Charles Webster is the producer’s producer, the dj’s dj. He has sold over 100,000 albums without ever being considered ‘mainstream’ or having a major hit single…he has toured the world with a full (genuinely) live band…he has also dj’ed worldwide, playing regularly in every continent, without ever having had the need to be feted by the dance media as a flavour of the month…he’s had the nous to run his own label, he is comfortable making music at any tempo, straddles numerous genres with ease…bloody hell, he even writes his own songs. Charles Webster, respect, as they say, is due.
All the above is true, he’s an innovator in the electronic music scene, Charles Webster is one of the few real mould-breakers in an increasingly stale & predictable dance music world (though whether a man whose favourite artist is Rickie Lee Jones, and whose records ooze such soul and depth should really ever be pigeonholed as dance is another debate…).
It is no surprise to state that Dance music is still increasingly a dirty word in the media, but Charles production and indeed his selections are always reliably brilliant, almost random, (not all his tracks can be classed as dance, it would be impossible to put that tag on Black Sabboth – Planet Caravan, or Kate Bush - Army Dreamers), but in fact each selection is a carefully considered choice. He spends hours going through classic and contemporary music to sort out the musical abominations (as there are zillions of these) to find the few records that cause his the hairs under his hat to stand on end. This is his goal, to filter out the best.
It’s also important to explain that Charles has his own and much-feted label Miso Records, where he continues to produce his own records as well as working with other luminaries such as Tracy Thorn and Robert Owens.
And we haven’t even mentioned his internationally syndicated radio shows; his remixes for the likes of Salif Keita, Martina Topley-Bird and Fish Go Deep; the number of quality compilations still falling over themselves to feature his work (old & new) …
People love Charles. DJs love him for making their jobs easier…producers love him for the inspiration he provides…his loyal fanbase love him because they can trust him to deliver time & again. Twenty odd years in the game and Charles has the RESPECT of several generations of music lovers.
