After checking out the clubs in and around London in the nineties and gaining an appreciation for Techno in all of its mutated forms Rob Stow exchanged his guitar for turntables in 1995. After playing at Analogue City, Eurobeat 2000 @ Turnmills, DNA @ The Sheffield Arches and United Systems' free parties with his fast ‘Millsian’ mixing style he attained his first residency for monthly Techno night, Rampant. At Rampant, Rob played alongside the likes of; DJ Rush, Frankie Bones, Daz Saund, Steve Stoll, Terry Mitchell, DJ Misjah, Trevor Rockcliff and the Liberator DJs, giving him a chance to develop his mixing skills and his understanding of the different flavours of Techno music.
In 1997 Rob Stow conceived Gravitation in order to explore his own brand of funky, minimal Techno. Gravitation #1 and #2, produced solely by Rob Stow, ventured into the funky realms of Techno. In 1999 Rob Stow teamed up with Jerome Hill (manager of TrackHeadz in Camden, London) to form Groove Asylum, whose first outing was on Gravitation #3, bringing an Electro/ Freak Beat influence to the label. On Gravitation #4 Jafar, another regular at Rampant, now spinning his skills on the House scene, made his first appearance on the label with the jackin’ Gravedigger.
After Gravitation #4 Rob Stow and the rest of the Gravitation crew released tunes on D.A.V.E the Drummer’s (aka Henry Cullen) Hydraulix imprint, Hydr 005, producing a mixture of hard warehouse Techno and funky minimal beats. After the success of Hydr 005 Rob Stow was invited back and produced two more EPs, Hydr 007 and 010, blending warehouse Techno and deep funky grooves.
Rob Stow has been working with Jerome on his DON’T imprint, again blending the jackin’ beats with the freak edge and sprinkling with Electro. DON’T 001 did the rounds on Radio 1, being spun by John Peel and Judge Jules. DON’T 002 was equally well received, this time in the U.S, being licensed by DJ Bam Bam of Contaminated Records.
Groove Asylum have been riffing up the clubs in London with their groovy freaked-out, scratched-up live sets. Groove Asylum have played live since 1998 at various nights in London including: Shtonka, Trancentral, Journey Inside, The Phuture, Defcon 1,Ugly Funk U.K, Free Energy, Antiworld and The We Want You parties at Brixton Academy.
Rob Stow continues his House projects with Alex Elliot under the guise of Bobby Strobe and Jafar. In February 2002 they won the Lynx white label competition,in association with DJ magazine gaining them a release on Plastic Fantastic. Since then they have releases pending on Debbie Does Dallas, Contected and Subrosser.
Since 2000 Rob Stow has released material on the Techno labels; Vice, Dark House Music, Uber, Maximum/Minimum, Apex, Uti and now Real Sessions. Working on these other labels has given Rob the opportunity to develop his now tight studio techniques and funked-up style of Techno.
Rob Stow continues to guest at Jaxx Discos’ events in Caceres, Spain, UTI in Scotland, Pure Filfth in Nottingham, System in London, Ugly Funk in London, Fluke in Serbia and of cause the underground warehouse parties throughout the UK. |
