clarkey

Tearing his way up the line-up of every major event brand in the UK right now as part of the now infamous ‘Demo Sessions’ group, the DJ and producer, Clarkey is a bit of an unusual case when it comes to his rise and rise to the echelons of new breed, future hero status. We say unusual because in today’s traditional systematic approach to making and building electronic music stars; it is almost certain these days that an artist be first a producer, then a DJ; or at least be a good DJ, but stand out from the crowd and get more notification because of the original material they are producing and playing upon the up and comers circuit.

In the circumstance of DJ Clarkey, his breakthrough came almost completely the other way around. Noticed first as a DJ, Clarkey has always initially prided himself on his technical ability as an artist. Anybody that has ever had the genuine pleasure of listening to or watching Clarkey play will see that his love for music is unrivalled, his energy infectious, his nature, addictive and his craftsmanship when it comes to perfecting every mix, fade, chop, filter and scratch – sublime. It was this particular set of skills that got him noticed by internationally celebrated, game changing, Top 20 chart smashing artist (and one of the key players in the gold disc selling Clubland CD album series for All Around The World); Mark Breeze. Breeze discovered Clarkey’s talents after hearing (and undoubtedly enjoying), a demo Clarkey had created to push himself as a DJ comprised entirely of tracks from the now global phenomenon that is FutureWorld Records.

Rather like the labels outlook, Clarkey had shown strength in his track selection and exerted an uncompromising taste for mixing things up and crossing genres over. Laying down a mix that did not stick with just one format, did not play it safe, but simply and almost perfectly fused a number of ‘good records’ and unique sounds together to create a very entertaining mix. With flashes of electro, heavy doses of drum & bass, big helpings of hardcore, drumstep and a few other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure; this immediately won the attention and interest of not only label director Breeze; but also a now steady building fan base Worldwide after the mix was downloaded in several countries outside of his own native UK.

Much as it might have seemed like an almost overnight process to the untrained eye and ear at the time; the bedroom DJ from Barnstaple in Devon had become a much loved and much followed artist to look out for, joining FutureWorld’s line-up of promising future stars with not one single production on the table at this point. Not bad; not bad at all. For those that think it was a fairly swift process though, or for those in particular that were not aware of Clarkey’s early pursuits pre-FutureWorld, our wayward DJ’ing powerhouse has actually been entertaining the masses since 2007. Starting with his first stint as a Promoter, Clarkey’s residency at his own party ‘Random Noize’ got him noticed as a local talent to be counted, a rise which was quickly elevated by his second home grown event of his own making, ‘Alive & Stompin’ which, would be the platform on which he would be noticed by the team at Adrenaline Stompers, who had since booked him a record number of times as a regular and resident.

Since then and in the gradual build up to his audience with Breeze, Clarkey has musically engaged many a mass at events country wide for some of the UK’s very best rave providers including (arguably the UK’s biggest rave event organiser) HTID, at their infamous weekender of which he played the last two in Newquay. He also enjoyed big room performances at Club Ice in Westbury’s Dusk ‘Till Dawn weekender festival in the UK and won a competition to play at the now World famous ‘Run To the Sun’ Festival where he shared a stage with hardcore headliners and international legends such as Darren Styles and Gammer. In addition he has also, over the course of a longer period played at HTID, Secret Society, Totally Ardcore, Kore, Hardcore Unity, Subtrakt, Hard Funkin’ Bass, Digital Prophecy, Hardcore Reborn, DoggHouse, Resurrection, Serious Sounds, Karnage, Inpulse, Hardcore Raveolution, Rave Unity and Operation Hardcore.

Naturally production then became a firm focus, learning to produce was the logical step Clarkey was quick to be undertaking as the wayward DJ and Promoter was then listed as an official FutureWorld Records artist, meaning only one thing, that his production had to soon live up to the quality and innovation that already took place on other releases within the label.

Clarkey then released his several editions of the free download mix series ‘The Demo Sessions’ with fellow ‘Demo Sessions’ artist MC Leggett. The free compilation enjoyed rave reviews and feedback as a result of its success with downloads hitting the thousands in a matter of days.

This would be a series that would grow far beyond that of its initial members and creators. As the series expanded, so did the members of the ‘Demo Sessions’ group, as each release became more successful than the last, ‘Demo Sessions’ has quickly become one of Clarkey’s proudest creations. This is something that would allow the boys to become a fully live show, touring venues all over the UK meaning what was simply once an idea for a free download had become a touring show upon main stages UK wide.

Clarkey would later depart FutureWorld and take a short break in 2015 to become more family focussed and to take a back seat to supporting and working with other artists. His imminent and welcome return though would see him back in the studio with Team Demo Sessions, as well as doing production collaborations with the likes of Jekyll, Macks Wolf, Jakka B and offering support to artists such as Mizel & Wilson.

He spent the end of 2015 and launched 2016 with a huge explosive bang as he played the closing set of the gargantuan HTID NYE on the main stage with Jekyll and Whizzkid and has become a Hardcore Resurrection resident. With such a strong opening to the year, it is really no surprise that with further collaborations in both the studio and the main stage planned, 2016 looks set to be Clarkey’s strongest year yet.