This one's a track-by-track walk through his own catalog and the records he signed. Damian tells the story of the "coat noise" he accidentally recorded on the streets of New York that became a single; Noel Fielding's surreal monologues on "Generalization"; executive-producing Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." before the world caught on; and the four years it took to get "Reach Out" with Linda Lewis right — a record he says he wants played at his funeral. Plus the Lo-Fidelity Allstars, Bentley Rhythm Ace, and Space Raiders — Skint at its most gloriously unpretentious.

The oral history of dance music, told by those who created it.

📬 The Crate Letter: https://adjsjourney.beehiiv.com

#CrateDigging #DJHistory #Skint #BigBeat #MidfieldGeneral

DJ history, first-hand: Donald Glaude on 35 years of Seattle rave culture, from The Underground to the festival era.

In Episode 1, DJ Dan told us Glaude handed him the mic and christened him a star. In Episode 22, recorded after Dan's passing, Glaude tells the other half, and how Dan paid it forward into the Funky Tekno Tribe.

Beatles records at six. Learning to mix on a Radio Shack mixer. Eight-hour Friday nights at The Underground. The pre-EDM road with Dan, Fatboy Slim and Carl Cox. The Vegas residencies at Drai's and ICE and the deliberate choice to trade EDM paydays for community.

It peaks at Joshua Tree, in tears, "I took them to church" and a defiant second act. One of American dance music's most electric showmen, at his most human.

The oral history of dance music, told by those who created it.

New stories every week in The Crate Letter: adjsjourney.beehiiv.com

DJ Qbert, the most decorated turntablist in DJ history, joins Deckard on A DJ's Journey. The first US turntablist on the show traces the line from the Excelsior District and the Filipino mobile-DJ crews that built West Coast DJ culture, to back-to-back DMC World titles (and being asked to stop competing), to the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Wave Twisters, the QFO, and Thud Rumble. Along the way: DJ Muggs' advice about respecting your gift, why he hears scratching as a universal language, and the rule in hip hop that the more you give away, the more comes back.🎧 Listen everywhere podcasts are available📩 The Crate Letter: https://adjsjourney.beehiiv.comA DJ's Journey - the oral history of dance music, told by those who created it.00:00 Intro00:45 The Musical Roots of Qbert03:55 The Journey into DJing and Turntablism06:47 The Rise of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz09:29 Innovations in DJ Hardware and Techniques12:44 Wave Twisters: The First Animated Hip-Hop Movie15:38 The Evolution of DJing and Spirituality17:51 Collaborations and New Projects20:57 The Future of DJing and Upcoming Tours29:21 Innovative DJ Tools and Projects31:19 The Evolution of Vinyl and Digital Music33:48 Embracing Technology and AI in Music37:45 Health, Wellness, and Creative Energy43:13 The Universal Language of Music46:35 Learning from Great Musicians50:23 Future Projects and Collaborations#DJHistory #DJQbert #Turntablism #ScratchDJ #InvisiblSkratchPiklz #DJCulture #HipHop #ADJsJourney #DJPodcast #WaveTwisters

DJ history you haven't heard: Kelly Reverb returns to A DJ's Journey — our first-ever two-time guest — for a deep dive into 1980s and '90s Dallas dance music. From the legendary Starck Club (designed by Philippe Starck, "ground zero" for MDMA before it was criminalized) to Lizard Lounge, the original Hard Rock, and the night Jerry Jones turned up on his dance floor, Kelly maps a scene the history books skip.

He tells the DIY origin of the iconic red-white-and-blue Lone Star Records, the hand-stamped "Fuck You We're From Texas" white label, and how his track "Go Get On It" (as Southside Reverb) landed on the soundtrack to Blade. Then the conversation turns: the MP3 crash, the open-format grind, the alcoholism it bred, and five years of sobriety that sparked a creative renaissance with co-writer Chad LeMans.

Part 2 picks up where Episode 3 left off.

The oral history of dance music, told by those who created it.

Subscribe to The Crate Letter at adjsjourney.beehiiv.com.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Dallas Club Scene: A Historical Overview

03:04 The Starck Club and Acid House

05:58 The Rise of DJ Culture in Dallas

09:07 Influences from the UK and Chicago House

12:05 Radio and the Dallas Music Scene

14:59 From DJing to Producing

18:10 Renegade Soundwave and Local Artists

20:56 The Shifting Dallas Scene

27:07 Turning Point: The Aha Moment

28:52 DIY: Starting My Own Label

30:30 Collaborations and Early Productions

33:32 From Idea to Reality: The First Record

35:20 From Local Gigs to Touring

39:32 Reflections on Career Choices

40:43 White Labels and Remixes

42:43 The Music Industry: Challenges and Luck

48:40 The Rise of Lizard Lounge

52:08 The Decline of the Record Business

55:12 Adapting: The Shift in DJing

58:05 The Struggles of the Entertainment Industry

01:01:50 Rediscovering Passion and Creativity

01:05:50 The Journey to Sobriety and Music

01:09:42 The Evolution of Music Promotion

01:13:22 Legacy and Impact of Music

01:17:22 Adapt or Get Off My Lawn

Rusty Belicek found a Slick Rick tape in an Oklahoma parking lot at age 11 — and it set everything in motion. From DC's 18th Street Lounge to opening for James Brown to building All Good Funk Alliance with Frank Cueto, Rusty tells the inside story of breakbeat's mid-tempo underground.

Topics covered: the Star Wars soundtrack as first musical memory, finding forbidden music in a Seventh-day Adventist household, meeting Frank at NOVA, the Funk Weapons label, DC's Go-Go scene, 18th Street Lounge residency, Swing the South production breakdown, opening for James Brown, the wedding DJ sacrifice, Burning Man and Funky Town, scene vs. community, and the hardware store as creative discipline.

Listen on all platforms:

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📸 Instagram: @adjsjourneypod

Chapters:

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:24 First Musical Memory: Star Wars Soundtrack

0:02:36 Off the Wall, Thriller, and the Sister's Record Collection

0:03:33 Punk Rock, Fugazi, Depeche Mode

0:06:06 The Slick Rick Tape: An Oklahoma Parking Lot Origin Story

0:08:05 Oklahoma to the DC Area via the Air Force

0:09:08 Meeting Frank Cueto at NOVA

0:10:50 The AGFA Sound: Trance-Techno Meets Hip-Hop and Breaks

0:13:22 Maxi Records, Choosing Mid-Tempo Over House

0:16:04 Going Full-Time: Labels, Day Jobs, Economics

0:18:00 The Wedding DJ Pivot: Kids and Sacrifices

0:22:33 18th Street Lounge: No Top 40s, Full Nights

0:24:45 U Street Music Hall: Opening and Closing

0:26:40 Winter Music Conference: First LP Deal

0:28:37 Go-Go: DC's Indigenous Sound

0:30:50 Baltimore Club: BYOB and Mark Farina

0:35:06 Swing the South: The Production Breakdown

0:41:25 How AGFA Changed Deckard's DJ Philosophy

0:47:35 Record Store at 16 and Learning to Beat Match

0:51:03 Burning Man: Funky Town and Early Bassnectar

0:55:55 Opening for James Brown: The Briefcase and The Splits

0:59:30 Ghetto Funk Origins

  1:01:10 Whistler: Matthew Alien and Vinyl Richie

1:04:30 Z-Trip, Uneasy Listening, Cut Chemist

1:07:45 Where AGFA Is Now

1:10:00 The Hardware Store Life

#breakbeat #AllGoodFunkAlliance #RustyBelicek #DJHistory #FunkMusic #DCMusic #NuFunk #ADJsJourney #DJCulture #DJPodcast

DJ History from the architect's chair. Damian Harris founded Skint Records, designed the Fatboy Slim logo, started the Big Beat Boutique, and A&R'd Norman Cook into the biggest DJ on the planet. Now he tells his side of the story.

From punk gigs with his brothers in Canterbury to acid house in Brighton, from living with Norman Cook to watching "Santa Cruz" become Skint's first release — Damian traces the full arc. He walks through the A&R instinct that signed the Lo-Fidelity Allstars in two minutes flat, the night he played a Justice remix in his office and said "this is the future," and the moment he walked away from the label he built.

This is the companion episode to Ep 17 (Fatboy Slim). Same story, other side of the desk. First label boss on A DJ's Journey.

Damian now runs Vicious Charm, his own independent label.

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📸 Instagram: @dj.deckard

  Chapters:

  00:00 Introduction to Damian Harris and Skint Records

  03:42 Musical Beginnings: Punk to Hip Hop

  12:19 Art School and Early DJ Experiences

  16:53 Brighton: A Musical Hub

  17:41 Life with Norman Cook

  21:20 The Birth of Big Beat and Skint Records

  30:13 A Historical Coincidence: The Birth of Skint Records

  31:51 Transitioning to Label Ownership

  35:05 The First Releases: Building a Foundation

  37:15 Instinct and A&R Decisions: The Early Years

  39:32 The Promise of Lo-Fi All-Stars

  40:43 The Big Beat Boutique: Origins and Evolution

  45:42 The Big Beat Boutique Era: A Cultural Shift

  49:26 Balancing Multiple Roles: DJ, Producer, and Label Owner

  51:40 The A&R Pipeline: Finding New Talent

  54:29 Curating the Big Beat Sound

  57:08 The Evolution of Breakbeat: Diverging Paths

  01:01:48 The Evolution of Breakbeat and DJ Culture

  01:02:42 The Rise of Fatboy Slim

  01:05:40 Navigating Success and Pressure

  01:08:44 The Shift in Musical Genres and Personal Growth

  01:13:11 Challenges in Creating Iconic Albums

  01:17:57 The Difficult Decision to Leave Skint Records

  01:18:27 Exploring New Ventures and Creative Freedom

  01:21:04 Returning to Skint and the Changing Music Landscape

  01:26:03 Future Aspirations and the Vision for Vicious Charm

  #DJHistory #SkintRecords #FatboySlim #BigBeat #BigBeatBoutique #DamianHarris #MidfieldGeneral #Brighton #UKBreakbeat #ADJsJourney

  #DJCulture #IndependentLabel

DJ History meets Big Beat in this keystone episode. Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) joins Deckard for a conversation nine previous A DJ's Journey guests have been teeing up since episode one.

From punk bass player at 14 to the biggest DJ in the world, Norman traces the full arc: The Housemartins, Beats International, the four-ingredient recipe for Big Beat (Beatles pop hooks, punk attitude, hip hop breaks, acid house energy), the Tuesday-night Brighton club that named a genre, and the 360 DJ-in-the-round he invented at Brixton Academy because he felt outgunned following rock bands.

Inside this episode:

→ Confirming the Krafty Kuts (Ep 11) dubplate story from behind the Southern Fried counter→ The James Murphy origin moment at Don Hills strip club in New York→ Damien Harris (Ep 18) being called in to be fired from Loaded and talking his way into inventing Fatboy Slim instead→ The NHS-funded DJ workshops Norman runs for autistic adults→ The night at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, summer 1999, that made Deckard become a DJ 27 years ago

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Fatboy Slim. The name nine guests dropped before he ever sat in the chair.Full episode out now on A DJ's Journey, Ep 17. Norman Cook on Big Beat, Brighton, the Big Beat Boutique, and the Tuesday night that named a genre.🎧 Apple / Spotify / SoundCloud: https://adjsjourney.com/episodes/ep17-fatboy-slim🎙️ Hosted by @djdeckard👤 Guest: @fatboyslim#FatboySlim #NormanCook #BigBeat #ADJsJourney #BreakbeatMusic #DJHistory #BigBeatBoutique #Brighton #Shorts

Breakbeat history gets the insider treatment as Justin Rushmore — co-founder of Finger Lickin' Records and one half of Soul of Man — sits down with Deckard for a deep dive into one of the most important independent labels in UK dance music.

Justin traces his path from discovering Street Sounds Electro compilations as a teenager to throwing "French Kissing Balls" at 16, organizing acid house revival raves, and eventually meeting Jem Stone through a serendipitous connection that launched Finger Lickin' Records in 1997.

This episode covers the full arc — how hearing the Freestylers' Essential Mix crystallized the Finger Lickin' sound, why the label became an "umbrella for no rules" in an era of chin-strokey dark breaks, and how Justin pushed Plump DJs to release A Plump Night Out when they resisted. He explains the Dog Star and Bar Vinyl as ground zero for the Brixton breakbeat scene, what it was like selling records out of the back of vans to the same shops he'd been shopping in, and how running a record shop became the social hub that attracted Lee Coombs, Krafty Kuts, and the wider Finger Lickin' family.

Justin shares incredible stories from the road — getting kidnapped in an RV after a Mighty party in San Francisco, pulling back a curtain to find Lee Coombs DJing alone at his own after-party, and the night Norman Cook got on his knees backstage in Barcelona bowing down to Soul of Man (and later had zero memory of it).

The conversation goes beyond nostalgia into what happens when a scene runs its course. Justin talks about the conscious decision to end Finger Lickin' after 10 years and 100 singles, the transition into Bug Club — his fleet of VW camper van DJ booths that have done over a thousand events including the London Marathon and Formula One — and the question that defined his post-label life: how can a DJ age gracefully?

With Finger Lickin's 30th anniversary on the horizon for 2027, Justin hints at big plans to reconnect with the global community the label built.

This episode directly connects to Ep 6 and Ep 10 (Lee Coombs), Ep 9 (Jem Stone), Ep 11 (Krafty Kuts), Ep 14 (The Freestylers), and Ep 15 (Plump DJs) — making it one of the most cross-referenced conversations in the series.

Topics: Finger Lickin' Records history, Soul of Man, breakbeat culture, Brighton DJ scene, UK breaks, independent record labels, Bug Club, Bar Vinyl, Dog Star Brixton, Fatboy Slim, A Plump Night Out, acid house, rave culture, DJ entrepreneurship

00:00 Introduction to Justin Rushmore02:00 Musical Beginnings and Influences05:40 Transition to DJing and Early Parties10:52 The Rise of Breakbeat and Acid House18:11 The Birth of Finger Lickin' Records25:35 The Big Beat Scene and Community Dynamics32:20 Soul of Man's Place in Breakbeat History37:17 Pushing for Albums and Collaborations41:08 The Evolution of a Music Collective45:12 Navigating the Digital Shift in Music47:04 Personal Growth and New Ventures52:52 The Future of Bug Club and Events57:33 Reflecting on the Past and Celebrating the Future

#breakbeat #fingerlickinrecords #soulofman #djhistory #ukbreaks #djculture #bigbeat #brighton #fatboyslim #plumpdjs #adjsjourney

Lee Rous of Plump DJs sits down with Deckard for a DJ history deep dive — from the Freskanova Records scene and Finger Lickin' to a 10-year Fabric residency, Field Day Sydney, Coachella, and 25 years of A Plump Night Out. We get into DJ culture in the UK breaks underground, the Spain breakbeat revival, what's fueling the Plumps' creative resurgence, and their upcoming album Night of the Baku — out October 2026.

A DJ's Journey — DJ stories from the artists who shaped dance music.