Gaz West is on a roll. From relative obscurity he has emerged as one of the most prodigious young producers in Hard Dance. With a host of massive original productions already in the bag, ‘Visions of Sky Walking’ and ‘Sinister’ spring instantly to mind, and upcoming collaborations with a whole host of scene big hitters, the remainder of the year looks very busy for Gaz West.
Gaz’s description of his sound as "huge kick, huge bass, huge riff" is right on the money. There is no more powerful sound in hard dance right now. His pile-driving rhythms and trademark soaring epic riffs amount to a raw hybrid of European Hardstyle and UK NRG. Gaz not surprisingly counts DJ Scot Project and Überdruck alongside BK as the main influences on his sound, while the emphasis on pounding nrg in his productions can be traced back to mornings frequenting Sheffield hard house institution, Insomniacz. It was from here that Gaz first got into production around two years ago. Where as the dirty hoover sound got his friends and countless others into 1210’s, it got him into putting beats together on a PC.
In a short space of time Gaz has gone on to work with some of the biggest up and coming producers in the scene, including Alex Kidd and Alf Bamford/Technikal, whilst also establishing his solo work as the most eagerly awaited records on the shelf. This is a trend certain to continue; collaborations with legendary HQ ressie JP, Lisa Lashes and some 10+ tracks with Sol Ray, in addition to a remix of OD404’s all time classic ‘9 Bar’ will ensure that the DBD name never strays far from the forefront of the scene. That Gaz is next in line (after Colin Barrett and Paul Maddox) to be given his own EP on Tidy is testament to his stature as one of the best young producers in Hard Dance.
Ultimately this puts Gaz in a good position to achieve his two biggest ambitions: to play Dutch fest Dance Valley and to get some of his production work release on the godfather of German hard trance labels, Overdose. Along with his role as in house producer for Goodgreef Recordings, the rest of 2004 is set to be very positive indeed for Gaz West.
