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There are many DJs who have enjoyed many column inches for shaping the phenomenon that is modern club culture. For some of these individuals, it was a question of right time, right place. Talented yes: opportunistic, definitely - and just a little bit lucky.
Dave too, as he'd be first to admit, has had his fair share of lucky breaks. Yes, he effectively blagged the editorship of the fledging members' magazine Mixmag simply by being their youngest, hippest employee. But it was Dave who made the company fully aware of the impact of acid house and railroaded them into launching the magazine fully to the public. The rest, as they say, is history. Yes, he was equally lucky to bump into budding production genius Steve Anderson at DMC's recording studios. But it was the pair's respective talents gelling that led the turbo fuelled hit 'Such A Good Feeling', followed up by a string of successive mixes leading to them becoming the U.K's first superstar remixers to the likes of Michael Jackson and Sting, to writing and producing for the likes of Kylie Minogue The Pet Shop Boys and Take That. More recently they have lent their unmistakable sound to bands such as Garbage, Pulp, Placebo and Blur as well as consistently songwriting for various projects.
Yes, he was fortunate that DMC was happy to back his and partner Nick Gordon Brown's Stress record label. But it takes talent to spot the likes of Sasha, John Digweed, Full Intention and Andy from Groove Armada, all of whom had early breaks on the label.
And yes it was a lucky twist when Mixmag photographer Gary McLarnen invited Dave to bring his DJ skills to a new night he was launching at the unlikely Shelleys venue in Stoke on Trent. It just happened to become one of the UK's best ever house clubs. The fact that Dave's DJing star is still in the ascendant some 10 years later says it all.
For years Dave has kept at it, feverishly yet successfully juggling more plates than most of us could imagine. Most recently he has focused on his first love, DJing. It has earned him a first class ticket round the world as the demand for his deck skills continues to rise. He's probably travelled more than any of his peers covering every continent several times over, whilst in the UK, he has graced every super club you care to mention, including Cream, Gatecrasher and Renaissance.
2000 saw Dave and his team of trusted, like minded individuals mould their company, Therapy, into a highly respected home for DJ's and artists including Timo Maas, Anthony Pappa, Slacker, Evolution and The Light. He continued to enjoy a fortnightly residency for Renaissance at their flagship venue Media whilst still managing a hectic international schedule and a summer season in Ibiza where he enjoyed events at Renaissance alongside such luminaries as All Saints, Moby, Kylie and Moloko.
Somehow he also managed to find time to compile another two perfectly crafted compilations in the guise of Renaissance Awakenings and his second outing for the highly revered Global Underground series, remix Placebo, Naimee Coleman and Human Movement under his Brothers in Rhythm Moniker, be photocopied in a life sized Zerox for a Levi's advert in Japan and present a BBC TV documentary on clubbing in Australia...phewwww!!!!
Dave Seaman who has previously taken Global Underground to Buenos Aires and Cape Town, returns with what is, beyond any doubt, his most movingly powerful mix yet: Global Underground 022, Melbourne. Opening the first disc slowly and deeply, a stark contrast to the hit-you-over-the-head brightness Seaman is known for starting off sets with, CD 1 of GU022 is a slow-burner, never quite taking over with a rush. Seaman at times even lets the mix float on its own, as it does throughout tracks like the Medicine remix of Orbital's "Illuminate", which melds itself perfectly to Slacker's "Looky Thing" to end the first disc.
The second disc of GU022, however, takes off with a bang, slamming into the funk of FC Kahuna's "Glitterball" from the first second. The explosive energy level somehow manages to take itself to an even higher notch as Seaman eases Sean Cusick's floor-wrecker "Consider The Ravens" into the mix, and slowly swoops CD 2 to a beautiful, trancey close with the vocal, Way Out West-sounding "Clear", followed by the highly anticipated Tom Middleton remix of Lamb's "What Sound", a track finally making its appearance on this album. The soft ease towards the end of disc 2 brings everything to a finish reminiscent of the sun setting at the end of the day-easy, low, and natural.
Dave Seaman's new Global Underground release brings an emotional depth to dance music that seems to have disappeared lately, and it comes as a welcome return. GU022: Melbourne also brings with it eager anticipation for whomever will next step up to man the Global Underground helms and attempt to raise the bar a little higher.
For more info check www.globalunderground.co.uk
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