A DJ's Journey: DJ Podcast & DJ History Insights

Deckard - DJ Podcast & DJ History
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After 25 years behind the decks, I've learned that every DJ has a unique path. I'm DJ Deckard, host of 'A DJ's Journey' - a podcast that explores the stories behind the music with the legends who shaped our scene. Where every beat tells a story.

  1. Breakbeat, Funk & the DC Underground: Rusty Belicek of All Good Funk Alliance | A DJ's Journey Ep 19

    Jun 3

    Breakbeat, Funk & the DC Underground: Rusty Belicek of All Good Funk Alliance | A DJ's Journey Ep 19

    Rusty Belicek found a Slick Rick tape in an Oklahoma parking lot at age 11 — and it set everything in motion. From DC's 18th Street Lounge to opening for James Brown to building All Good Funk Alliance with Frank Cueto, Rusty tells the inside story of breakbeat's mid-tempo underground. Topics covered: the Star Wars soundtrack as first musical memory, finding forbidden music in a Seventh-day Adventist household, meeting Frank at NOVA, the Funk Weapons label, DC's Go-Go scene, 18th Street Lounge residency, Swing the South production breakdown, opening for James Brown, the wedding DJ sacrifice, Burning Man and Funky Town, scene vs. community, and the hardware store as creative discipline. Listen on all platforms: 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-djs-journey-dj-podcast-dj-history-insights/id1804651291 📧 The Crate Letter: adjsjourney.beehiiv.com 📸 Instagram: @adjsjourneypod Chapters: 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:24 First Musical Memory: Star Wars Soundtrack 0:02:36 Off the Wall, Thriller, and the Sister's Record Collection 0:03:33 Punk Rock, Fugazi, Depeche Mode 0:06:06 The Slick Rick Tape: An Oklahoma Parking Lot Origin Story 0:08:05 Oklahoma to the DC Area via the Air Force 0:09:08 Meeting Frank Cueto at NOVA 0:10:50 The AGFA Sound: Trance-Techno Meets Hip-Hop and Breaks 0:13:22 Maxi Records, Choosing Mid-Tempo Over House 0:16:04 Going Full-Time: Labels, Day Jobs, Economics 0:18:00 The Wedding DJ Pivot: Kids and Sacrifices 0:22:33 18th Street Lounge: No Top 40s, Full Nights 0:24:45 U Street Music Hall: Opening and Closing 0:26:40 Winter Music Conference: First LP Deal 0:28:37 Go-Go: DC's Indigenous Sound 0:30:50 Baltimore Club: BYOB and Mark Farina 0:35:06 Swing the South: The Production Breakdown 0:41:25 How AGFA Changed Deckard's DJ Philosophy 0:47:35 Record Store at 16 and Learning to Beat Match 0:51:03 Burning Man: Funky Town and Early Bassnectar 0:55:55 Opening for James Brown: The Briefcase and The Splits 0:59:30 Ghetto Funk Origins   1:01:10 Whistler: Matthew Alien and Vinyl Richie 1:04:30 Z-Trip, Uneasy Listening, Cut Chemist 1:07:45 Where AGFA Is Now 1:10:00 The Hardware Store Life #breakbeat #AllGoodFunkAlliance #RustyBelicek #DJHistory #FunkMusic #DCMusic #NuFunk #ADJsJourney #DJCulture #DJPodcast

    1h 28m
  2. DJ History: Damian Harris on Founding Skint Records, Creating Fatboy Slim & the Big Beat Boutique | A DJ's Journey Ep 18

    May 20

    DJ History: Damian Harris on Founding Skint Records, Creating Fatboy Slim & the Big Beat Boutique | A DJ's Journey Ep 18

    DJ History from the architect's chair. Damian Harris founded Skint Records, designed the Fatboy Slim logo, started the Big Beat Boutique, and A&R'd Norman Cook into the biggest DJ on the planet. Now he tells his side of the story. From punk gigs with his brothers in Canterbury to acid house in Brighton, from living with Norman Cook to watching "Santa Cruz" become Skint's first release — Damian traces the full arc. He walks through the A&R instinct that signed the Lo-Fidelity Allstars in two minutes flat, the night he played a Justice remix in his office and said "this is the future," and the moment he walked away from the label he built. This is the companion episode to Ep 17 (Fatboy Slim). Same story, other side of the desk. First label boss on A DJ's Journey. Damian now runs Vicious Charm, his own independent label. 🎧 Subscribe to The Crate Letter: adjsjourney.beehiiv.com 📸 Instagram: @dj.deckard   Chapters:   00:00 Introduction to Damian Harris and Skint Records   03:42 Musical Beginnings: Punk to Hip Hop   12:19 Art School and Early DJ Experiences   16:53 Brighton: A Musical Hub   17:41 Life with Norman Cook   21:20 The Birth of Big Beat and Skint Records   30:13 A Historical Coincidence: The Birth of Skint Records   31:51 Transitioning to Label Ownership   35:05 The First Releases: Building a Foundation   37:15 Instinct and A&R Decisions: The Early Years   39:32 The Promise of Lo-Fi All-Stars   40:43 The Big Beat Boutique: Origins and Evolution   45:42 The Big Beat Boutique Era: A Cultural Shift   49:26 Balancing Multiple Roles: DJ, Producer, and Label Owner   51:40 The A&R Pipeline: Finding New Talent   54:29 Curating the Big Beat Sound   57:08 The Evolution of Breakbeat: Diverging Paths   01:01:48 The Evolution of Breakbeat and DJ Culture   01:02:42 The Rise of Fatboy Slim   01:05:40 Navigating Success and Pressure   01:08:44 The Shift in Musical Genres and Personal Growth   01:13:11 Challenges in Creating Iconic Albums   01:17:57 The Difficult Decision to Leave Skint Records   01:18:27 Exploring New Ventures and Creative Freedom   01:21:04 Returning to Skint and the Changing Music Landscape   01:26:03 Future Aspirations and the Vision for Vicious Charm   #DJHistory #SkintRecords #FatboySlim #BigBeat #BigBeatBoutique #DamianHarris #MidfieldGeneral #Brighton #UKBreakbeat #ADJsJourney   #DJCulture #IndependentLabel

    1h 32m
  3. Fatboy Slim: Big Beat, Brighton & the Big Beat Boutique | A DJ's Journey Ep 17

    Apr 29

    Fatboy Slim: Big Beat, Brighton & the Big Beat Boutique | A DJ's Journey Ep 17

    DJ History meets Big Beat in this keystone episode. Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) joins Deckard for a conversation nine previous A DJ's Journey guests have been teeing up since episode one. From punk bass player at 14 to the biggest DJ in the world, Norman traces the full arc: The Housemartins, Beats International, the four-ingredient recipe for Big Beat (Beatles pop hooks, punk attitude, hip hop breaks, acid house energy), the Tuesday-night Brighton club that named a genre, and the 360 DJ-in-the-round he invented at Brixton Academy because he felt outgunned following rock bands. Inside this episode: → Confirming the Krafty Kuts (Ep 11) dubplate story from behind the Southern Fried counter→ The James Murphy origin moment at Don Hills strip club in New York→ Damien Harris (Ep 18) being called in to be fired from Loaded and talking his way into inventing Fatboy Slim instead→ The NHS-funded DJ workshops Norman runs for autistic adults→ The night at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, summer 1999, that made Deckard become a DJ 27 years ago 📧 Newsletter: https://adjsjourney.beehiiv.com/Sign up for cross-episode stories, deep dives, and the conversations that didn't make the cut.

    1h 9m
  4. Why every DJ mentions Fatboy Slim | Norman Cook on A DJs Journey Ep 17

    Season 1, Episode 17 Trailer

    Why every DJ mentions Fatboy Slim | Norman Cook on A DJs Journey Ep 17

    Fatboy Slim. The name nine guests dropped before he ever sat in the chair.Full episode out now on A DJ's Journey, Ep 17. Norman Cook on Big Beat, Brighton, the Big Beat Boutique, and the Tuesday night that named a genre.🎧 Apple / Spotify / SoundCloud: https://adjsjourney.com/episodes/ep17-fatboy-slim🎙️ Hosted by @djdeckard👤 Guest: @fatboyslim#FatboySlim #NormanCook #BigBeat #ADJsJourney #BreakbeatMusic #DJHistory #BigBeatBoutique #Brighton #Shorts

    1 min
  5. Justin Rushmore on Building Finger Lickin' Records, the No-Rules Scene & Norman Cook Bowing Down | A DJ's Journey Ep 16

    Apr 9

    Justin Rushmore on Building Finger Lickin' Records, the No-Rules Scene & Norman Cook Bowing Down | A DJ's Journey Ep 16

    Breakbeat history gets the insider treatment as Justin Rushmore — co-founder of Finger Lickin' Records and one half of Soul of Man — sits down with Deckard for a deep dive into one of the most important independent labels in UK dance music. Justin traces his path from discovering Street Sounds Electro compilations as a teenager to throwing "French Kissing Balls" at 16, organizing acid house revival raves, and eventually meeting Jem Stone through a serendipitous connection that launched Finger Lickin' Records in 1997. This episode covers the full arc — how hearing the Freestylers' Essential Mix crystallized the Finger Lickin' sound, why the label became an "umbrella for no rules" in an era of chin-strokey dark breaks, and how Justin pushed Plump DJs to release A Plump Night Out when they resisted. He explains the Dog Star and Bar Vinyl as ground zero for the Brixton breakbeat scene, what it was like selling records out of the back of vans to the same shops he'd been shopping in, and how running a record shop became the social hub that attracted Lee Coombs, Krafty Kuts, and the wider Finger Lickin' family. Justin shares incredible stories from the road — getting kidnapped in an RV after a Mighty party in San Francisco, pulling back a curtain to find Lee Coombs DJing alone at his own after-party, and the night Norman Cook got on his knees backstage in Barcelona bowing down to Soul of Man (and later had zero memory of it). The conversation goes beyond nostalgia into what happens when a scene runs its course. Justin talks about the conscious decision to end Finger Lickin' after 10 years and 100 singles, the transition into Bug Club — his fleet of VW camper van DJ booths that have done over a thousand events including the London Marathon and Formula One — and the question that defined his post-label life: how can a DJ age gracefully? With Finger Lickin's 30th anniversary on the horizon for 2027, Justin hints at big plans to reconnect with the global community the label built. This episode directly connects to Ep 6 and Ep 10 (Lee Coombs), Ep 9 (Jem Stone), Ep 11 (Krafty Kuts), Ep 14 (The Freestylers), and Ep 15 (Plump DJs) — making it one of the most cross-referenced conversations in the series. Topics: Finger Lickin' Records history, Soul of Man, breakbeat culture, Brighton DJ scene, UK breaks, independent record labels, Bug Club, Bar Vinyl, Dog Star Brixton, Fatboy Slim, A Plump Night Out, acid house, rave culture, DJ entrepreneurship 00:00 Introduction to Justin Rushmore02:00 Musical Beginnings and Influences05:40 Transition to DJing and Early Parties10:52 The Rise of Breakbeat and Acid House18:11 The Birth of Finger Lickin' Records25:35 The Big Beat Scene and Community Dynamics32:20 Soul of Man's Place in Breakbeat History37:17 Pushing for Albums and Collaborations41:08 The Evolution of a Music Collective45:12 Navigating the Digital Shift in Music47:04 Personal Growth and New Ventures52:52 The Future of Bug Club and Events57:33 Reflecting on the Past and Celebrating the Future #breakbeat #fingerlickinrecords #soulofman #djhistory #ukbreaks #djculture #bigbeat #brighton #fatboyslim #plumpdjs #adjsjourney

    1h 16m
  6. Plump DJs: 25 Years of A Plump Night Out, UK Breaks & What Comes Next | A DJ's Journey Ep 15

    Mar 25

    Plump DJs: 25 Years of A Plump Night Out, UK Breaks & What Comes Next | A DJ's Journey Ep 15

    Lee Rous of Plump DJs sits down with Deckard for a DJ history deep dive — from the Freskanova Records scene and Finger Lickin' to a 10-year Fabric residency, Field Day Sydney, Coachella, and 25 years of A Plump Night Out. We get into DJ culture in the UK breaks underground, the Spain breakbeat revival, what's fueling the Plumps' creative resurgence, and their upcoming album Night of the Baku — out October 2026. A DJ's Journey — DJ stories from the artists who shaped dance music.

    1h 17m
  7. Episode 14: Breakbeat Music & The Freestylers — Big Beat, Rave Culture & Making Anthems

    Mar 12

    Episode 14: Breakbeat Music & The Freestylers — Big Beat, Rave Culture & Making Anthems

    Breakbeat helped define an era, and The Freestylers were right in the middle of it. In Episode 14 of A DJ’s Journey, Deckard sits down with Aston Harvey to trace the roots of The Freestylers, the rise of UK breakbeat and big beat culture, the story behind We Rock Hard, life on the road with Lenny Kravitz, and what still drives Aston today. They also get into rave culture, scene history, and new music with Dub Pistols arriving in March 2026. 00:00 The Musical Roots of Aston Harvey 02:01 The Birth of Hip Hop and B-Boy Culture 04:32 Transitioning to DJing and Music Production 07:29 The Rise of Breakdancing and Early Influences 10:20 Starting Out in the Music Industry 13:01 Formation of Blaps Posse and Early Collaborations 15:48 The Evolution of Freestylers and Big Beat Scene 24:21 The Evolution of Big Beat and Freestyle Music 26:40 Creating a Live Band Experience 28:20 Embracing the Journey of Touring 31:20 Navigating the Music Business 34:17 The Impact of Chart Success 37:09 Evolving Sound and Technology 41:00 Collaborations and New Projects 44:11 The Community of Electronic Music 47:39 The Unique Spanish Scene 49:35 The Evolution of Music Genres 52:23 Adapting to Different Audiences 55:18 The Cyclical Nature of Music 57:03 The Challenges of Breakbeat and Drum and Bass 01:00:41 Anecdotes from the Studio and Touring Life

    1h 15m
  8. Fort Knox Five: Breakbeat Origins & DJ Culture with DJ Deckard | A DJ’s Journey Ep 13

    Feb 25

    Fort Knox Five: Breakbeat Origins & DJ Culture with DJ Deckard | A DJ’s Journey Ep 13

    Breakbeat music and DJ culture meet in this deep conversation with Steve Raskin of Fort Knox Five. DJ Deckard hosts one-half of the legendary DC-based duo to explore breakbeat origins, the funk-fueled DC scene, life as a touring DJ, and the story behind Fort Knox Recordings. Whether you’re a DJ, a music lover, or just curious how the greats built their careers — this one’s for you.​ In this episode of A DJ’s Journey, Deckard and Steve dive into how Fort Knox Five helped shape modern funk and breakbeat, what it takes to run an independent label, and how to build a long-term career in underground music. You’ll hear stories from the studio, the road, and iconic events like Shambhala and Burning Man, plus insight into carrying on the Fort Knox Five legacy after the loss of Jon Horvath.​ Topics: Breakbeat origins · DJ culture · Fort Knox Five · Funk music · Independent music · DC music scene · DJ history · Touring DJ life · Burning Man & Shambhala · Fort Knox Recordings​ In this episode you’ll learn: How Steve Raskin’s early bands and influences evolved into Thunderball and Fort Knox Five The role DC’s funk and go-go scene played in shaping the Fort Knox sound What it’s really like to tour the world as a breakbeat/funk DJ How Fort Knox Recordings was built as a home for funk, breaks, and party-starting bass music How the crew has navigated change, loss, and legacy while keeping the dancefloor energy alive​ Keywords: breakbeat DJ, Fort Knox Five interview, funk DJ podcast, DC funk scene, DJ history podcast, DJ culture podcast, Burning Man DJ, Shambhala DJ, independent label, Fort Knox Recordings, touring DJ, Steve Raskin About the guest: Steve Raskin is a producer, DJ, and visual artist best known as one-half of Fort Knox Five, the DC-based funk and breakbeat outfit behind Fort Knox Recordings and a long list of festival-tested anthems. From early band days through major label deals, Thunderball, and the rise of Fort Knox Five, Steve has helped shape the sound of modern party-funk and breaks.​ About the host: Deckard is a San Francisco Bay Area DJ and host of A DJ’s Journey, a podcast exploring the stories, struggles, and creative processes behind DJs and producers who have dedicated their lives to the craft. Timestamps: 00:00 The Funky Roots of Steve Raskin06:17 Musical Beginnings and Early Instruments09:11 Education and the Art-Music Connection12:11 The Rise of Edsull and Major Label Experiences14:59 Transition to Electronic Music and Thunderball17:56 Fort Knox Five: Formation and Vision20:50 The Evolution of Sound and Collaboration23:51 The Breakthrough of Fort Knox Five26:50 Creative Process and Musical Philosophy30:46 The Creative Process and Collaboration33:05 Evolution of Fort Knox 5's Sound35:36 Establishing Fort Knox Recordings36:12 Blending Genres and Influences37:40 Early Shows and Canadian Connections39:08 Impact on the BC Music Scene40:36 Experiences at Shambhala40:56 The Release of Radio Free DC44:37 Balancing Thunderball and Fort Knox 546:06 John as the Brand Ambassador48:04 Burning Man and Legacy54:08 Bringing John's Spirit to Burning Man59:13 The Healing Power of Music01:01:22 Navigating Change and Loss01:03:36 The Evolution of Fort Knox Five01:07:37 The Joy of DJing and Being a Fan01:08:45 Curating Funk: The Label's Journey01:12:27 The Magic of Burning Man01:15:44 A New Chapter in Whistler01:19:19 Memorable Moments from Festivals

    1h 30m
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About

After 25 years behind the decks, I've learned that every DJ has a unique path. I'm DJ Deckard, host of 'A DJ's Journey' - a podcast that explores the stories behind the music with the legends who shaped our scene. Where every beat tells a story.

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