PUNX SOUNDCHECK

With their third album "From The Roots" (1 Juno album + electro charts) causing a major stir on dancefloors and radios globally, Punx Soundcheck are upping the ante of electronic dance music once again with a growing army of fans and big-name supporters. Their remix of Kissy Sellout's "Come On Over" is one of their latest bombs to join their impressive list of rerubs and releases – Robot Disaster, S-Express, FutureFlashes, Bearcraft, Neo Tokyo, and breakbeat classic "Rock The Funky Beat" by Natural Born Chillers (on their own Arcade Pony imprint) have all experienced Punx Soundcheck's magic touch recently, and their "Dookie Rope" and "Cassette Eject" EPs were regular fixtures in the sets of some of the world's biggest DJs.



"From The Roots" represents their year zero; a journey through their truest influences and into new directions, their most cohesive and complete album so far. Bringing together the music that shaped them and the music that's shaping their future, "From The Roots" traverses disco and house, reggae and dubstep, electro and (old) rave, all the while sounding effortlessly and elegantly modern.



Punx Soundcheck is the partnership of John Taylor, and (former Natural Born Chiller) Arif Salih, who cut their teeth with a series of remixes and the infamous 'Icon Series' on seven-inch vinyl. They quickly developed a unique sound that fused futuristic and retro electro with a punk rock attitude.



Punx Soundcheck were formed back in 1998 when John was working in the studio next door to Arif; the pair soon became friends, discovering they had much common ground. Arif was working on a Natural Born Chillers album but it wasn't long before he and John were collaborating in the studio on a variety of new projects, combining John's knowledge of house and techno with Arif's feel for hip hop and the underground beats and breaks scene. With such a strong musical connection, it wasn't long before they joined forces on a full-time basis both as a DJ and production outfit. This hybrid of styles and influences became "Phat Company".



They started DJing as a team with John manning the turntables and mixer, and Arif on effects, samples and live keyboards. Several bookings in Hamburg soon followed throughout 1999 where they were exposed to the emerging electroclash sound coming out of Berlin and realised this was what they had been waiting for; in 2002 Phat Company became Punx Soundcheck and they began their mission to take London's nascent electroclash scene by storm combining an 80s electro-pop sensibility with the energy of dance culture.



After making a name for themselves on the London circuit, the duo put together the 'Icon Series' on John's own Taylor Made Records label. The limited edition collection on coloured seven-inch vinyl featured original Punx Soundcheck tracks including collaborations with Marc Almond and Siobhan Fahey, as well as remixes from other leading lights on the London scene like Atomizer and The Droyds, of whom John was also a member.



The word was out and Punx Soundcheck were soon in demand as remixers with S'Express, King Roc, Ping Pong Bitches, Digitaria, Ascii.Disko, Atomizer, Dead or Alive and Duran Duran among those getting the treatment on labels like International Deejay Gigolos, Back Yard Recordings and Umami Records. Several critically acclaimed singles soon followed for Beautycase Records, Delta B Recordings and Destination Records before they came to the attention of Berlin-based label Pale Music and released their debut album, 'When Machines Ruled the World', in 2006 to much praise. The double CD package included collaborations with Marc Almond, Steve Strange, Boy George, Princess Julia, and Larry Tee.



The second album "Black & Gold" soon followed on Pale; it marked their departure from the eighties influenced sound that had informed their earlier works, and took them towards a noisier, glitchier territory, which reflected the sound that John was heading towards in his prolific DJ sets across the globe.



Around this time their remixes of Bloc Party and the re-released Stakker Humanoid were making waves, and before long Punx Soundcheck had left Pale and joined new UK label Hottwerk Records. Their debut for Hottwerk was the Inferno EP (5/5 – DJ Mag), a split 12" with their new side project Chanty Poe, which would go on to release acclaimed album "Yeahh!". Their relationship with Hottwerk has blossomed and the series of releases (both as Punx Soundcheck and Chanty Poe) has yielded a growing number of fans worldwide. John's own new imprint Arcade Pony Records has already established itself with strong releases from the likes of Neo Tokyo, Tronik Youth, Banished To Frigia, and Natural Born Chillers.



As Punx Soundcheck head into the future armed to the teeth with cutting-edge technology (their dj sets now incorporate serious hardware to push the realms of sonic possibilities), they are now a fully functioning live act, with new members Adam Barry and Sim:One on board.



John Taylor…



John Taylor is one of the most respected and influential ambassadors on the London electro scene. Over the last few years he has been at the forefront of pushing new music forward and as one half of Punx Soundcheck his productions have consistently been at the cutting edge. Not surprisingly his DJ skills are increasingly in demand on the international circuit too.



John's list of credits reads like a who's who of the London scene with regular appearances at nights like Drama, Electrogogo, The Cock, Nag Nag Nag, Trailer Trash, Computer Blue and Nuke Them All! His DJ career developed at a similar pace as the success of Punx Soundcheck in the studio and as well as playing at all the cool underground clubs in London, John has also rocked the bigger venues like Turnmills and The Cross. Trips to Spain, Italy, Russia, Israel, Japan, Brazil and New York soon followed as well as regular visits to Berlin, while John was also the first electro DJ to play at the Space opening party in Ibiza. Most recently, his travels have taken him to the Sonar festival in Barcelona, the SEEME conference in Bulgaria and the Space opening party once again. Alongside his superb DJ skills, John is also an accomplished musician and has played live as part of The Droyds and with Siobhan Fahey.



John continues to smash it up wherever he plays and has recently taken his sound tougher and dirtier drawing inspiration from techno and the new rave scene in equal measure.



Arif Salih…



Arif Salih began his career in the music industry back in 1990 with the launch of Global Dance Records releasing early rave classics like 'Right Here, Right Now'. Developing his production skills throughout the 90s, Arif experimented with a fusion of variety of musical styles including hip hop, breakbeat, drum & bass and trance, working with various artists and releasing tracks on several labels.



In 1998 Arif broke into the mainstream in partnership with Lee Parker as Natural Born Chillers with the highly acclaimed 'Rock the Funky Beat' gaining full recognition for his production skills in the process. Following its success, Natural Born Chillers were commissioned to produce a string of classic remixes for the Jungle Brothers, Busta Rhymes, Silvah Bullet, Mono and Gravediggaz among others. It was while working on an album for the Chillers that Arif met John Taylor and they started working together as Punx Soundcheck.
Booking's and RMX's
Matthew Duffield
Sedition DJs Ltd | Music Journalist [iDJ / Kmag]
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