Richard Dinsdale is a UK electronic music artist associated with house, minimal, minimal techno, dance and minimal styles. He builds tracks around tech-tinged electro and bass-heavy house, and his productions appear on UK labels including Renaissance, Kinky Vinyl, Big Love and Toolroom.

Background

Dinsdale develops an interest in club culture as a schoolboy in the late 1990s, first hearing DJ sets through his elder sibling and recording radio broadcasts at home. He also grows up around music in the family, including Motown records played by his mother. He begins DJing at 13 on a pair of unreliable belt-drive turntables, improvising with a tape player connected to the mixer when one deck breaks.

He later wins Muzik magazine’s Bedroom Bedlam award and upgrades to Technics decks. By 17, he plays at The Chunnel Club in south London. Pete Wardman of Trade supports him early in his career, and he later gains representation through Seb Fontaine’s DJ agency, Represents.

Club career

Dinsdale becomes a regular at The Cross in London. A key step in his club career comes with a warm-up set for MYNC Project at Type in London, where he draws a large crowd into the second room. He then plays the main room there as a resident. He also performs at album launch parties for Erick Morillo and appears on the Radio 1 stage at Glastonbury.

Production work and releases

He begins producing with Brighton-based friend James Day, using studio time at Skint Records. His productions and mixes are issued by Renaissance, Kinky Vinyl, Big Love and Toolroom. He also remixes the title track of the 2005 film The Skeleton Key, which becomes a favourite in Ibiza back rooms.

Influences and scene connections

Dinsdale says he first moves away from hard dance towards house after hearing labels such as Subliminal, which combine hard disco and house. He is also linked with a wider network of supporters and collaborators in the dance scene, including Erick Morillo, Mark Knight, Seamus Haji, Trophy Twins and Plump DJs, who count among his notable fans.