Charles Webster

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

 

One of my all time favourite albums is ‘Born On The 24 July’ by Presence aka Charles Webster and one of my all time favourite tunes, from my Ibiza days is Soothe by Furry Phreaks, again Charles Webster. He actual musical output has been limited by the standards of most who’ve been doing this for over two decades, but it’s quality not quantity that is the mark of Webster.

 

Charles Webster is a British electronic music producer and DJ who specialises in deeper house music, as well venturing into downtempo and jazz. He records under the aliases of Presence, Furry Phreaks, and Love From San Francisco. He ran the now-defunct record labels Remote and Love From San Francisco, and currently owns and operates his Miso Records label.

 

Born in Matlock, Derbyshire, Charles Webster was influenced early on by Kraftwerk. He got his first instruments at age 13 (guitar, synthesizer, and drum machine). He studied art in Derby before moving to Nottingham where he began playing in electronic bands including Mile High Club.

 

Webster worked with US artists such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson through his job as a recording engineer at Square Dance studios in Derby, and moved to San Francisco in 1992 where he started the Love From San Francisco label.

 

In 1996 back in the UK, Webster started the Remote label. The All Systems Gone album, released in 1999 and credited to the ensemble Presence, which featured singers Shara Nelson (of Massive Attack fame), Sara Jay, and Steve Edwards, was described by Webster as "a collection of songs for the clubs and the home", and included the singles "Sense of Danger" (featuring Nelson), "Future Love", and "Better Day”.

 

Born on the 24th of July (Peacefrog Records) was recorded over an 18-month period between 1999 and 2000, and released in 2001, featuring contributions from Terra Deva, and Massive Attack vocalist Sara Jay. A remixed version of Born on the 24th of July was released in late 2003, featuring mixes by several Peacefrog label artists. After five years of touring and production, 2007 saw the release of a definitive three-disc Webster compilation project on Defected Records, followed in 2008 by a Coast 2 Coast compilation for NRK Records and Strictly Rhythms Vol. 4.

 

2013 saw the release of two albums from Webster — a retrospective compilation on Defected called House Masters: Charles Webster and a modern big band jazz album with Pete Wraight (as the Wraight-Webster Ensemble), No Lucky Days. Since then he's had a host more releases, some of them you can hear below.