhere. The fertile electronic music scene that has dominated the clubs and bars in Midlands has clearly been an important factor in the growth and sheer diversity of dazzling acts that have emerged out of that region. It was here that DJ, producer and label boss Tom Conrad earned his stripes in a residency at Lovezoo from 2002-2007 playing alongside some of the biggest DJ’s of the era, including the legendary Danny Rampling, Xpress 2 and the Stanton Warriors. Tom’s meticulously constructed and legendary 10 hour plus sets have rocked crowds in London, Birmingham and Nottingham, playing regular sets at Gatecrasher and Escucha in Nottingham.
Tom was brought up on the classics, taking in inspiration from a variation of styles. His early influences saw the electro pop sounds of New Order, Tears For Fears and others plus the Acid House/ Rave scene make a big impression on his musical stance. In his teenage years Tom embraced the birth of one of drum’n’bass’s most celebrated talents, LTJ Bukem and Good Looking Records alongside the illustrious Moving Shadow label which started to broaden the depth of his musical knowledge and his appreciation of other musical styles. It was later on that Tom developed an ear for the trance/prog era of Sasha, John Digweed and the herculean Paul Oakenfold and so it was his love of House music that would play a crucial part in moulding Tom’s very own record label, Adaptation Music.
Every respected, creative and inspiring DJ always delves into music production at some point in their life and Tom is no exception. Having recorded his first two Remixes of Blackliquid’s ‘Gotta Be Me’ on Open Bar records in 2007 after the label owner picked up a copy of his bootleg mix of Louie Vega’s ‘Diamond Life’, his track ‘The One’ remixed by West Coast legend Reelsoul earned Tom and Adaptation Music a very respectable #5 spot on Traxsource’s top download chart. Tom’s joint projects include the long term affiliation with keyboard wizard Andre Bonsor from Schmoov/WindingRoad/DiY with their first full EP ‘Life, Sound & Space’ being released on Seasons Recordings. This is a project that’s certain to continue to produce fantastic music for some time to come.
In 2008, Tom set up his own label with a mission, to release and make high quality original and timeless House music. His artist roster now reads like who’s who of Deep, Soulful and Tech House with DJ Spen, Matthias Vogt, Ananda Project, Ralf GUM, DJ Rasoul and Mr A.L.I. featuring heavily on his release schedule. The labels releases regularly attain top download positions on Traxsource and other high quality dance music sites and have been reviewed in top quality publications such as DMC, DJ Magazine, Chicago’s 5 Magazine and top U.K newspaper The Guardian. With plans to launch another label called Cosmic Elements later this year which focuses on downtempo, chillout and other non-house related genres, and international club dates booked in Spain, Italy and Holland later this year, Tom’s future as a label boss looks very bright indeed!
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