Paul Woodford

Paul Woolford is a UK dance and electronica artist who works as a DJ, producer, remixer, collaborator, dancefloor experimentalist and label owner. He is associated with house, minimal, IDM, electronic and electro, and his output moves between club-focused tracks, techno, deep house and more experimental forms.

Career and style

Woolford begins with a strong interest in radio and record collecting, which develops during his teenage years and shapes his approach to music. He takes inspiration from techno, improvised jazz and modern composition, including the work of Steve Reich and Philip Glass. His remixes often emphasise atmosphere, repetition and layering, and he is known for bringing out more emotional or melancholic elements in other artists’ tracks.

He also works under and alongside a number of projects and aliases, including Toe Jam, Phuturecaine Project, Snow Monkeys, The Wackdaddies, 10,000 BC and Ford Inc. His work includes collaborations with Paul Hession and releases on his own Intimacy label, which he uses for material across house, techno and more experimental territory.

Key releases and labels

Woolford first becomes widely associated with Leeds label 2020 Vision, where the 2005 track “Erotic Discourse” helps establish his name. The record becomes a club classic and leads to wider recognition among DJs across the electronic scene. He then follows it with three EPs of Detroit-influenced techno and deep house for NRK, including “313”, “Sealed In Amber” and “Demons”.

He later releases material for Hotflush, Planet E Communications, Phonica and Intimacy, and records or remixes for labels including Mute, Environ, DFA, Gigolo, Systematic, InFine and Local Action. His Intimacy studio projects include remixes and productions for Depeche Mode, Simian Mobile Disco featuring Jamie Lidell, Morgan Geist, The Juan Maclean, DJ Hell featuring P. Diddy, Chelonis R. Jones, Maps and Delphic. He also sequences a minimix for Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show and makes his own techno-focused minimix for the same programme in 2006.

Live work and international profile

Woolford tours extensively as a guest DJ and plays clubs and festivals in the UK and internationally. His appearances include Benicassim, Glastonbury, Exit Festival, Global Gathering, The Glade Festival, Creamfields, Warung, Womb in Tokyo, Goa in Madrid, Panaramabar in Berlin, Smartbar in Chicago, Sankeys and The Electric Chair in Manchester, Cocorico in Riccione, Tribehouse in Düsseldorf, Avalon in Los Angeles, Jet in Las Vegas, Amnesia in Milan, Q Club in Zurich, and venues in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Venice and Paris.

He also holds a six-week summer residency at Il Muretto in Venice and a weekly Sunday residency at WeLoveSpace in Ibiza. He performs in Detroit with Carl Craig and Derrick May, opens the main stage of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, and takes part in Planet E’s 20th anniversary events in cities including New York, Detroit, Berlin, London and Vienna.

Awards and recognition

Woolford receives the Best Newcomer award at Ibiza’s DJ Awards in 2006, is nominated in the Tech-House category in 2010, wins DJ Magazine’s Best of British Best DJ Awards in 2010, and is nominated for the same award in 2007. He also appears on magazine covers including DJ Mag, One Week To Live and IDJ, alongside a feature timed to the release of The Truth.

Collaborative and experimental work

Alongside club releases, Woolford works with Paul Hession on improvisational and experimental material, including “Vanguard”. He also extends his remixer role beyond straightforward dancefloor versions, often choosing tracks that allow wide reinterpretation. His collaborative and remix work places him in contact with artists such as Carl Craig, Derrick May, Scuba, Appleblim, Norman Nodge, Kassem Mosse, Surgeon, Skream, Ben UFO, Francois Kevorkian, Laurent Garnier, Trevor Jackson and Erol Alkan.