MANGLED

Tracklisting cd 1. 2. 3. Toffee Crisp 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Ray Mang is actually Raj Gupta - probably best known for his work as Block16 on Nuphonic with Pete Z and Glen Gunner. Last year™s Block16 album was critically acclaimed and received big props from Gilles Peterson, amongst others. The Ray Mang name was adopted because of some copyright sensitive re-edits that were done years ago - Ray was one of numerous mispronunciations of Raj that he™d heard over the years, and Mang„ well, it just sounded stupid at the time. Raj studied in computers in Manchester, and whilst a student he also played drums at Fever with Mark Rae and Ross Clarke, jamming over the top of records and also with the house band (which included Tom from Groove Armada and Andy from Organic Audio and the Fruitmix). Not being a dancer, he found playing drums a good way to remain seated in a club and still be an active participant. Raj was also a regular at Most Excellent and was a regular visitor to Quadrant Park in Liverpool where the likes of John Kelly held court. In many ways, this period counted more as a chemical rather than musical education, but it opened him up to more electronic styles of music. Prior to that he was a rare groove funk soul boy (though he did not have the polo neck). Re-editing combined two interests perfectly, Raj was an avid collector of old records but many had elements that did not translate well to modern dancefloors whereas other sections were desperately in need of extension, modern computer technology and sample technology offered a simple remedy and saved him from having to cut up old bits of tape! The various collaborators on the album are people he met via the scene in London, Nathan D™troit is actually Dan Idjut and Lee Tong is Leo Young the Italian Satanist. Raj first encountered the Eskimo crew when they asked him to play at one of their renowned parties. Raj describes himself as an irregular and reluctant DJ in theory, but once he has arrived at the venue and been fuelled by vodka he will take on the world. DJ Benoelie was working at R&S and signed Raj up for some releases, but when the label collapsed, David took Raj with him to the new Eskimo stable. This album is a selection of cuts from past releases, including the two R&S EPs, and amply demonstrates why Raj is the dubby disco don of London. Watch out for future productions by Raj - he has more Block 16 bits coming up, remixes for Zero 7 and Akwaaba and a remix of Wes Philips ˜Sucker for a Pretty Face™ on the Eskimo imprint.