Colin Dale

A key pioneer of UK house and techno, Colin Dale’s widespread influence and legacy permeates into every facet of the music he holds dear to his heart. Colin’s penchant for forward-thinking music predates his connection with the electronic sounds he has become synonymous with. Going way back to his beginnings as a music lover and selector, the soul, funk and boogie he started out playing, also leaned into a more alternative style. Working at the highly influential Mi Price record shop in Croydon, south London, exposed him to a myriad of revolutionary electro, house and techno imports that were flowing in from the US in the mid-eighties. The sound immediately captured Colin’s imagination and he became one of a very small group of early adopters of the new electronic sounds coming from hubs like Chicago and Detroit.

Colin went totally against the grain to embrace this music, in a time when rare groove, jazz funk and other such styles dominated the landscape in London’s clubland. He introduced friends, like drum’n’bass pioneer Fabio, to house and techno, and, through his show on then-pirate station Kiss FM, introduced thousands to the music that would change British society forever. His three-hour show ‘Abstrakt Dance’ showcased the latest electronic music from the US, and UK, with the last hour (Outer Limits) dedicated to the more experimental side of electronica. The show attracted tens of thousands of listeners across London and surrounding counties, with tapes proliferated across the country and around the world.

A long list of techno luminaries cite Colin’s show as being foundational to their love for the music, highlighting his deeply rooted influence on the scene, nationally and globally. Parallel to his growing popularity on the radio, Colin was being booked to play all the best-known events of the acid house revolution and, later, the raves and parties that were vital to the development of electronic music culture in London and the UK. From Rip at Clink Street to Sunrise, Biology, Energy and all of the early techno parties – including his own seminal Knowledge event with the late Colin Faver.

Colin’s reputation and visionary outlook have taken him worldwide, from Japan to China and Brazil. A DJ who prides himself on maintaining his forward thinking vision, preferring to select and play new music, Colin’s sets are full of quality, with his refined skills and decades of experience creating outstanding experiences every time. Alongside his DJ and radio career, Colin has launched his own label – also named Abstrakt Dance – and invested his creative energy into production. A steady flow of releases has appeared on his own label, with remixes and solo productions also signed to a variety of respected labels.

Colin Dale is without a doubt one of the most influential figures in UK electronic music, with a career spanning four decades and still going strong. A truly humble hero, who is universally revered and respected, Colin Dale epitomises the role of a DJ as artist, entertainer, curator and educator all at once. A legend in his own lifetime, with an unparalleled legacy bound up in his unwavering commitment to music first and foremost, always…