Initially inspired by the constant throb of the radio throughout his childhood, the seeds of Paul Woolford’s future direction were sewn by the time a record-collecting addiction kicked in properly during his teenage years. This insatiable appetite for musical stimulation has driven him to explore far beyond the cutting-edge house and techno that is his stock-in-trade, and led him down more experimental paths, embracing aspects of improvised jazz through his collaborative work with Paul Hession, and taking huge inspiration from the modern composition of Steve Reich. All this is distilled within the house and techno dynamic that Woolford has made second-nature and you can clearly see these influences emerging across various productions. The forthcoming Planet E single ‘Tommorrow’ uses elements of John Cage’s Prepared Piano and re-contextualises this instrument through the gauze of Detroit techno.

Many know Paul Woolford’s name through the 2005/6 slow-burning hit “Erotic Discourse”, released on 2020 Vision, the Leeds label with which he made his name initially. The success of this proved he has the ability to create a genre-defining sound and led to sales of over 15,000, capturing the imagination of DJs across the board from Ivan Smagghe to Ricardo Villalobos, The Chemical Brothers, Richie Hawtin and DJ Hell to Francois Kevorkian, Laurent Garnier, Trevor Jackson to Erol Alkan. Indeed Erol Alkan described the track as “a modern day psyche record” and the track became a stone-cold classic.

He has since appeared across international media including the cover of DJ Mag and IDJ including a photo shoot from Tate Modern’s Doris Salcedo installation “Shibboleth” (after a personal email from Woolford, Salcedo gave her express permission). With each release Woolford is showing a level of artistry that is clearly on an ascending plane, and shows every sign of flourishing beyond.