GRAHAM CAMPBELL Biography
Language: EnglishGraham Campbell fell in love with electronic music and the culture that comes with it, in late 1997, while spending a year in Switzerland finishing high school. He was instantly addicted to the euphoric mixes of DJ’s such as Tony DeVit, and Seb Fontaine, as well as being inspired by DJ’s such as Fatboy Slim, Armand Van Helden, Carl Cox, and Donald Glaude.
Once back in Canada, Graham continued to develop his passion for the music which ultimately culminated in 2000 with his purchase of two turntables and a mixer. He began practicing, not only spinning Breaks, House, Trance, and Techno, but also Drum & Bass. Ironically, he stood out more initially as a Drum & Bass DJ thanks to his use of records as tools and his incorporation of Turntablist techniques into his sets, and was soon booked in and around the university city of Kingston, Ontario, where he was attending Queen’s University. However, it soon became apparent that Graham’s skills could not be contained by any one genre and he began being booked for House, Breaks and Techno nights as well as for Drum & Bass events.
Originally from Vancouver, BC he had several connections there and in Victoria as well and was able to secure sets at Hush Nightclub, a club in Victoria that has hosted all of the top DJ’s in the world, as well as playing in locations in and around Vancouver. Since his first sets at small underground raves in Kingston, Graham captured his audience by challenging them with his track selection, which often includes several genres and frequently juxtaposes two seemingly contradictory styles, which are married beautifully with the aid of complimentary hooks, melodies and technical finess. Though this juxtaposition of styles is a theme of Graham’s, he also incorporates the familiar into his sets, his philosophy is simple, play what the audience wants, then challenge them by blending the familiar with the unfamiliar. On top of this, Graham’s love of tribal sounds is apparent within all of his sets, tribal percussion often acts as a sort of glue for his sets, a unifying element combining otherwise unconnected sounds. While Graham was at Queen’s his skills did not go unnoticed, Graham quickly secured several residencies at local after-hours and with local promoters.
Throughout his years at Queen’s, Graham worked hard to hone his skills as a turntablist for his Drum & Bass sets and constantly challenged himself to push his mixing skills to new heights. He became well established in Kingston, both as a Drum & Bass DJ and as a Breaks/Progressive House DJ. He even began promoting events on campus to grow awareness for the electronic music scene. Upon completion of his two degree’s at Queen’s, Graham decided to make the fateful plunge. To move to Toronto, attend the Harris Institute for the Arts, and learn the science behind the art of music production. In 2005, he graduated with honours in Producing & Engineering at the top of his class and has been focused on producing ever since. His latest productions range from gritty Electro tracks to big room Progressive bangers, dirty Nuskool Breaks to Tribal choons. The future is now for Graham Campbell. His drive, ambition and skills both behind the decks and in the studio are set to put him at the top of the game!
