30th Anniversary DJ Celebration: Quantic / Gilles Peterson / Afrika Bambaataa in association with Giantstep

Quantic, aka Will Holland is a British born musician, producer and DJ making soul, electronic & Latin music saturated in the tropical soundwaves of the Caribbean. Holland has developed a sound that bridges heritage and progression, marrying spontaneous musicianship with deep, exciting tonality. Holland has completed his fourth Quantic record, which is his fifteenth studio album to date, which features influences from Ethiopian Jazz to Haitian Compas, Salsa Dura from his Colombian homestead, to Detroit techno, with electric sub bass and beat programming, all part of Quantic’s trademark sound. Holland records and mixes from his own Sonido del Valle studio where he utilizes a range of vintage studio equipment, working as part sound engineer, musician and producer to procure a rich and original sound.


When all is said and done, whichever role Gilles Peterson is performing – DJ, broadcaster, producer, compiler, label boss, or plain old record collector – the music is always the bottom line. His passion and enthusiasm is unfailing and deeply infectious. Starting off life as a club DJ, Peterson continues to spin passionately in venues around the world. As for the radio, his new 3-hour Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music has seen him take his unique musical mix to a new and growing audience of music lovers whilst the syndicated Worldwide radio show continues to spread his musical gospel… well, worldwide. From Sun-Ra to James Blake to Theo Parrish and Flying Lotus – if it swings in the right places, it’s in. Peterson is also at the forefront of his own independent label, Brownswood Recordings, which launched in 2006 as an outlet for his favourite new discoveries.


Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three main originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the “Grandfather,” “Godfather,” and “The Amen Ra,” of Hip Hop Culture as well as The Father of The Electro Funk Sound. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Zulu Nation, he is responsible for spreading rap and Hip-Hop culture throughout the world. He has consistently made records nationally and internationally, every one to two years, spanning the 1980’s into the next Millennium 2000. Due to his early use of drum machines and computer sounds, Bam (as he is affectionately known) was instrumental in changing the way R&B and other forms of Black music were recorded. His creation of Electro Funk, beginning with his piece “Planet Rock,” helped fuel the development of other musical genres such as Freestyle or Latin Freestyle, Miami Bass,Electronica, House, Hip House, and early Techno.