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With one of the fullest and most impressive résumés in dance music, Dave Ralph is also one of the most loved characters in the music industry. A dedicated music lover and enthusiastic supporter of the genre, Dave's track record in providing clubbers with great DJ sets, unforgettable club nights and quality vinyl have guaranteed Dave Ralph's place in the hearts of millions. Turning his back on the snobbery sometimes associated with the dance community, Dave has been influential in breaking down barriers within the music and crossing genres in the spirit of good times and dancefloor magic. With a recent relocation to America's Florida coast, Dave Ralph has found not only a new home, but an entirely new generation of fans. Now settled in Miami, the Liverpool England native has set about building a recording studio as well as finding the time to travel the length and breadth of the USA bringing his invigorating DJ sets to a welcome audience.
A DJ for the past 23 years and a recording artists and producer since 1989, Dave Ralph had built a name for himself in the UK from the early beginnings of youth club discos to high profile weekly residencies at the best clubs in the country, including the legendary Cream. From his early days as a teenager in Liverpool, putting a mobile DJ unit together with a friend in order to provide a much needed outlet for "good music", records have been Dave's passion. Soon building a name for himself in his home town meant that he began to make a living from his hobby and his passion became his career. Says Ralph: "We got better and better and began earning money; it's the best training ground in the world for being any kind of DJ. It teaches you to look at a crowd and entertain them." Dave's speciality was mixing rock and pop with soul, funk and disco, stumbling across House music in 1986 upon hearing Fingers Inc's 'The Washing Machine'. This pivotal moment was followed by a trip to see Sasha in 1989 and Dave fell firmly under the spell of dance music.
Dave's pioneering talents went from strength to strength and he spent much of his time not only DJing but also running clubs and promoting nights. At a time in the early 90s when the club scene in Britain was undergoing a renaissance, Dave Ralph was one of the DJs at the helm, mixing techno with house and trance, and providing clubbers with a night of 'anything goes' party atmospherics. Instrumental in bringing new sounds from around the world to clubs across the UK, it was Dave who first sought out Paul van Dyk, bringing him to England to spin for the very first time.
A real all-rounder, Dave has spent every waking minute involved in musical projects of one kind or another. From DJing and managing DJs to producing other people's music, recording music of his own and running a record label, Dave has made an impact in almost every area of dance music at one time or another. He wrote, reworked and sang on the Bassheads' classic 'Is Anybody Out There?' and established GLOW Records. A stint on the '96 Perfecto Tour brought him to the attention of Paul Oakenfold who was impressed by Dave's love of deep, lush house sounds. Spending a couple of years as Oakenfold's support DJ of choice gave Dave the opportunity to travel the globe honing his skills for an international crowd. A time spent as a resident for Cream in Ibiza was just a small part in a ten year summer pilgrimage to the island. It was in Ibiza in 1996 that Kinetic Records boss Steve Lau discovered one of Dave's epic 4 hour sets (this time at a picturesque villa in celebration of Oakey's birthday) and offered him a spot on rising star BT's US tour. Returning in 1998 with Oakenfold on the Tranceport tour took Dave to 50 cities in the US. Following the über success of Oakenfold's 'Tranceport' CD (the best selling album of its kind at the time), it made perfect sense for Dave to be the man to mix the equally lauded 'Tranceport II' (released in 1999).
His own recording work is yet another feather to his cap, his releases regularly finding their way into the DJ boxes of such deck heroes as Sasha and ?? His work with Mike Koglin under the moniker of the Argonauts has won him hyperbolic praise (their singles 'Sommertag' and 'Fhrulingstag' being hailed as two of the most influential tunes in trance) and his on-going work as part of the UK-based Tea Freaks collective has seen him take on an even more diverse production role. Recording his own material is most definitely a priority at the moment. While rumors that he may soon wind down the DJing in favor of original recordings may be exaggerated, Dave is definitely keen to spend more time concentrating on his own music. " I'm much happier making my own music than DJing, it's the most gratifying thing I've ever done. Being in a club and seeing people's reactions to your music is amazing."
Fans needn't panic quite yet, Dave's still appearing regularly as a DJ. For someone who has played to rapturous receptions around the world in places as varied as Spain, Germany, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Israel and Alaska, the DJ bug is still biting. "The DJing has been an amazing part of my life, to just stop and give it up is quite daunting. There must be a cut off point when you stop connecting, but I'm not there yet!" Dave maintains increasingly popular residencies at some of the best clubs in the country, including Buzz in Washington DC, Motor in Detroit, Axis in Boston and a residency with John Curley and Pure Productions for Chicago.
It's his appearances at Berlin's famous Love Parade which has inspired his second album release. 'Dave Ralph - Love Parade Berlin' was released on October 3rd on Kinetic and gives a taste of one of Dave's full-on party sets at its mind-blowing best. A huge fan of the Love Parade - the day long festival in which German clubbers congregate on the streets of Berlin in celebration of dance music culture - for the past four years, Dave was inspired to put a mix together by the incredible atmosphere of the event. He says the Love Parade itself is: "The biggest party in the world. It's the biggest gathering of people through music that I can think of. It's the single most significant party on the planet." The album, which was not recorded live at the Love Parade but is indicative of what Dave played during this year's festivities, was recorded in a studio environment to guarantee sound quality. The set itself was rehearsed for many weeks and is one which was created especially to capture the mood of the festival. It's certainly the closest most of us will be getting to experiencing the Love Parade first hand.
For Dave Ralph,
the immediate future is looking extremely bright. With the Love
Parade album under his belt he is settling in to his new life in
sunny Florida. His residencies around the country continue to thrive
and studio projects are planned for early next year and he's currently
working on plans to take a huge leap forward in his DJ sets with
the introduction of more visual technology. Blown away by what he
recently witnessed at a Rabbit In The Moon show, Dave is working
on some visual computer technologies to incorporate into his sets,
bringing projections and computer graphics to his DJ outings. And
you can bet that whatever his next projects are, Dave will continue
to entertain and delight his ever expanding legion of fans.
