Biography
I play Hard House – Nu-Nrg – Bounce – Hard Trance – Uplifting Pumping Trance – Old Skool Underground House 95 – 99 – Freeform / Hardcore – Hard Dance
I’ve been playing in Clubs and outdoor raves all over the south since 2000 & got my first London set & regular bookings at X-Static @ The Fridge in 2003, then came bookings for near enough every event in London. & Beach parties on the south coast, Hastings Pier, & then Total Mayhem, which was my first residency @ the Fridge, shortly followed by residecy @ the Sunday Afterparty with the old skool party vibe (Sundaze) Which I was a big part of with Jo Bright for a few years & soon played at Frantic’s Convergence & Chemistry events & also being a part of Pulse boat parties we done events with Frantic & then Heat UK, Playing at Camden Palace. Two of my favourites I’ve played have to be two of the legendary parties from back in the day, Strawberry Sundae & Sunnyside Up, which were some of the first and best parties I went to from 1997 along with the illegal raves run by mates outside London (Kent mostly) around the same time, where I remember the likes of Phil Reynolds & Spencer Freeland coming to play in barns & tents to large crowds from all over the place! One of which was monkey business, absolutely awesome, ended up doing regular events at clublife in Lydd, another absolutely wicked venue which hosted several pukka hardhouse events..
Over the years I’ve Played alongside Phil Reynolds, Ed Real, Lisa Pin Up, Ian M, K90, Andy Whitby, Cally Gage, Technikal, Steve Blake, James Lawson, Jon Doe, Billy Daniel Bunter, Kevin Energy, Vinylgroover (Scott Attril) Paul Glazby, Graham Gold, Skol, Eryk Orpheus, Darren Pearce, Group 185, Spencer freeland and had the pleasure of playing B2B Dan Madams, Dean Peters, Skol, Mark Ashley, K-Complex and more…
Whilst on a recent 10 month break from the scene I got to play & live in Cape Town, South Africa, but I am now back in the one place I really love which has always inspired me in so many ways… London!!!
(below is an interview on harderfaster 2006 which you can find the full version on my links)
There is also a link for my interview 2010 for DontStayIn…
Brixton through and through — Danny Tappenden gets the HF treatment
Reported by benz / Submitted 12-09-06 02:08
Brixton has for many years been one of the hubs of London’s dance music underground. Far from the tacky West End and East London’s trendy bars and clubs, it’s a place where all the more underground forms of dance music have always been able to flourish. Its liminal location on the edge of London’s innermost regions mimicking the location of the music played there on the periphery of mainstream culture, it has often served as a centre for various forms of counter-culture.
Hard dance has generally been the predominant musical currency in the area over most of the last decade and has made a home for itself with parties taking place every week at The Fridge, George IV, Club 414, Mass/3rd Bass, Subsouth, The Telegraph, and anywhere else the hard crew can get their mitts on. Amidst the mass of different promoters, djs and clubbers lie a hardcore of Brixton faithfuls who are partying at the events in the area week in, week out. Danny Tappenden is one of these — one of the busiest hard dance djs in town. 12 gigs in the last month? Bloody hell!
“I first went out clubbing in Brixton after spending three years from ‘97 to 2000 in Vauxhall at clubs like Strawberry Sundae and Sunnyside Up. My first time out in Brixton was at Return to the Source at Brixton Academy about 2000” recalls Total Mayhem and Sundaze resident Danny when asked about his earliest SW9 experiences. “I loved the whole vibe the Brixton scene had and that led me to the Fridge, where I had my first London booking with X-Static . . . I haven’t looked back since, Brixton still rocks!”
Around this time, the likes of Logic, Frantic, Escape From Samsara and Pendragon were all pulling in thousands of punters every week, and the likes of Tasty and Heat hadn’t quite come into play. The Fridge was packing them out every Friday night with Samsara, and with different promotions on Saturday nights. The full hard spectrum was covered — hard trance, hard house, psy trance, techno, trance, and lashings of European beats too (as opposed to the more UK-centric sound these days). “I miss the way there used to be fewer, more quality events taking place over the weekend, but now there are so many clubs and it’s so easy for just anyone to get in and throw a party that the sometimes better ones don’t get the support they deserve.”
The identity of The Fridge has obviously been one of the things that has changed the most in Brixton over the years, following the change in ownership in recent years. “The Fridge is still as good a place to rave as ever. A lot has changed and maybe for the better, time will tell.”
Danny’s beloved Total Mayhem have been putting on parties at The Fridge for quite a few years now, but built up their following with years of regular parties at Brixton’s tried-and-tested hard dance venues. He was a regular attendee at Mickey and Kay’s events, and was consistently impressed by their line-ups and the diverse selection of music that he’d hear in a night. Eventually his loyalty paid off with a set at one of the Total Mayhem events, which proved to be a major stepping stone into the scene for him: “The atmosphere and crowd got me hooked! When Mickey asked me to play I was over the moon.”
How have they managed to keep a reasonable level of success over the years when so many other promotions have fallen by the wayside? Brixton sees events come and go every month, with hopeful new promoters leaving the area downhearted after one or two unsuccessful parties. “Total Mayhem has a very unique music policy and the crowd are energetic, happy loyal followers that love the Total Mayhem sound and vibe. Big up the mayhem massive!”
His other residency is for Sunday afternoon naughties Sundaze — and he has every confidence in the status of the party. “Sundaze is well on its way to becoming a legendary Sunday party of the noughties, as Sunnyside Up was in the 90s. Jo Bright, the promoter, is an absolute diamond of a person and has helped me with so much since I’ve known her. She’s a great friend and has great taste in music, the same taste as me, which is what is partly responsible for the growing success of the party.”
Not to say that it’s all that gets played at these parties, but the Brixton sound has always had a major focus on UK hard trance — Steve Blake, Phil Reynolds, Billy Bunter & Jon Doe, James Lawson . . . all that sort of business. Danny lists “Skol, Roosta, Craig Mac, Matt Rush and of course Lab4’s PAs at the Fridge” as major musical influences, with that distinct London sound obviously being very important for him. He seems positive about the future of the sound, glowing over producers like Technikal, Micky Fallout, Brett Wood and Ricky Riot carrying it on into the future. “There’s a lot of talent out there that’s finally being recognized,” he says on the subject.
In the last 6 months, the Total Mayhem crew have spread their wings slightly and moved out of their much-loved Brixton area to put on some quite marvellous parties at Hidden in Vauxhall. The name — Hard Dance Mania. The idea? 2 rooms of hard dance, house, electro, Total Mayhem residents, special guests, and free entry for all before midnight! “The first two events have been absolutely wicked and both rooms full of happy ravers at each one. The first was the first party I had enjoyed other than Freeformation in the venue for quite some time! With the right music and crowd the venue is amazing! Keep it up!”
With the Third Party coming up this Friday, and two filled-to-capacity parties in the bag, it looks like Danny and his crew could soon claim Vauxhall as their own too. With the amount of gigs he already plays though, I’m not sure he could handle many more! Although, I’m told he’s quite impressive when it comes to weekend stamina . .