Neil Quigley

You see it everywhere. From Facebook to Myspace, there are a thousand wannabe DJs with pages proclaiming that they are the true incarnate of Ozymandias, King of Kings. With impressive looking schedules and countless friends, these self publicists almost have us fooled. But peel back the layers of those would be Emperors new clothes, and you start to realise that in this world dominated by style over substance, talent is now nothing more than a colloquialism for the way we look.

Neil Quigley has talent – in abundance, but more importantly in the traditional sense as well. As a DJ he can build a set that is laced with the uplifting, joyous moments we have all shared in the past, whilst still delivering the sounds we demand from our future. Not one to be swayed by today’s sliced bread, Neil has crafted a sound, something he refers to as ‘Electronic House with Soul’, that has made a number of important people stand up and take notice.

The first real big name to make a telling difference was John Digweed, who invited Neil to open for him at his world famous Bedrock parties. The opportunity, born from Digweed naming Neil as his one to watch in the last two DJ Mag top 100 polls, has allowed him to take centre stage in venues such as Fabric and the Miami Winter Music Conference. It doesn’t just stop with Bedrock. Neil has also become somewhat of a regular at Renaissance, both in the UK and globally as well.

Around about the same time, Urbantorque records ’ a favourite of Neil’s from the early releases that appeared on Deep Dish’s Yoshiesque album – offered Neil the opportunity to source new music for the label. Not only was his talent as a DJ being respected by one of the very best in the world, a successful label was now offering him the chance to mould the way their sound would grow over time.

It was with this latter connection that Neil is now able to broaden his horizons, moving beyond being someone who plays other people’s music to now breaking his own tunes on the grandest of stages. In this cart before the horse world, upcoming DJs are rarely booked on their ability alone. Now it is the producers who hold the power when clubs come to book their line ups.

You will soon see two releases with Neil’s name splashed across the record sleeve, both due out on Urbantorque in the latter half of 2007. The first is a collaboration with Digweed’s long time sparing partner, and one half of Bedrock productions, Nick Muir. ‘Feedback from the city’, due out in August, has already been charted by some of the world’s top DJs, and with the response to Feedback all looking favourable, much is expected from this partnership already. Neil has also joined forces with the ever popular Milton Jackson on a track titled ‘Tijuana’ that once again has garnered some favourable support, being aired on a number of radio shows including John Digweed’s very own Kiss programme.

Success is something we all measure differently, however it is fair to say that what you or I may consider to be a success, Neil Quigley see as another wrung on the ladder of what, will ultimately, lead to something very big. With the support of the DJs, record labels and now producers, Neil’s stock will continue to rise for as long as electronic house music with soul is around.

Chris King, DJ Magazine 06/07