Kenny Hawkes

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Kenny Hawkes is one of those names that when it pops up it brings a flood of good memories with it. His releases, especially those on Paper Recordings were so influential in my  own journey into house music. And in the course of doing these mini profiles his name came up in a list of influential producers and it all came flooding back, so in homage to the man here we go…

Kenny Hawkes was a British DJ and music producer, who came to fame between the late 1980s and continued to be until his untimely death in 2011. He grew up in Brighton and is perhaps best known for his collaboration on ‘Play the Game’ with Louise Carver, released in 2003 on the Music for Freaks label (Luke Solomon label), although for me it’s other releases that really brought him to my attention.

Kenny Hawkes was one of the pioneering artists of British dance music, his records referencing the best of house music history. house music past, but was influenced by the sounds of hip hop, ska, motown and dub reggae as a kid. He learnt his DJ trade across Europe most infamous after-hours venues at just 18. In the 1990’s he returned to the UK a relatively unknown DJ. Soon discovering London based  pirate radio station Girls FM, run by a solitary DJ who was searching for talent to join him. Kenny upped and moved to London, where he really kickstarted his DJ career.

Girls FM went from one to twenty two DJs and was where he met Luke, and the pair quickly became close friends and musical allies. They went on to run one of London’s longest-ever-running mid-week club nights, Space at Bar Rumba playing alongside the likes of DJ Harvey, Stacey Pullen, DJ Sneak, Pete Heller, and Derrick Carter and more.

As a DJ/Producer Kenny Hawkes was a pioneering influence on the British dance scene. His discography is impressive. He released a Space compilation album on "Slip N` Slide" back in 1997, and went on to produced a plethora of successful singles "Jet Sex" and "Ashley's War" on the now defunct "Luxury Service", "Sleaze Walking" and "Ashley's War Part 2" on "Paperecordings" and more of course "Play The Game" featuring "Louise Carver" and "Dance With Me" featuring "Marcel" and "Kimra" - both of which were released on "Music For freaks”.

These releases showcased his talent for working with vocalists and live instrumentation, but scored him number one hits in the dance charts. Kenny also gained great acclaim for his remix of "Hope We Never Surface" by the "Two Lone Swordsmen" and remade "Big Fun" by Inner City” both tunes I love.