From humble beginnings to a Glastonbury headliner: Introducing Jimi Needles

Jimi Needles is a scratch DJ and producer from Brislington. Fusing a range of genres and sounds together, the DJ has been garnering recognition for his DIY remixes and old school DJ techniques.

Like many DJ and producers, Jimi Needles got his start by grafting hard.

“I used to work in a local supermarket and the boss of the nightclub next door used to come in during my morning shift as his shift ended and I kept pestering him with my mix CD,” he tells Bristol24/7.

“He finally accepted it and took it home. Three months passed and I get a phonecall asking when I could start. I immediately quit my job and then started to learn music production in my day times.”

Spinning a mash-up of funk, breaks, bass and drum and bass, Jimi’s sound comes from a variety of inspirations which has influenced him from a young age.

“Some of my favourite music growing up were guys like The Avalanches, Jurassic 5, DJ Yoda, to name a few,” Jimi explains.

“When I was a kid I accidentally discovered hip hop, namely Public Enemy. The beats were infectious, and the lyrics, although I was too youg to understand what was going on, really caught my attention.

“It was also my first introduction to scratching, turntablism and vinyl culture. Fast forward to Secondary School me, I was into garage, house, metal, D’n’B, and from late 90’s hip hop discovered funk, soul & jazz.”

Jimi’s influences are obvious in the work he produces, his tracks refusing to be pigeon-holed and his cut and paste live DJ set encompassing a range of genres.

Not only known for the music he produces, Jimi’s also known for his love and respect for the retro DJ style, releasing a range of videos on how to record scratch.

The DJ is currently working with Bristol based label, Thick Boy Records, who released several of his tracks last year.

“Mark aka DJ/Producer Extra Medium, who is the label boss, is working hard to take the roster and clubnight to the next level,” Jimi tells us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck2mET0qSYj/?hl=en

“My main focus in 2023 is the work in partnership with them and to put out most, if not all, my official releases with them.”

As well as performing Thick Boy Records’ Thick Nights, Jimi’s performed all over, a personal highlight being Glastonbury in 2019; “I  opened the Heaven Stage at Glastonbury in 2019 and because it was a Thursday evening, I had a somewhat captive audience because the other main stages werent open until the next day. We had an absolute blast.”

His favourite venue to perform at in Bristol? “The Attic, by far. It’s the perfect size but still feels intimate, has a great soundsystem, and any musician and DJ that has played there knows they really look after the artists there.”

2023 looks to be a focus on more releases and more collaborations for the DJ and producer.

“I got a call during the pandemic from Krafty Kuts seeing if I wanted to collaborate on a mixtape. I’ve known him for a long time, but it’s kind of like ships in the night on the festival circuit but to be asked by someone who was super inspiring to me growing up was really cool.

We are currently planning something huge for summer 2023 after the success we had with our acclaimed Cut & Paste Christmas Mini Mix – but that’s all I can say for now.”

Main photo: Neil Raja

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