Deep Space | Tunnidge + François K

Deep Medi, Chestplate, Tectonic, Get darker and Origin Audio is a release catalogue that few can Dubstep producers can boast. Tunnidge has been producing and releasing Dubstep from the fledgling days of the scene. His first introduction to the scene was via the support of DMZ member and Dubstep pioneer Mala who championed his music on his acclaimed label Deep Medi. Later he was quickly adopted to Distances Chestplate camp being the first ever artist apart from Distance himself to release on this ever-growing label.

Monstrous releases such as Geddeon, 7Breaths, Dark Skies, Control and the remix of Truths Puppet Master have affirmed his ability to create heavy weight dance floor smashers in juxtaposition to the more deeper experimental tracks such as Tribe, Decay and Universal which was released by the legendary Tectonic imprint.

As well as the music production and DJing Tunnidge also keeps himself busy with the portrait designs of the Deep Medi label. With exhibitions of his work appearing in London, Greece and New York, his distinct artwork style has become synonymous with the brand of the Deep Medi label.

As a DJ Tunnidge hits hard, selecting the dark dance floor style music he is known for producing. Headlining all over the world and frequent visits to the U.S his accolades include playing the top events, festivals and Radio shows of the Dubstep world, DMZ, Deep Medi, Fabric, Outlook Festival, Get Darker events, FWD, Gritsy, SubMission, Oi!, Get Darker TV, Kiss FM, Rinse FM and now along with the other Chestplae family a bi monthly slot on BBC Radio 1xtras Mista Jams Dubstep show.

Armed with a cache of heavy weight Dubs, forthcoming releases on the biggest Dubstep labels and bookings for the biggest events, the future looks bright for Tunnidge.


Only Frankie Knuckles can lay claim to straddling a longer span of time in the thick of dance music than François Kevorkian. And though his name is no more than vaguely familiar to many dance fans, Kevorkian's influence is immense. Beginning with his production work for the crucial disco label Prelude during the late '70s and extending through an immense quantity of remixes and productions for legions of pop bands during the following decade, few producers did more to mechanize and refine the disco template into music clearly recognizable as house. After moving from his native France to New York City in the mid-'70s, Kevorkian learned the art of mixing from the era's most influential DJs (Walter Gibbons, Jellybean, Larry Levan). He began producing early reel-to-reel cut-ups, patterned on dub techniques, which pushed bouts of much-needed experimentalism into disco. He then brought the dance treatment to scores of alternative bands and pop stars who needed it during the '80s and '90s. Unfortunately, Kevorkian never spent as much time on his own productions, releasing very few singles though he helmed his own imprint, Wave Records.

Born in Rodez, France in the mid-'50s, Kevorkian grew up in the suburbs of Paris, playing drums in several bands while studying biochemical engineering and pharmacy in college. After deciding to chuck in his studies, he moved to New York and began playing with any pick-up bands he could find. His first important work in the club scene came when Kevorkian took a part-time gig at the club Galaxy 21, providing live fill-in drums for the DJ, Walter Gibbons. Though the club later closed, Kevorkian moved on to another named Experiment Four and became friends with its resident, Jellybean Benitez.

Kevorkian soon began producing his own tracks after he learned that Benitez owned a four-track reel-to-reel machine. Hoping to warp tracks for maximum dancefloor consumption, Kevorkian recorded dub-inspired cut-and-paste megamixes with splice and edit techniques, even adding special effects gained from movies and other sources. (One of his first productions, a version of "Happy Song and Dance" by Rare Earth, was a New York club staple for years afterward.) In mid-1977, he started DJing at a club known as New York, New York -- the premiere disco spot after Studio 54. While working there, Kevorkian met DJ legend Larry Levan and the two became fast friends. After Kevorkian was tapped for an A&R position at the disco label Prelude, he began working at the label's studios with Levan, creating mixes for the West End and Salsoul imprints as well as Prelude. Kevorkian's mix for Musique's 1978 single "Push Push (In the Bush)" went gold -- despite an obvious lack of chart action -- and his productions for another Prelude act, D-Train, resulted in additional club hits like "You're the One for Me," "Music," and "Keep On."

A talent for studio mixing and his requisite dancefloor credentials made François Kevorkian one of the most in-demand producers during the '80s. An increased momentum during the decade for general dance music pushed labels to request special nightclub versions of pop songs for the dance crowd, and Kevorkian obliged hundreds of times, for such groups as Yaz, the Smiths, Depeche Mode, Diana Ross, Adam Ant, U2, Kraftwerk, Matthew Sweet, the Pet Shop Boys, Thomas Dolby, Ashford & Simpson, and Erasure, among many others. In 1987, he founded Axis Studios as well, which provided a home for recordings by Madonna, C+C Music Factory, Mariah Carey, and Deee-Lite.

Essential Mix Given his busy studio schedule, it's no wonder Kevorkian neglected his DJing during most of the '80s. He returned to form in 1990, and traveled to Japan with Larry Levan for several high-profile gigs. Kevorkian became a label owner himself in the '90s; his Wave imprint provided a home for several of his own productions, including 1997's pioneering FK-EP. The best document of his DJing skills, Essential Mix, appeared in 2000.