Nick Warren Details

Nick Warren became one of the first so-called "superstar DJs" in the mid- to late '90s, holding down a high-profile residency at Cream in England, touring around the world, and appearing on several DJ mix albums before they became commonplace. Though he spun an eclectic array of dance styles in the late '80s and early '90s, he eventually championed the late-'90s trance sound of labels like Hooj Choons and joined the ranks of other superstar DJs like Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, and Tall Paul. Furthermore, he dabbled a bit in production, collaborating with Jody Wisternoff as Way Out West.

Before leading a jet-set lifestyle, Nick Warren moved to Bristol in the 1980s after having just turned 20. By the early '90s, he was one of the city's top DJs, spinning upstairs at Vision, one of the city's first superclubs. At the time, Warren spun everything from dub and hip-hop to house, which became his preferred style. When fellow Bristol artists Massive Attack left to tour America in the wake of their early success, they invited Warren to accompany them on tour as their official DJ, a testament to his turntable skills as well as his reputation at the time.

Eventually, Nick Warren began a massively successful stint as the resident DJ at Cream in Liverpool. The club's stature grew quickly, as did Warren's as a result. Mixmag asked him to mix a volume in its Mixmag Live! series, which the magazine tagged as the "Future Sound of Europe." Around this same time, the mid- to late '90s, Warren was also garnering quite a bit of attention for his Way Out West collaboration with Wisternoff, resulting in several popular singles for Deconstruction, most notably "The Gift," as well as a self-titled full-length featuring the group's hits.

Next came an opportunity to mix the third volume in the then relatively obscure Global Underground series of DJ mix albums. The resulting mix, Global Underground: Prague (1997), featured several anthems of the time such as "Cafe del Mar," "Life on Mars," and "Nipple Fish," helping to define the then-evolving trance sound of the late '90s. Warren's mix proved so successful that he was offered the opportunity to mix a second volume, Global Underground: Brazil (1998), and then yet more successive volumes in the increasingly popular series. Moreover, DMC offered Warren the chance to mix the first volume in its Back to Mine series of downtempo albums. In particular, 2001 was a big year for Warren; the New York-based Mixer magazine chose his Renaissance: Revelation mix album on Ultra Records (also featuring Danny Howells) as its album of the year, and his second Way Out West album, Intensify, also proved to be a favorite among not only listeners but critics as well. Global Underground volumes followed in 2003 (Global Underground: Reykjavik) and 2005 (Global Underground: Shanghai). Nick Warren is a household name on account of his internationally renowned DJ career which has taken him to the best clubs worldwide, and has even scored him a residency @ superclub Cream (UK). Nick moved to Bristol in the early nineteen eighties at age 21 and began dj'ing to art students at his own club (called the Wiggle)

As the dance scene exploded into nightclubs around 1990, Vision opened in Bristol and attracted guests such as Carl Cox, Frankie Bones, and The Shamen. Nick was playing upstairs where he mixed The Carpenters and Frank Sinatra over breakbeats, played house records at the wrong speed and introduced hip hop and dub.

With the downtempo scene breaking in Bristol via a night called 98 Proof, Nick and a few fellow collaborators recorded a track under the name 0272 for a Bristol charity compilation album alongside contributions from Smith and Mighty, Tricky, and Massive Attack, whom he accompanied on their first US tour as official DJ. He began working with Cream following a successful stint at Liverpool's G-Love night and his dj'ing career rapidly developed.

In order to offer a taste of Nick Warren's DJ set to the masses, Cluboxed unleashed three Global Underground compilations (Prague, Brazil, & Budapest) representing Nick's set in each respective locale. A fourth one is on the way early next year, and the setting will be Reykjavik, Iceland. In addition, Nick Warren jumpstarted the DMC Back to Mine compilation, with his very own collection of downtempo tripped out ambience. This set most closely resembles the sound of Nick's legendary sets @ Club Vision.

DOB: The old f*@#er won't let us know!

LIFE BEFORE DJING: Gamekeeper

FIRST DJ GIG: 1986/7. Student Parties

MOST MEMORABLE GIG: Best: "Glastonbury, 1995, for Massive Attack. It was a buzz playing somewhere I'd been going to year after year."

Worst: "Bug Tan in Newquay. The stage was full of pissheads bumping into me and the decks and falling over."

FAVOURITE CLUBS: Cream, Liverpool; Hippo Club, Cardiff; Pacha, Ibiza

LIFE OUTSIDE DJIING: Artist and remixer. "I like fly fishing and watching football."