BIOGRAPHY

UK DJ RVP based in Great Wyrley has been playing with music all his life.  Born in Walsall West Midlands in 1992 he grew up in an era where dance music was both revolutionary and a way of life.  Like most kids of the 90’s he grew up playing football with his mates, watching Pokémon cartoons and listening to radio.  “The 90’s lol! Yes, there are some truly anthemic tracks from that era, one I still play? Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You, epic track, it has a good beat” What makes for a good beat?  “For me personally a good beat is something that sticks in your head something that you find almost annoying, but you recognise it the moment you hear it.”

DJ RVP spent a period of his youth years plugged into a console and was an avid gamer, from the 8bit days of the Gameboy to the PS4 and every console in-between, he was all over it!  Anyone who was part of that scene particularly games like call of duty, the need for speed series and fifa of course will more than likely recognise his gamer tag ‘Recoilz’.  “I still love gaming, but my biggest enemy doesn’t come at the end of a level, it’s time – I just don’t have the spare time I used to have to dedicate to gaming like I used to.  If I weren’t a DJ? I’d love to work in the gaming industry or within the mental health industry specifically dementia both of these industries hold a special place inside me”. 

After leaving school RVP worked a couple of different jobs, “First job I worked was with dementia patients, both in a care home and in the community as a personal activity leader and a carer.  The job was both very rewarding and exhausting.  I Then moved into the automotive industry doing specialist car rentals, basically, I used to provide very unique vehicles to the people with mobility issues that needed them, such as wheelchair vehicles or vehicles that needed driving adaptions”.  RVP is very family orientated and openly admits that his Mum is his number one fan “She supports everything I do.  My Grandparents though are the ones who taught me core values, what they have imparted to me so far through my life is unforgettable”. 

As RVP grew older and started going out with his mates he’d soon be drawn towards the club scene.  “On a night out we’d start out in a fine cocktail bar or two before its time to visit the clubs where I like to get a table booked or get a vip table booked with friends it allows me time to both enjoy the environment and be able party as well”.  This combined with his admiration of a close friend who was a DJ was the spark that lit the fuse of his DJ career “I used to watch my friend mixing house music at events and I got into promoting a few events before convincing him to show me the basics lol!  I used to go and practice every night for an hour or two at a local venue to my house after I’d finished working, spending hours figuring out what all the kit did before finally mastering the CDJ’s enough to playing my first DJ set some months later”.  RVP soon submitted to the fact that he had always listened ‘deeper’ to music than others, he had that ‘je nes sais quoi’ that all great DJ’s have – being able to understand what moves a dance floor, what makes a good beat and all the other subtle yet obvious segments of a track that all DJ’s hone in on.

Early on in his DJ Career RVP was says the best piece of advice he had been was don’t focus on what everyone else is doing, “Stay in your own lane keep your head up and work hard to achieve your goals“.  This has been true of his career so far, carving out a path unique and true to himself in a world where copycat culture is sadly the norm.  “I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel or anything with my DJ’n, at the end of the day I want the crowd to have a good time and for my sets to resonate with them, all too often I see people playing music with little or no care of how it all fits together, just track after synced track of back to back floor fillers with no thought on how they could be improved.  Some people call it a hobby some people call it a job for me music is part of life its inside you even if you realise it or not you may not be musically gifted but there is always going to be songs you can connect with memories that go with music you hear, whether is by radio or streaming or just in the background of a location you in music can trigger many responses from you, Emotion, dance, feeling, passion. There is always a way to connect with music any emotional state you may face music is always there to help you release”.

So, what is the creative process and workflow for DJ RVP?  “I honestly don’t have a set trend so to speak I’ve always got music on in the background of what I’m doing, but it could be any kind of music that you can think of, I like to use acapellas and I like to throw them in and out of my DJ sets to bring a new variation of what I’m doing, as well as this I’m always looking for tracks that maybe aren’t getting played by other DJs and trying to find a way of making them relevant in my DJ sets.  The first song of the night is always a hard choice and it completely depends on the venue that I’m playing and the crowd that is in front of me - picking the right song at the right time is essential”.  RVP produces studio mixes on a regular, both for his own pleasure but also to keep his listener base up to speed with what he’s currently tuned into “I’m my own worst critic sometimes so I will go through my tracks and always pick what tracks are both relevant and catchy, I will then listen through the tracks I’ve picked in a playlist until I’m happy with the order. Following on from this I will have practice mix sessions with the tracks and try to find little wordplays in the songs or transitions that would work nicely together until I’m happy with the order to record the mix. This often takes a while to get the mix how I want it as all my mixes are recorded live. When I’m finally happy with the mix I try to get it released at a comfortable time for people to listen to them.  For those who are interested my current favoured live set-up is either a Full CDJ club setup (2xCDJ & Mixer) with a Rane SL3 Serato box and Notivation Dicers or alternatively the controller of personal choice and selection at the moment is the Denon MCX8000”.

DJ RVP can offer an energetic and versatile set suited to any crowd, he can play open genre and is very comfortable with using a mic “I’m not afraid of the mic unlike some DJ’s who just want to mix, not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s about what you are comfortable doing and working within that comfort zone”.

DJ RVP so far has played successful residences and guest spots both here in the UK and Europe, including two consecutive Summer seasons in Zante, holding four residencies and playing to a different crowd every night alongside numerous boat parties during the day. Some of the notable artists and celebs he has worked alongside include Shane Smith aka Mr reckless MC, Hannah Wants, James Hype, Nathan Dawe, Missin Lync, Rudimentals Thomas Jules, Aaron Chalmers (Geordie Shore), Ricky Rayment (Towie), Preditah, Chrissy Meechan, Jonny paradise and many others. Here in the UK RVP has enjoyed regular work and residences here in the UK’s Second City – Birmingham with the regular sets played at the monthly sold-out event K/SS at the Slug & Lettuce, Obar at Penny Blacks along with other West Midlands events like Paradise in Lichfield and CSN in Newport. RVP fits in one off appearances up and down the country too, however, all that was about to change…

“I have this image in my head of the crowd, just a barmy as ever, without a care in the world just as I’m dropping the last track I played in my set before the world changed. It’s frozen there like an old VHS tape on pause lol! No one really knew what was ahead then, I think if we did, we’d have all gone out with much more of a bang! I for one never imagined just how much my life was going to change from that Saturday night in March 2020”. Being forced into national lockdown by the UK Government to help prevent the spread of the Covid19 virus brought about a new normal in the UK. Bars and Clubs for the first time in history were closed permanently with no due to date of a return apart from “When it is safe”. “With my regular income gone, I needed to find a solution and replace this which I did pretty quickly as there is always work out there for those who want it. This gave me the ability to then spend more quality time with my family, who, no matter what, have always had my back and supported me. Now it was my turn to be there for them too”.

With no gigs to play live to crowds in venues and none on the horizon RVP took to live streaming, something he was familiar with from his gaming days “It was refreshing to play sets via online streaming platform much in the same way I would stream video gaming some years ago. This became highly competitive with other DJ’s as we all strived to be the DJ who’s set was live the longest on a certain social media platform before it was taken down lol!” These live streams would lead to him getting his own show on a new digital radio station that he was part of the launch of in late 2020 – Gorgeous FM. “I won’t lie, hosting my own dance show on radio has always been top of my agenda. The beauty of digital radio is that along with all the local support there are people tuning in or catching up with the show all over the world each week! Having the 7-9pm slot is a great way to start the weekend, much like when I was a kid growing up and listening to Pete Tong and then Annie Mac on BBC Radio One – they were with me and getting me ready for the weekend as I shaved, showered, sorted out what to wear, and arranged my weekend antics. I hope to inspire and excite others the way they did for me, to coin a phrase – the weekend (truly) starts here lol!”. Each week RVP is joined by a guest DJ who introduces their guest mix. “Engaging with other DJ’s has always been an important part of the culture for me, whether that be up and coming talent, my piers or my heroes, I want to meet as many, share views and thoughts as I believe we can all learn from each other no matter where in life we are”. The radio show has given RVP the platform he has always aimed for to both showcase his skills and champion others talent through music which may not of been heard, played regularly or just introduced fresh off the slab!

Christmas and New Year, like all the other Bank Holidays of 2020 came to pass without one single foot near a dancefloor anywhere in the UK. “It’s been a real eye opener to look back upon nights that have passed, amazing nights that I’ve taken for granted at the time, nights I thought would last forever – week in, week out. It makes you realise now more than ever, that even when you feel it’s not the best night ever, cause something isn’t going exactly as you wished it would, you should do your best to turn it around as you don’t know what is around the corner, how long you have…”. Having his Grandfather pass away suddenly at the beginning of 2021 has brought a new level of maturity and responsibility to RVP “He was/IS my number one inspiration and I’ve a lot to live upto in the way of stepping onto those very big shoes of his. I miss him more than words can say and as long as he looks down on me proudly each day then it’ll be OK”. Moving forward RVP continues to grow and develop his radio show, is in talks with a few venues ahead of the world ‘reopening for business’ and is exploring opportunities away from DJ work including modelling. “It’s something I’ve done a few times, more often than not forced into it unwillingly and then ended up having a great time and a laugh. I’m quite proud of some of the work I’ve done. Do I want to be the next top model? No! It’s just part of the journey man, something that’s almost expected by promotors and sponsors, another story to tell the nurses in the care home when I retire lol!”.

“What’s the high point of my DJ career so far? Apart from the weekly radio show I think it’s a tie between two moments - the first of which was seeing my name/logo on flyers in Zante advertising the boat party and the DJs. The second was probably playing to 1000+ people in my favourite Venue - Electric Ballroom in Drogheda Ireland for St Patricks Day and Having my logo in flashing lights behind me, good times!”.