Biography
“The first record I purchased was Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick’s ‘The Show’. I spent the next ten years spending all my money and most of my spare time obsessively buying and playing hip hop.”
It’s hip hop that’s shaped James Mowbray’s DJing style, an eclectic and underground sound that takes in house, electro and techno. But like the hip hop he grew up on, it’s a good-time sound, packed with attitude.
“I have to play exciting music, with a strong identity. When I’m on the dancefloor I don’t want to suffer a 20-minute gap between exciting records. I want to have fun, and that dictates how I play.”
He’s been DJing for more than 12 years, and has a record collection that includes everything from New York hip hop through discovering the funk records that gave birth to it, to drum ’n’ bass, bleepy Detroit and even jazz funk. James’s musical background is a diverse one.
And as Managing Editor of Mixmag, the world’s biggest clubbing and dance music magazine, he knows what makes people dance. He’s travelled the globe in the name of dance music, visited the world’s best clubs and observed up-close the best DJs in the world. “Dance music is healthy and exciting at the moment. At Mixmag we’re investing in and covering lots of exciting, new talent and I get sent loads of great music. We’re going through a period of change, but clubs across the world are still packed with people wanting to hear good music, and that’s what gets me excited every time I play: delivering that music.”
With a residency for The Gallery/Soundworx at London’s Turnmills and gigs across the UK and Europe, James is busy. September 2004 saw the release of his first record: a collaboration with Choo Choo Records’ Barry Gilbey. ‘Raw’ by The Phony MCs is what house music should sound like. A straight-up party tune, it’s a peaktime kick-ass track with an epic breakdown, a huge drop and a hip hop vocal. David Guetta requested it for his ‘Ibiza Terrace Anthems’ CD and it was Tune Of The Week on Tom Stephan’s (Superchumbo) Kiss FM show in London. ‘Raw’ was one of the biggest underground hits of summer 2004.
To follow up the success of ‘Raw’, James went back into the studio with his partner Barry Gilbey. The result, ‘Black’, took The Phony MCs concept to the next level. ‘Black’ was released in July 2005 with a remix from New York tribal don Peter Bailey.
James has also formed an alliance with D Ramirez, which has resulted in a three-single deal with the label Four:Twenty. The first single, ‘The Day Hip Hop Died’, received support on Kiss FM (Tom Stephan, London), BBC Radio 1 (Pete Tong, UK), Sound Supreme (Germany) and Radio FG (France). ‘The Day Hip Hop Died’ was released October 2005. The second single for Four:Twenty: ‘I Choose Anger’, will was released 6th March 2006.
