Blaze DJ presents the fifth edition of Ministry of Breaks on Scientific Sound Asia. Scientific Sound Asia is an Asian electronic music radio station, DJ agency, promoter and music-news platform connecting audiences across Asia and internationally.
Blaze DJ is a British DJ and producer from Walthamstow in London’s East End, whose upbringing and career have been closely linked to underground music and DJ culture. He credits his parents and siblings as early influences, having grown up with a wide range of musical genres in the household.
The 10,000-hour rule suggests that around 10,000 hours of practice are needed to master a craft, but Blaze DJ regards that milestone as only a starting point. The London-based DJ has spent extensive time developing an intuitive connection with the turntables, the records he plays and his audience.
Jazz, funk, disco, New Romantics and 1980s synth-pop all shaped his preferences before he heard the House Sounds of Chicago Volume 1 cassette in 1987. That cassette made him realise he had found his signature sound.
Music subsequently became a passion that informed Blaze DJ’s nightlife, career and lifestyle, and he began DJing at 15. His early work took him from local pubs in Edmonton to residencies in Birmingham and Faliraki, where he often played to crowds of up to 2,000 people.
As a representative of the Acid House era, Blaze DJ witnessed the UK electronic music scene develop from its inception onwards. Three decades later, he brings the same enthusiasm to his sets that he brought to the parties of the early 1990s.
House music has always been Blaze DJ’s focal point, informed by artists from different eras and worked into his own approach. His style combines classic house with breaks, acid and techno.
Blaze DJ’s work was not limited to performances behind the decks, as he also worked in DJ shops. He was the first retailer in the country to combine DJing and production equipment in one place, changing retail provision for the electronic music community.
In 2005, Blaze DJ felt he had lost his passion for performing and retired from DJing while staying in the music industry as an Audio-Visual designer and consultant. After a fifteen-year break, his enthusiasm returned and he came back to the scene with a renewed desire to excel.
By the time of this 2021 publication, Blaze DJ had secured monthly radio slots with Ibiza Club News, Underground Kollektiv and Scientific Sound Asia despite the challenges of the preceding year. He also had unreleased music and a label in development, co-hosted Sonic Alchemy events in Islington, North London, and organised Ministry of Breaks events in East London.
Blaze DJ’s Ministry of Breaks episode 5 opens with Fire:Storm’s Crypt on Funktasty Crew Records and Hybrid’s Demure remix of Flashpoint on Distinctive Records. Both establish the programme’s Breaks foundation before Soundbwoy Killah’s Burning on Hundred Flowers brings in a sharper breakbeat edge.
Soundbwoy Killah’s Burning gives the early run its first clear Breakbeat accent, while James Shinra’s Gritti on Craigie Knowes moves into Electro (Classic / Detroit / Modern). Mafia Kiss follows with Tundra on Punks, then Aloka’s Concave on Typeless Records and Hellen Prisma’s Electro Signal on Xclubsive Recordings keep the rhythmic pressure varied.
Lennie de Ice’s Johan S. Toxic mix of We Are I.E. returns to Breaks through Distinctive Records, with Skream’s Maruwa remix of Trees on IFEEL following close behind. AK47’s Broken Ankle on Zeta Records then leads to Carl Cox’s Josh Butler remix of I Want You (Forever) on iCompilations, introducing Tech House.
Duke Dumont’s Franky Wah extended mix of Therapy on Virgin EMI Records brings back a breakbeat focus before Liquid and AK1200’s The Dark on Brooklyn Fire adds a Mainstage lift. Jazz & The Brothers Grimm’s Casanova on Tam Tam Records follows with House 1989 character ahead of The Darrow Chem Syndicate’s Perfect Kombo and Hankook remix of No More Do D.A.T on Nipponeer Records.
The Darrow Chem Syndicate’s KALOCOM and KLÄU remix of Ero Submarine on Nipponeer Records sits alongside Broken Boy’s Sedition and Bubble Couple’s Experimental on Guachinche Records. Kid Panel’s Bring The Funk Back on Elektroshok Records and Colombo’s Move Move on Distorsion Records keep the later section rooted in broken rhythms.
Bowser and Rhades bring Superfreaks on LW Recordings, while Bombo10’s Camina on Xclubsive Recordings precedes Shygirl’s Boys Noize remix of TASTY on Because Music, the set’s confirmed House Music turn. Brothers Of Funk’s True & Original on ElectroBreakz, AKA Orange’s System on Rinse and Sub Focus’s Love Divine on EMI close the selection with Breaks and Electronica in view.
Blaze DJ Ministry of Breaks episode 5
Dimensional Holofonic Sound (D.H.S.) - Mars
Fire:Storm - Crypt (Original Mix)
Hybrid - Flashpoint (Demure Remix)
SOUNDBWOY KILLAH - Burning
James Shinra - Gritti (Original Mix)
Mafia Kiss - Tundra (Original Mix)
Aloka - Concave (Original Mix)
Hellen Prisma - Electro Signal (Original Mix)
Jeff Alford - Home (Blaze DJ Rework)
Lennie De Ice - We Are I.E. (Johan S. Toxic Mix)
Skream - Trees (Maruwa Remix)
AK47 - Broken Ankle (Original Mix)
Carl Cox - I Want You (Forever) (Josh Butler Remix)
Prodigy - Hyperspeed ( Sekret Chadow Edit)
Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (Rave Yard Mix 2017)
Jon Craig - Neon (Courthouse Studio Mixdown & Master)
Duke Dumont - Therapy (Franky Wah Extended Mix)
Liquid, AK1200 - The Dark (Original Mix)
Jazz & The Brothers Grimm - Casanova
The Darrow Chem Syndicate - No More Do D.A.T (Perfect Kombo & Hankook Remix)
Bowser - Oppo (Original Mix)
Bobby Brown - Don't Be Cruel (Blaze DJ Bootleg)
The Darrow Chem Syndicate - Ero Submarine (KALOCOM & KLÄU Remix)
Broken Boy - Sedition (Original Mix)
Fyahz, Bubble Couple - Experimental (feat. Fyahz) (Original Mix)
Kid Panel - Bring The Funk Back (Original Mix)
Colombo - Move Move (Original Mix)
Apollo 440 - Don't Stop The Rock (The Freestylers Mix)
Blaze DJ - Bass Now (Extended Version)
Bowser, Rhades - Superfreaks (Original Mix)
Bombo10 - Camina (Original Mix)
Oxide & Neutrino - Bound 4 Da Reload (Blaze DJ Cheeky Bootleg Remix)
Shygirl - TASTY (Boys Noize Remix)
Brothers Of Funk - True & Original (Original Mix)
Terrie Kynd, Shade K - Suck Da Whip (Original Mix)
Nitro DeLuxe, Norty Cotto - Let's Get Brutal (Norty Cotto Afro Tech Remix)
AKA Orange - System (Original Mix)
Sub Focus - Love Divine (Original Mix)
Listen on Mixcloud here.