‘You put a record out because it's intrinsically who you are. You put it out because it’s your passion.’- Paul Woolford AKA Special request, a man who wears many hats within the electronic music scene is somewhat mysterious yet triumphant in his production and performance. With more monikers than days of the week and 20+ years of production under his belt, there are probably a few records out there that you haven't even clocked he made yet!
It is well known his musical sphere has no boundary. Do you want snarling breakbeat techno, hardcore, and jungle? Special Requests AKA Woolford. Do you want electronic angular synths stabs and heavy acid lines? Bobby Puru AKA Woolford. Or maybe psychedelic tech-house? DJ existential crisis AKA Woolford.
The Leeds native has been taking over dance floors since his 2008 release 'Erotic Discourse' and now with over 200 official releases – everyone in the electronic music scene knows who he is – if you don’t… you better get to know.
Special request as Woolford puts himself is the ‘ruffage, the rowdy younger brother of his previous output as Paul Woodford’ – a concept as an outlet for his teenage infatuation with rave and jungle from which Paul Woolford's rave colossus was born. Debuting in 2012 with a string of self-released singles which were dedicated to warehouse rave music were then collected in 2013 to form a no-holds-barred EP and album Soul Music for Fabric-affiliated label Houndstooth.
Unsurprisingly, his musical resume is remarkable. From charting in the UK Singles Charts with a Diplo collaboration under his Paul Woolford identity to serving up a dystopian breakbeat rave remix of Lana Del Rey as Special Request, any fan of his will be only scratching the surface when delving into his discography.
The project encapsulates the intensity and chaotic norms of UK pirate radio and uses them as a springboard for a series of productions that range from heavyweight dark side techno to frantic jungle tear-outs in the eye of the storm. Releasing 4 albums in 2019 under special request moniker – providing the ammunition for sweatbox dancefloor with a multitude of tracks to make your neck hairs stand up while whirling you into a full-body workout. His enthralling and devoted audience only called for more and he, of course, responded with a collaboration with Tim reaper on Hooversounds, the brainchild of Sherelle and NAIN, followed by a Special Request’s ‘DJ-KiCKS’ compilation which constructs a mix that serves as a love letter to all the different types of club music that have influenced his sets and productions throughout the years.
He is undoubtedly the best of the best and his self-built capricious status now no longer requires additional verification from those who are in front of the booth or those who work behind it. Woolford continues to draw thousands of captivated dancers to his events, despite having a completely unidentifiable but persistent formula for success.
Supporting artist Chloe Robinson AKA Barely Legal, the mind behind label Pretty Weird joins Special Request at World Headquarters this Saturday.
When you are playing b2b with Four Tet or part of showcases with Jamies XX, releasing new EP’s with DJ ADHD, and have been on the graft since you were a teenager you are not here to mess around. The sterling selector Chloe Robinson playing under the moniker Barely Legal would be spinning a multi-genre electronic sound, a masterful fusion of garage, bass music grime, and dubstep which brought her loyal fanbase which has followed her after dropping her bass music linked to Barely Legal to take on the next step of her career.
She's travelled Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America throughout the years, and she's also shown her curatorial strength with club tours around the EU and Pretty Weird showcases and takeovers at major festival stages – under her new moniker she’s seen a switch up we were all more than happy to wait for; delving further towards house and techno, as well as effectively entering the world of production, which has drawn support from Four Tet, Caribou, Ben UFO, Bonobo, and Skream, to name a few.
She has been commissioned by the world-renowned BBC Essential Mix series, Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Boiler Room, and BBC 6 Music for mixes that have been collectively played hundreds of millions of times, including residencies for Radio 1Xtra and Rinse FM – cementing herself as a staple in the UK scene.
Although put off by production from sexism in the music industry but not afraid to follow her musical instinct she took the leap producing tracks collaboratively with DJ ADHD. Four Tet tweeting last year ‘’the best new club tracks I’ve heard so far this year have been made by Chloe Robinson.’’ She is not one to miss…
After seeing them share a booth at Warehouse last year we had to welcome them both to WHQ this Saturday for Special Requests 10th show, and an Ape-X debut for Chloe Robinson.
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