DJ EZ

DJ EZ in 2016

DJ EZ (born Otis Roberts)[1] is a prominent UK garage DJ from Tottenham, North London.[2]

Biography

At the age of 15, EZ (known at the time as Easy O) started his radio career on a pirate radio station called Dance 93FM playing house music, where he remained for 4 years.[3] In early 1994, EZ set up his own pirate radio station based in wood greèn called Dimension FM, playing mostly rave and house music. Dimension FM didn't last long due to being closed down by the authorities.[4] EZ then landed himself a 4-hour Saturday and Sunday morning show from 8.00am to 12.00pm on another pirate station - Freek 101.8 FM[5] (it was at this time that he changed his name from Easy O to EZ). As EZ started getting more well known he was given extra show time and was also made a member of the station's management team. DJ EZ then started his own weekly club night called Club Z at the Gas Club in central London.

24-hour set for charity

On 10 February 2016 DJ EZ announced that he would be playing a 24-hour set, with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK.[6][7] He announced the event with a video on his Facebook page explaining his motivation and it took place at from 6 PM on Saturday February 27, 2016 until 6 PM Sunday February 28th 2016.[8][9] Fans watched the set via a live video stream on his website as well as on live streaming music platform Boiler Room, and donations were accepted on behalf of Cancer Research UK via DJ EZ's JustGiving page.[10][11][7][12][13] A number of notable musicians (including Four Tet, Eats Everything, Midland, Logan Sama, The Black Madonna, and Spooky) showed their support for DJ EZ's event via social media, and the event became a "trending topic" on both Twitter and Facebook.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The event raised over £60,000 for Cancer Research UK.[21][22][23]

DJ EZ on Kiss 100

EZ's first time on commercial radio was as a guest on high-profile Kiss 100 DJ Steve Jackson's breakfast show (Morning Glory) and house DJs Bobby & Steve's show. The guest appearances became more and more frequent and EZ was offered the chance to stand in for Tuff Jam on a few occasions when they were not able to attend to perform their 2-hour show.[24]

In November 1999, Kiss 100 offered EZ a permanent show on Tuesday mornings from 2.00am to 4.00am. Due to its success, the show was moved to a Friday night (Saturday morning) slot from midnight to 2.00am, directly after Bobby & Steve's show.

In 2000, after coming ninth place in a Kiss 100 Top DJ of the Year poll, DJ EZ was given a primetime show on Saturday nights from 7.00pm to 9.00pm, called 'Saturday Satisfaction', and another show on Friday nights from 10.00pm to 11.00pm, called 'The Hour of Power'.

From November of that year till DJ EZ's departure, he hosted a popular UK garage radio show called 'Destination Weekend' on London's Kiss 100 every Friday night from 10pm. It was a 2-hour show packed with old skool classics and the latest tunes from the UK garage world and featured occasional special guests. With him always was his sidekick Winston.

In 2002, his Saturday show changed to the earlier time of 5.00pm to 7.00pm.

In 2004, he won awards for Best DJ, Best Old Skool DJ and Best Radio Show at the People's Choice Music Awards in London.[25]

As of 4 September 2009, the 'Destination Weekend' show was expanded to air across the entire Kiss network. This includes South Wales and South West England, covered by Kiss 101 and the East of England, covered by Kiss 105-108.

From 8 March 2008 until 1 November 2008, DJ EZ hosted a second Kiss radio show titled 'The Bassline Mix'. This was broadcast on Saturday nights from 10.00pm to 11.00pm across the Kiss Network (Kiss 100, Kiss 101 and Kiss 105-108). The show featured UK garage and bassline anthems mixed non-stop by EZ.

From 20 March 2014, DJ EZ's Friday night radio show moved permanently to Thursday nights and was increased to three hours (9.00pm to midnight).[26]

On 4 September 2014, DJ EZ announced that his weekly Kiss FM radio show had come to an end, after 14 years on air. EZ states that he intends to return to Kiss for future guest appearances.[27][28]

Pure Garage CDs

In January 2000, Warner Music chose DJ EZ to mix Pure Garage, a new UK garage compilation CD. Pure Garage went on to receive platinum record sales and peaked at number two in the UK national compilation chart. This led to a series of albums mixed by DJ EZ.[29][30] The Pure Garage series is the best-selling UK garage compilation series. To date, the Pure Garage series has sold over 2 million records.

  • Pure Garage (2CD) - Released: 31 January 2000
  • Pure Garage II (2CD) - Released: 3 July 2000
  • Pure Garage III (2CD) - Released: 13 November 2000
  • Pure Garage IV (2CD) - Released: 5 March 2001
  • Pure Garage V (2CD) - Released: 29 October 2001
  • Pure Garage Presents Bass Breaks & Beats (2CD) - Released: 3 December 2001
  • Pure Garage Platinum The Very Best of... (3CD) - Released: 9 December 2002
  • Bass Breaks & Beats 2003 (2CD) - Released: 30 December 2002
  • Pure Garage Classics (3CD) - Released: 24 November 2003
  • Pure Garage Presents Four to the Floor (2CD) - Released: 29 December 2003
  • Pure Garage Presents The Main Room Sessions (3CD) - Released: 16 May 2005
  • Pure Garage Rewind Back to the Old Skool (4CD) - Released: 3 December 2007
  • Pure Garage Presents Pure Bassline (3CD) - Released: 30 June 2008

Ministry of Sound CDs

On 16 May 2009, EZ announced on his Kiss radio show that his next UK garage compilation CD would be released by Ministry of Sound on 15 June 2009. It was called Ministry of Sound Presents DJ EZ - The Essential Garage Collection and contained over 50 tracks on 3 CDs.

Discography

  • 4 Track E.P. (1998)
  • The Next Chapter EP (2002)
  • One For All EP (2002)
  • Just Turn It Up / The Overground (2003)
  • FabricLive.71 (2013)

References

  1. ↑ "PURE GARAGE LEGEND". 11 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "EZ Biography - The Beginning", www.djez.com, retrieved 2014-12-15
  3. ↑ "EZ Biography - Secondary School Years", www.djez.com, retrieved 2014-12-15
  4. ↑ "EZ Biography - Easy O Becomes EZ", www.djez.com, retrieved 2014-12-15
  5. ↑ "Garage Flower: DJ EZ - UK Garage mainstay speaks to ClashMusic...", ClashMusic.com, 29 November 2012
  6. ↑ "DJ EZ Announces Plans to DJ for 24 Solid Hours in Aid of Cancer Research UK | Thump". Thump. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  7. 1 2 "DJ EZ to play 24-hour set for charity". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  8. ↑ "DJ EZ - DJ EZ Special Announcement - Cancer Research UK | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  9. ↑ "DJ EZ raises over £58k for Cancer Research with 24 hour set! - South West Four". southwestfour.com. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  10. ↑ "DJ EZ - DJ EZ Special Announcement - Cancer Research UK | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  11. ↑ stagedoor (2016-02-27). "Live stream: DJ EZ's 24 hour charity DJ set". Stagedoor FM. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  12. ↑ "DJ EZ - Massive thanks to the Boiler Room team... | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  13. ↑ "DJ EZ 24hr Set in Aid of Cancer Research UK - BOILER ROOM". boilerroom.tv. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  14. ↑ "Four Tet on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  15. ↑ "Midland on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  16. ↑ "DJ Logan Sama on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  17. ↑ "The Black Madonna on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  18. ↑ "Spooky Bizzle on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  19. ↑ "DJ EZ Just Powered Through a 24-Hour Set for Cancer Research". Beatport News (EN). 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  20. ↑ "TwEats Everything® on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  21. ↑ NME.COM. "DJ EZ has raised over £50k for Cancer Research | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  22. ↑ "DJ EZ has raised over £55k for charity with his 24-hour DJ set | Music News | Crack Magazine". Crack Magazine. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  23. ↑ "DJ EZ scoops nearly £60k for Cancer Research after 24-hour marathon set". Mixmag. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  24. ↑ "EZ Biography - Making The Big Time", www.djez.com, retrieved 2014-12-15
  25. ↑ "Stars honoured at Garage awards", BBC, 19 September 2004, retrieved 2011-07-17
  26. ↑ "TONIGHT!! (Thurs 20th March) sees the launch of DJ EZ’s new show on Kiss FM (UK) from 9pm - 12am!", Facebook, 20 March 2014
  27. ↑ "DJ EZ leaves his 14 Year Kiss FM show", GetDarker, 4 September 2014
  28. ↑ "My weekly Kiss FM UK Radio Show comes to an end", Facebook, 4 September 2014
  29. ↑ Graham, Renee (2003) "Brit Singer Dances to His Own Beat", Boston Globe, 28 January 2003, p. E1
  30. ↑ Chu, Jeff (2003) "The Book of Daniel", TIME, 26 October 2003, retrieved 2011-07-17
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