Riley & Durrant Biog
It’s often said that writing an artist album in dance music is one of the hardest things to do.
As a producer of club music do you make ten bangers or do you drift into the ‘artist’ realm and make album tracks that bear little relationship to what you’re initially known for?
Well for Nick Riley & Andi Durrant, award-winning radio presenters, international DJ’s, remix and production artists for some of the biggest artists and labels in the world, the answer was easy. Create and album spanning a multitude of genres with such apparent ease that this could be one of the finest commercial dance albums of the year!
‘Research & Development’ features twelve killer tracks which see the lads drift effortlessly from the finest dirty house to deep techno, ambient interludes and of course not forgetting a dash of more trance-led moments all wrapped up in the finest production to give ‘Research & Development’ such a well rounded edge to create a modern master piece.
Featuring strong vocal collaborations with Gina Dootson on tracks ‘Hollow’ ‘Dead Of Night’ ‘Tears Down The Walls’ (alongside production skills of Paul Maddox) and ‘Magnificent Love’ the duo also work with vocalist Ben Renwick on ‘My Enemy’ producers Hauswerks on ‘Experiment No.2’ and a brand new version of their classic ‘Candesco’ this album will cross boundaries into many genres.
Having met behind the decks at the now deceased Gatecrasher in Sheffield, Riley & Durrant quickly formed a strong partnership. Andi already presented two of the highest rated specialist radio shows in the UK on the Galaxy Network whilst Nick promoted hugely successful nights in Sheffield and toured the world from New York to Japan on Gatecrashers world tours, the pair finally teamed up in 2004 when they launched their ‘Nu Breed’ radio show (again on Galaxy) a showcase for underground, unsigned and unheard of talent, alongside Andi’s two other shows the pair found themselves reaching more than ½ million people worldwide every week!
Through his radio work Andi recently won Bronze Award for ‘The Music Broadcaster Of The Year’ in the Sony Radio Academy Awards, just behind Radio 1’s Colin Murray & Steve Lamacq whilst beating Jo Whiley. The pair’s hectic DJ Diary sees them tour the world with gigs taking them across Russia, Asia, Europe and USA regularly rocking clubs like Cream, Godskitchen, Slinky, Passion Goodgreef, Judgement Sunday and their diverse play list sees them booked them alongside the likes of Tiësto, Sasha and Pete Tong.
2006 saw the guys take a step back from remix work and take time to focus on their debut artist album ‘Research & Development’. Stripping their sound back to basics they teamed up with a variety of hot singers, songwriters, musicians and engineers from scenes as varied as folk, indie, house, minimal, trance and electro making their first album impossible to pigeon hole without losing their unique sound. It’s the same combination of electronic beats, big basslines, melancholic vocals, guitars, synths and strings that you’ll hear in a Riley & Durrant DJ set, but carefully brought together to create something that works as well in the club as it does on a Sunday afternoon.
The boys will also be launching their Nu Breed Music record label in the next few months, taking some of the new and exciting talent from their radio program and giving unsigned and underground artists a platform to showcase their tracks and mixes.
Look out for dates at Godskitchen's OpenAir Festival, Gatecrashers Summer Sound System, Creamfields UK and a return to Amnesia in Ibiza over summer, alongside their busy schedule of radio shows, live sets and album tours.
Riley & Durrant Dates
Jan 1st - Goodgreef @ Mission, Leeds
Jan 25th – Superstar Boudiour @ Gatecrasher Loves Nottingham, Nottingham
Feb 1st - The Electrik Playground @ Mission, Leeds
Feb 16th - Elektrofunk @ The Syndicate, Blackpool
Feb 23rd - Sessions @ Vivas, Scarborough
DJ Booking & Management Enquiries:
Jay Pidgeon Management
Jay Pidgeon
Tel: +44 (0)7958 743 656
E-mail: jay@jaypidgeon.com