www.ismrecords.com
www.myspace.com/swingsett
Biography:
Soul, jazz, funk, hip hop, dub, and breaks of all tempos
are the foundation of David "Swingsett" Winsett's
long NYC DJing history, dating back to 1992. He actually
cut his chops early at his high school dances in '87+ '88
in Dayton, Ohio. Soon after, in college in Colorado (Ft.
Collins and Denver), he learned more of the art form of
DJ'ing, both on his own show on his University's KCSU-fm
station for 3 years, and also for random college, frat and
house parties. At the same time, he got into the active
club and early rave scene in Denver with DJ K-Nee and Cassien's
Step On Production crew from '90-'92. Then he moved to NYC!
He has been very closely related to and involved with the
acid jazz/rare groove and abstract/downtempo/ dubwise dance
scene in NYC since 1992, playing for dozens of Giant Step
events (they showed him love from day one!), Sound Lab events,
The New Music Seminar, CMJ Music Marathon, and WMC. He then
became heavily involved and inspired with the jungle scene
from 1995, as a resident at the United States' first weekly
jungle party, Konkrete Jungle (still going now, run by Mac
McFarlane!). His DJ residencies and guest spots have taken
him to countless clubs, raves and bar lounges in Manhattan,
Brooklyn, and worldwide, from Canada, The Carribean, all
over Europe. His greatest mark on NYC was left while founding,
running and playing at his landmark Jungle/Drum&Bass
weekly, Testpress Sundays at Drinkland, which was long-loved,
for 7 years straight, as one of NYC's best weeklies for
any style of music.
Swingsett formed a DJ/ production partnership with DJ Wally
from 1996 to 1998. Wally was his teacher in the art of editing,
sampling and sound reconstruction! Their 'Dog Leg Left'
LP on Ubiquity Records was
one of 1997's most critically and DJ-acclaimed releases.
During this time, he was first rated as one of the Top 100
International DJ's by Bikini Magazine and Streetsound, among
many other mentions and honors.
From 1998, he started working with longtime SF Bay Area
friend, J.Warrin (of Slide 5, Ubiquity Rec's affiliation),
as they shared an understanding and influence of dub, jazz
and soul, both wanting to start production and a new label.
They formed Ism Records as an outlet for their's and other
NYC artists'
collaborative 12" experiments with breakbeat drums,
heavy sub-bass and spaced-out jazz embellishments.
Swingsett's depth in music and beats as a DJ and producer
combined with J.Warrin's jazz musicianship and production
background, produce an innovative sound that seamlessly
moves between styles of nujazz, breakbeat, downtempo and
hybrid styles. Recording under the name DJ Swingsett &
J.Warrin feat. Lisa Shaw, they released a full length CD,
"Sights Unseen" in 2001. The label expanded to
include Esho Recordings for deep jazz house and ism'assive
for D&B/Jungle. Ism is currently on the rebound after
a 2 year hiatus! Collaborations continue. Since 2001, he's
completed officially released remixes with frequent partner
Takuya Nakamura (Organic Grooves, Ism Records) for The STREETS
UK, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, and currently they
are putting their special unique dance treatments on upcoming
remix singles for NYC's own, The Brazilian Girls and KUDU.
Swingsett continues to play as a staple local in NYC, play
internationally, and produce with his first wife- Lisa Shaw,
DJ Wally, Takuya, and of course, J.Warrin.
