Derry born electronic music producer, DJ and all around musical grafter, Gary Curran continues his onslaught of underground music via his carefully crafted new concept, ‘Confute‘.
Armed only with a passion for the music, Gary dipped a tentative toe into the world of DJing in 1997, exploring a plethora of styles including pop, indie, hip hop, electro, house, and techno. It wasn’t until 2001 that his hand was turned to music production and it would take until 2005 before his music began to resonate amongst his peers in the scene.
Brainchild of Gary and friends, The Japanese Popstars, were born in 2006, becoming Gary’s sole focus and musical outlet in the 8 years that followed. A constant stream of music ensured and unprecedented rise to prominenece for the group with releases on highly respected labels including Virgin, EMI, Ministry of Sound, Strictly Rhythm, Gung Ho, and Bedrock Records.
Gary was described by fellow members as the ‘heart beat’ and ‘creative force’ of the act. And given their success, that was high praise indeed.
3 studio albums, a live album, and catalogue of remixes (including reworks for Beyonce, Daft Punk, Pete Tong, Depeche Mode, and Kylie Minogue) inspired further projects, ideas, and collaborations with Robert Smith (Cure), Morgan Kibby (M83), Tom Smith (Editors) and Green Velvet among others.
During this time, The Japanese Popstars had established and were delivering a blistering live show on the global stage, taking in many of the worlds best clubs and festival including Fuji Rock, Glastonbury, Stereosonic, Transmusicales, Ultra Music Festival, IMS, Fabric, Space (Ibiza), Government, Mansion, and Pacha (NYC).
An inevitable recognition for their ability to devastate the dancefloor soon followed with accolades including a nomination for ‘Best House DJs‘ at the 2006 World Urban Music Awards, ‘Best Live Performance‘ at the 2007 Northern Ireland Music Awards and four consecutive awards as ‘Best Live Act‘as 2008 Irish Music Awards. 2008 also saw them collect the coveted ‘Best Breakthrough Producer‘ award at the DJ MAG Best of British Awards, shortly followed by ‘Best Album‘ and ‘Best Live Acts’ in 2009.
Changing lanes in 2014 Gary’s solo project ‘Confute‘ burst on to the scene, garnering instant support from the likes of John Digweed, Maceo Plex, Carlo Lio, James Zabiela, Psycatron, Proxy, and Stephen Bodzin. His thunderous remix of Proxy’s ‘Iron‘ was the opening sako for the multi-faceted Confute adventure that was to follow.
An original EP entitled ‘On The Hour‘ saw the light of day in October 2014 on GEM Records, imprint of techno legend Secret Cinema. Within it’s first week of release, Maceo Plex had included the title track at Boiler Room in Berlin and was later announced as ‘Track Of The Week‘ on Chicago’s 101.1 Electric Playground.
A friendship with Boston-based ‘Viva Warriors‘ Will Monotone spawned the birth of Morrissey Blvd, a transatlantic collaboration and meeting of minds resulting in more exciting original and remix work ready for release. Other penned works due soon include a remix of The Japanese Popstars ‘Sample Whore‘ (Bedrock Records) and a track co-produced with R.E.C. dubbed ‘2002‘.
Gary’s Mindfully crafted twist on techno and tech-house creates a mesmerizing and stunningly poised balance between the epic and the deep. Teeth rattling subs and shimmering synths ensure his work is instantly recognizable, evoking an undeniable sense of precision and quality from a truly seasoned artist. never one to sit still, his desire to evolve and express musical instincts in fresh and innovative ways that each musical helix is as imaginative and effective as the last.