D. Ramirez

Every great cultural movement gives birth to a constellation of musical stars; the freedom of the 70’s created the glam rock gods, the raves of the 90’s spun the acid house masters, and the 00’s obsession with technical advances gave way to the electronic pioneer. One artist who has owned this term over the last 20 years is none other than Sheffield’s D Ramirez, (aka Dean Marriott). The D Ramirez name has been synonymous with cutting edge, forward thinking sound since the release of ‘that’ genre defining remix of Yeah Yeah in 2006, but it’s the rich tapestry of production that followed that continues to entice tidal waves across the industry. Including groundbreaking releases on Toolroom, such as 2009’s underground anthem Downpipe with Underworld & Mark Knight, and the inimitable Cevin Fisher collaboration ‘Restless’ (Great Stuff) in 2012 that was a catalyst for the explosion of the recent ‘G-House’ scene. An undeniable insight garnered through rocking dancefloors in every continent has clearly given him the edge when it comes to production. Whether its securing high profile residencies in some the worlds’ best clubs from Space & Cream Ibiza, Womb in Tokyo and Avalon in LA; or smashing sets at iconic festivals Glastonbury, Global Gathering and Australia Day in Sydney, D Ramirez is a definitive crowd puller across the globe. As well as commercial success with charting hits and even a Top Of The Pops appearance, D. Ramirez has received a number of illustrious awards throughout his career. Collecting accolades from the likes of DJ Magazine (best producer and best remix), iDJ (player of the year) and even an Ivor Novello nomination for his remix of Bodyrox 'Yeah Yeah'. His label Slave Recordings launched in 2004 exported a series of gems including a best-selling remix album of D Ramirez originals featuring the likes of Darren Emerson and Cagedbaby, establishing D Ramirez early on among the dance music elite. Harnessing some seriously refined technical skills built from over 20 years making music, combined with a constant thirst for new tricks and the latest kit; D Ramirez’s music production tutorials have become nothing short of a phenomenon racking up over 15 million hits worldwide. Inspiring a generation to take to their keys, most recently his SubBass DJ Masterclass ‘Making House in Logic X’ earned critical acclaim from music journalism authorities. A regular name on flyers for Miami WMC and ADE, his talents continue to be called upon by his fellow producers such as godfather of house Todd Terry (Love is Alive - In House Records- 2012) and the commission of a fully analogue remix of David Penn’s A Different Story (Toolroom – 2014). In recent years a natural exploration away from upfront electro and into the deeper shades of house and techno in 2012 bore the fruitful partnership with Germany’s uber cool Great Stuff Records releasing Tease Machine EP and the Fragile Tension EP (both 2012) plus his new collaboration with Ibiza Rocks House and celeb haunt Chiltern Firehouse resident DJ Guy Williams, The Motherload EP (2014). Mid 2014 saw D Ramirez fully embrace the further evolution of house with a series of hit releases, all peaking high in the Beatport and Traxsource Charts. ‘Love Game/So Special’ with Seamus Haji’s protégée Allusion (Big Love Records- Nov 2014) captured the imagination of the nu-skool with support from the American tastemaker powerhouse Edm.com turning the next generation of clubbers onto his fresh, edgy, bass heavy drops. A brief return to his roots as The Lisa Marie Experience with a slice of glittering disco house; ‘Got This Feelin’, was secured by Toolroom for the first of their new White Label series (December 2014) as alter ego Dean J Marriott and championed by Mixmag with a rarely given score of 9/10. Chosen by seminal dance music authority Data Transmission to host one of their first monthly podcasts of 2015 launched this new year off to a cracking start. A remix of the legendary Dub Pistol’s frontman Barry Ashworth’s side project Dogtown Clash’s ‘Jack Me’ (Westway Records- TBC 2015) has also been sending ripples through the industry already securing prime time radio spins from some of house music’s hottest new names such as Vanilla Ace, Huxley and B-Traits. With his studio now based in London’s creative melting pot that is the East End, enabling him to share a fountain of knowledge and collaborate with the cities’ ‘up and comers’ including Off Recordings ‘one to watch’ Barber; D Ramirez has proved his versatility and longevity in what can be considered the most tempestuous and fickle industry in existence. This is one star, who is permanently poised on the brink of supernova, drawing influences from every new sub-genre of house spawned from a 4/4 beat, D Ramirez productions are timeless, having sourced the perfect formula as to what drives dancefloors to pure destruction.