The UKG Connection: a playlist with DJ Disciple

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Music

DJ Disciple reflects on some of the music and moments which have storied his career following the release of a new book.

With a radio show titled “New York’s Best Kept Secret” DJ Disciple established himself as one of the city’s distinctive DJs with his hi-octane house sets powered by the latest promos and dub plates. Fast friends with Roger Sanchez, Disciple was one of the first to champion Todd Edwards, hooking him up to remix “As I Am”.

Before long Disciple was making regular tours to the UK where he formed lasting friendships on the decks and in the studio. By 1994, he started spending extended time here, hanging out in the clubs and record stores. Disciple met all the key players in London’s burgeoning UKG scene and often stayed with “RIP Grooves” Omar Adimora or Birmingham’s Jeremy Sylvester. He went on to work with all the early key producers such a Double 99. Grant Nelson, Booker T and Tuff Jam and produced several of the scene’s biggest anthems.

From his first memory of being exposed to” the heaviest dubs on the B-sides of American imports” by Femi B at his Feel Real club Residency to making one of his first tunes “Prove Your Love” with Booker T, Disciple was one of the US DJs who comfortably straddles playing across both the house and UKG spectrums.

Disciple was embraced by the UKG scene and rocked guest sets at all the legendary London garage clubs such as Twice As Nice in the Arches in Southwark as well as playing the Gass Club, Horny at Legends and Cookies & Cream at Vauxhall. He recalls laughing that early flyers even misspelt his name even calling him DJ Discipline!

His UKG anthems are immense and include ”Keep On Movin” track by The Banji Boyz feat. Brown Girl; “2 The Bone” by Grant Nelson feat DJ Disciple; ’Steal Away’ R.I.P Remix by DJ Disciple Feat Dawn Tallman and “New York City Girl” by DJ Disciple feat Dawn Tallman on his own Catch 22 label; “Burning Up” DJ Disciple in London Remix – A.D.R. Feat Brown Girl (Ice Cream/Deconstruction) and with Jeremy Sylvester as X-Factor “Desire”,

As UKG grew in popularity and the scene established a summer home in Aya Napa, Disciple was one of the first American DJ’s to rock the house out there too.

Since then Disciple has penned his story “The Beat, The Scene” The Sound: A DJ’s Journey through the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of House Music in New York City” with Henry Kronk and published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Dj Disciple reflects on some of the music and the stories which have made up his career.

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"Rite Now" - Todd Edwards - DJ Disciple’ Soul Party Project (1994)

“I went to Roger Sanchez’s home in Manhattan to convince him to give Todd Edwards a Remix to do. Sanchez commissioned him to do “As I Am” for Sound Of One (Narcotic) in 1993. Other than me and DJ Camacho, no one was playing his sound in New York. I debuted his sound on my first mix for Bobby & Steve’s Zoo show on Kiss 100 in London that same year. “Rite Now” was a feature on my EP for Grassroots Records in 1994 to help bring awareness to his talent.”

"Rite Now" - Todd Edwards - DJ Disciple’ Soul Party Project (1994)

“I went to Roger Sanchez’s home in Manhattan to convince him to give Todd Edwards a Remix to do. Sanchez commissioned him to do “As I Am” for Sound Of One (Narcotic) in 1993. Other than me and DJ Camacho, no one was playing his sound in New York. I debuted his sound on my first mix for Bobby & Steve’s Zoo show on Kiss 100 in London that same year. “Rite Now” was a feature on my EP for Grassroots Records in 1994 to help bring awareness to his talent.”
“Prove Your Love” - Wanda Rogers ( (Interstate) (1994)

“Femi B particularly gave me a taste of the future one night at Feel Real. It would be rare to find a record outside of the range of 120-130 bpm. That night, however, Femi B spun a mix well above that range. To do so, he rarely played any vocal tracks and instead favoured dubs to bring the energy up. Femi B and I spoke at length later that night. He took pride in “finding the heaviest dubs on the B-sides of American imports,” Most of the founder members of the UK Garage scene were attendees of Feel Real and for some, before they became DJs. I did “Prove Your Love’, produced by Booker T with skippy SP-1200 drum sounds that fit the Femi B style.”
"Higher” US dubs - Ambassadors Of Swing feat Bryan Chambers & Antonia Lucas (Nice 'N' Ripe)

““Let’s Groove” by George Morel was huge in London, especially at Horny on a Thursday night at Legends in Old Burlington Street, Mayfair, W1. It was the first time I saw a venue with MCs full on. Nice ‘N’ Ripe was a label on the forefront with Grant Nelson leading the charge helping to change the sound of London. Producers from London created their own lanes during the birth of the UK Garage sound. Nelson asked Interstate’s JP to have me do a remix for his label. When I came to his Nice ‘N’ Ripe studio in 1994 we bonded and worked together right away. Nelson engineered for me on my Todd Terry and Roger Sanchez label EPs.”
”Keep On Movin” - The Banji Boyz feat. Brown Girl (Interstate, 1994)

“I never knew how big “Keep On Movin” was. I was booked to play plenty of UK Garage gigs because of it as I quickly found out. I started playing at Twice As Nice in its original car park Arches (highlighted in my new book), and jammed with DJ Spoony on London Underground pirate radio station. Every UKG DJ has this record in their stash and I will always appreciate their support. To some, it’s still considered one of the biggest tracks that kicked off the UKG sound.”
“Don't Shut Me Out’ - DJ Disciple Feat. Mary Gold (Interstate)

“Championed by TuffJam at Twice As Nice at the Arches in 1996. Sometimes Tuff Jam worked out of the same studio that I did, (State 51 Studios. Pete Hurst was a brilliant engineer who worked with session singers. Many of these singers including one popular singer who was signed at the time along with a few other singers felt shafted by the label deals they got. They were able to make up for it in work-for-hire sessions.”
“2 The Bone” - Grant Nelson feat DJ Disciple (Swing City)

“Grant Nelson struck out on his own with his new label, Swing City. It was my pleasure to provide vocals for his first release. “2 The Bone” and it crossed over both scenes of Garage and UKG and was big at “Lord Of The Underground parties “at Camden Palace (now Koko).”
"Steal Away" R.I.P Remix - DJ Disciple Feat Dawn Tallman (Catch 22)

“I was living with Omar Adomira in 1997 when his first song “RipGroove” with Tim Deluxe as Double 99 exploded. From that hit record the duo started getting work left and right, and after finishing their remix of “Free” by Ultra Nate, they did my remix. Matt “Jam” Lamont and Adomira wasted no time picking up most of my first EP. A UK Garage anthem at Twice As Nice, the “Steal Away” R.I.P Remix went on to become a big tune on the UKG scene.”
“New York City Girl” - DJ Disciple feat Dawn Tallman (Catch 22/Unda Vybe)

“Working with Warren Clarke on the boards at his Tape To Tape Studios, I asked him to give me the biggest bassline he could find. It floored Matt Jam Lamont and Paul “Trouble Anderson” was already all over it. Lamont played it every single Sunday at Twice As Nice when I was over. He snapped it up for his Unda-Vybe label getting Yardley to deliver his stunning Dual Shock remix.”
“Put Your Hands Up” DJ Disciple Vanguard Dub - The Black & White Brothers (Club Tools)

“Warren Clarke knew how to stretch vocals and bring out the best baselines. After his session with me, I was hooked on working with him. I was the only American DJ playing at UK Garage clubs on a regular basis. Places like Cookies and Cream, and DJing in Birmingham with Jeremy Sylvester.”
“7 Desire” - X-Factor

“Jeremy Sylvester and I have collaborated together since the late 1990s and still do today. We made wonderful music that crossed tastes globally. “Desire” was one of those records. “Desire” was a bumpy crossover in 1998, and rocked Lords Of The Underground at Camden Palace. On a separate note, Club Asylum aka Jeremy Sylvester and Paul Emmanuel remixed ‘It’s Easy”, which was an earlier record I released on Azuli.”