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Sunday, 27 August 2006 |
 Born in 1973, Gwen grew up in La Baule, a place made famous for having the biggest beach in Europe and trendy hangouts on the West Coast of France. He almost felt in love with music at his tenderest age ; the latest being more than a mere pleasure for him, as the symbol of life and harmony between beigns. He soon started thinking about the way he could join the party which led him to spin at some local private parties before going to Luxembourg where he broadened the range of his musical affinities, having his first nightclub residency at the Rosegarden. He got back to La Baule 2 years later organizing popular local parties with other DJ's, where the crowd was up to feel his mix of Latin music, jazz and soul influences. Then, refining his style, he began production work, buying his first drum machine having in mind the works of Todd Terry and Kenny Dope who he considers as quintessential for him. Other people worth to quote as influencial for Gwen are names such as Bob James, Idris Muhammad, Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, War, Lonnie-Liston Smith and Norman Connors to name but a few. His curiosity and interest add to the diversity of his blends… Masters At Work, Blaze, Gilles Peterson, Mood II Swing, DJ Grégory, Erik Rug, Kerri Chandler, K.O.T., Maurizio, Dimitri from Paris, Paul Hunter, Osunlade and Phil Asher are amongst his absolute references. The big turning point for Gwen happens when Sylvie Chateigner – one of Karl Lagerfeld's best friends - doing the famous TGV parties in Paris, asks him to be on board alongside DJ Grégory, Bob Sinclar and DJ Yellow.
In 2000, he becomes the resident DJ of Villa La Grange, a trendy house club in La Baule and starts getting the attention of the crowd, spinning in numerous places such as Rex Club, Maxim's, le Cab, la Fabrique and le Queen, going from strength to strength. Soon, he would play for a Chanel fashion show, expanding the list of places he would drop the beats at, incl. Manchester/One Central Street, Leeds/Hard Times to name but a few, before starting a new residency (Soul People) at Le Carrousel in Nantes where he also drops monthly mixes on lacal radio Alternantes 98,1 FM. Gwen has released three comps so far, Villa La Grange series vol.1 & 2 followed by Gwen Deep Sensations all of them on French label/Distributor M10 Records. Meanwhile, productionwise, he dropped the soulfurious "Soul Conga" on Africanism II which later got licensed on UK label Defected. which eventually took it for their InThe House series. Enuff reasons to get him firmly in the will to develop his skills an down sound as a producer, currently working on new tracks.
Web info: www.djgwen.com
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