MACKLIN, BEN / JAY P - [12] THE BEST THINGS

DJ and producer based in London, UK. Ben Macklin has fast become one of the hottest young producers to break through in 2006 with his versatile sound that crosses dirty electro, 80’s inspired electronica as well as energetic funky house. Since taking time out from his production partnership with Stretch Silvester as the Sucker DJ’s, Ben’s solo productions have been in huge demand after the underground successes of ‘Crush’ and ‘Release’ as well as the more commercially edged ‘Feel Together’ all of which have found homes at prestigious labels such as Azuli records and Free2air recordings. Ben is also highly sought after for his remix work and so far has featured on releases from the likes of Kinky, Whoop, Plastic Fantastic, Salacious, Apollo, Mono Type, Big Star, Trunk Funk, SUESSE, SR2, Free2air & Incentive. However, it’s Ben’s production on Conamore’s ‘I Got This Feeling’ and Pate No.1’s ‘Shining Star’ that have received huge support from the likes of Judge Jules (Tried & Tested and One for the Weekend respectively), Pete Tong, Steve Smart, Annie Mac, Seb Fontaine, Eddie Halliwel, Tom Novy, Lifelike, Space Cowboy plus a whole host more. Ben’s career started when he signed his first productions on to Seb Fontaine and Vern’s (Jay P) label Spot On in 2001. It was through this label that Ben began to produce with Stretch and the Sucker DJs were born. ‘Lotta Lovin’ (former Essential New Tune/Buzz No1) and ‘It’s Gotta Be’ have been two of the biggest releases to date although currently making waves is the dirty bass line driven ‘Fireworks’ featuring the vocals of the delightful Tiger Lily and is signed to Mark Knight’s Toolroom records whilst also receiving support from Pete Tong, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, Carl Kennedy, Eddie Thoneick & Funkagenda as well as being a former Buzz Chart No1. As the Sucker DJ’s, the pair have also remixed for Didier Sinclair, Wally Lopez, Reflekt, Parallel Sound, Trent Cantrelle and Asle. Ben has also worked with Vern under the name of Soulfilter and the pair did an exclusive Radio 1 DJ mix for Annie Nightingale along with the release ‘Slut Strut ‘ on Spot On records. Ben has demonstrated the darker side to his productions under the Gutterpunk alias. A remix of ‘Don’t Stop’ by Jaymo and Hauseworks on Salacious records was featured on Pete Tong’s ‘Pure Pacha’ CD compilation and ‘Up 2 11’ is currently being supported by Noir and was a chart No1 for Fedde Le Grand and is signed to Funktion records (US). Another side project for Ben is 80’s inspired ‘Cassette Club’ which consists of himself and long term friend Tom Corazon. Although productions are only still at a very early stage, 2007 should see more activity from the pair. Although Ben has signed many of his productions to some of the biggest labels in the business, he still finds time to run both the Sucker DJs label and Arkade records. So far the Arkade records label is in it’s infancy with four releases so far, however, over the coming years Ben hopes to establish his label in a similar way he has with his productions. 2006 has been a very busy year for Ben and the early part of 2007 sees no let up with a DJ diary building up by the week and a very strong release schedule of forthcoming productions. A rising star to watch out for… Also, for more info on Sucker Dj's check www.myspace.com/suckerdjs Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Born Paul Omiria Epeju on the 3rd of January 1987 in Kampala, Uganda. The 7th of eight born to Josephine and William Epeju.By the age of 3, his momma was strict and instilled a learning culture, the reason as to why he grew up speaking fluent English. His momma raised him properly with strict emphasis on discipline. By the age of six, his love for music had manifested itself. Some of his peers called him John or John Paul which often made him uncomfortable so he settled for the name Jay-P as he liked to keep cool indeed.He used to sing for fun silently realizing his God given gift. By the age of nine his love for hip-hop had matured. He loves a lot of music ranging from jazz to rock, hip-hop, RnB and more in the line of world class music having been inspired and empowered by musicians he considers as truly great without mentioning names. He used to rap at extravaganzas in church in his early teenage forming a team with his peers. He went on to perform at bars, night clubs and shows in school. At the age of seventeen, he was expelled from school for absenteeism and ultimately dropped out with the future of his musical career aggravating him. Not long after he started selling drugs and increased in notoriety as he engaged in crime. By 2005 he had started taking his music career seriously and seemed excessively ambitious to many who concluded his musical dream to be a fool’s errand which he ignored and continued to pursue with even more determination. He started working on a life time blue print which he named the Recipe and was to include his very own record label and chain of businesses. He completed University studying humanities and joined International Red Cross as a volunteer to serve humanity. Seeing he could not give up his music, he integrated humanities into his company activities. He continued trying to get signed as usual while building his company so that he would have something to fall back to in the event of not getting signed. His pre-debut ‘’The Unreleased Cut’’ was released in 2011 as a redoubt followed by his debut titled ‘’Credibly Evident’’ in 2013. Releasing a hot album annually is his ultimate plan for his musical career. He credits his momma for imparting business skills into him encouraged by his dad. He also grew up playing basketball and dreamed of joining the NBA however he chose music over it but remains intensely interested in the sport. All in all, he has become a target facing negative criticisms and opinions which the faint hearted cannot stomach. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.