“…music…soul food…it feels so fucking good when it’s good….”
Born in the UK and now settled in South America, James Monro’s immersion within the music industry goes back some 30 years. Having been classically trained at school, James’ musical influences diverged into a long and keen love affair with all things electronic. From his initiation into the otherworldly sounds of Yello, Jean Michelle Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Visage, Human League, Brian Eno, Georgio Moroder and the more left field electronic experimental bands of the early 80’s, and combined with a deep love of the psychedelic bands of the 70’s, disco and early hip hop, it was inevitable that he fall into a passionate relationship with electronic dance music. He entered into club land, journeyed through the early daze of Acid House, the uk’s “summers of love” in ’88 and ’89 , onto the beaches of Goa in the early ’90’s and out into the global circuit of parties and festivals that have since become his playground. All the while collecting the music as he went, finding and forging his own sound, and starting up the now legendary Flying Rhino Records with 2 friends in 1995.
With the dawn of the new millennium, the demise of Flying Rhino, and the development of his new label 4digitalAudio (with his label partner Grant Collins aka Excession) he took time out to settle into his own rhythm again. He started to produce both alone, and as 4D with Grant., and 2012 saw his Midnight Ramblers pseudonym (with George Barker, one one his partners from Flying Rhino) gain traction with an appearance on John Digweed’s “Structures Two” compilation with the techno gem, “Scarab”, which was charted number one by Nick Warren and heavily supported by the likes of Hernan Cattaneo and Robert Babicz. He once again came to the attention of Nick Warren with a contribution to his “Renaissance: Masters Series” in the shape of the beautiful “Ambientworkx7”. His releases have lately graced the likes of Proton Music, Bedrock, Renaissance, Stereo Seven Plus, iboga, Flow Vinyl, Blue Tunes, NamNam, Candyflip, 24hours Records, CityLights Music, Section Records, Twisted Records, Shifty Disco, Liquid Records and of course his own imprint 4DigitalAudio. Add to that music production for television and theatre plus co-founding the Tropical Beats imprint and DJ agency in Brasil, James has been a busy and productive player within the industry.
With his countless influences, musical prowess and production skills, as a DJ, James weaves a heady journey through all styles of dance music. So much so that it’s impossible to truly define his sound. Suffice to say it’s deep, its hypnotic, it’s emotional and above all fat and funky. James is always pushing the boundaries of what constitutes house or techno, and his passion for his craft has never faltered – his global schedule is testament to that. He’s been touring the globe for over 20 years, and still can’t get enough. He has played along side many of the leading lights of dance music – Carl Cox, Nick Warren, Sasha, Hernan Cataneo, Sven Vath, John Digweed and Dave Seaman, to name just a few. He has also played in some of the most famous clubs in the world, including Amnesia in Ibiza, Heaven in London, Womb in Tokyo, The Edge in Sao Paulo plus many of the best festivals and open-air parties on the planet – all the while garnering ideas and inspiration that have made him both a finely tuned producer and phenomenally passionate DJ who has cemented his name as a popular and seasoned favourite within the underground music scene…..
