Jason Eli
Born and raised in London, Jason’s early love of Soul, Jazz and Hip Hop (along with his relentless desire to go out and party) led him into Dj’ing. and by 1991 he was playing funky music in grimy pubs all over town.
By 1992, he was a regular fixture at Ministry of Sound, playing cutting edge house in the bar/ main rooms and mixing up the styles in the VIP room, maintaining a residency there on Saturday nights for nearly five years. His experience draws from DJ’ing with the likes of Masters at Work, Frankie Knuckles, Carl Craig, Todd Terry and Danny Tenaglia.
He also developed and matured due to regularly touring with DJ’s including Roger Sanchez, Kevin Saunderson, Xpress 2, Kenny Carpenter, DJ Harvey and Tim Deluxe all over the world.
Always on a journey for new sounds as well as places, he formed Albino Productions in 1997 with top UK producer Amar Saeed, drawing styles from both J’s Afro Caribbean roots and Amar’s Pakistani lineage. Albino’s music still sounds ahead of its time. Their track “The Journey” (featuring Mushtaq) is seen by many as a classic. These guy’s were blending Indian beats with Hip Hop long before Timbaland & Missy Elliot!! They played weekly at “Swaraj” (based in London’s seminal Blue note club) which was one of the first clubs to play fresh World music that could come from both New York and New Delhi.
Coming from a musical family, Jason grew up watching his cousins play funk & soul, and was inspired to learn the piano. At the age of 22, he was playing keyboards in legendary Dub poet and Rasta activist Benjamin Zephania’s band. Touring various parts of the globe playing dub reggae. As a producer, he has been involved in the nurturing of the UK Garage and UK Urban scenes. Working on the first UK Garage chart hit (“Good Rhymes”) and as half of the Marvel & Eli production duo, creating soulful UK G remixes for Whitney Houston, Lynden David Hall, Mos Def and many others. Marvel & Eli also produced the National top 40 hit “Can’t get used to losing you” for Colourgirl. Jason’s many other productions have been released by labels including Azuli, Locked On, Kickin’, Mousetrap, Sound of Ministry & EMI.
Now residing in New Zealand/ Aotearoa, he’s likely to be found working away at Groovadelica HQ, home of the production company, record label and club night that involves some of Aotearoa’s most exciting musical talent.
He is keeping things interesting and varied in his DJ sets too. His eclectic music selection currently encompasses Latin, Afro beat, Dancehall, Broken Beats and Hip Hop. Whereas, at the more “up tempo” venues, be prepared for some soulful grooves mixed with and edgy, cutting edge funky house.
Look out for new releases on the Groovadelica record label, where you’ll be hearing a blend of New Zealand’s life loving vibe with the funk of the UK and the Soul of African America.
You can, of course, catch him playing every weekend in various parts of New Zealand & beyond. Be prepared to sweat!