DJ Justin Johnson - Episode 054

This week we're thrilled to welcome to The Armory, DJ Justin Johnson of San Francisco. One of the hardest working men in the business, Johnson runs four labels including Barely Legal Records. While Johnson is an accomplished DJ in his own right, he is respected by artists around the globe and has helped us line up some serious talent for the Armory Podcast, which we very much appreciate (thank you, Justin!). Now press play and get down! Justin Johnson is a DJ and producer from the San Francisco Bay Area spinning Breaks, House, and Tech House. He also operates Cable Recordings, Barely Legal Records, Cylon Dub Receptor, and Southern Vice Recordings. With a discography of more than forty tracks, he has worked with John Selway, Johnny Dangerously, and Johan Afterglow, as well as remixes for iiO, DJ Punk-Roc, Nigel Richards, Velcro City Records, Beyond Zilla, and Quartz Lock. As a kid, he was raised on heavy doses of Blues, Jazz, and Funk, and when the New Wave scene started he became mesmerized by the sounds of the synthesizers, staying up late listening to the radio just hoping to hear Gary Numan or Afrika Bambaata. In high school he started to link up with other DJs, landed his own radio show on KSRH (San Rafael, CA), and honed his skills with good friend Mr. E and other local DJs. During his college years he would spend hours mixing with John Howard and going to the underground events in the SF Bay Area. In 1994 he made a move to New York City and within a year of being in the north east, his shoulder was tapped by Scotty Marz, the founding father of Kingsize USA promotions, to become part of the crew. One year later he had built up such a solid reputation that he was recruited by Scott Richmond and Jonathan Kadish (aka Mr. Kleen) to work at the world famous Satellite Records in New York City. Justin quickly made a massive impact in the store and became the Breaks buyer and the stock manager for all three stores (Boston, NYC, Atlanta). Satellite offered the opportunity to not only be on the cutting edge of new sounds and producers, but also to be able to help cultivate the sounds of other DJs like Danny Tenaglia, DJ Icey, Adam Freeland, DJ Dan, Dave Dresden, Thomas Bangalter, Todd Terry, and just about any other taste-maker in the industry. After years of consistently rocking the north east in renowned venues like The Limelight, The Tunnel, The Roxy, Roseland Ballroom, and Irving Plaza, he became known as the “King of Breaks” in NYC, and an appearance at a massive NYC festival (6th Element) was so impressive that it even caught the ears of The New York Times. Justin always brings the futuristic funk with him and you can hear his influences from the old school to the latest innovators - from Kraftwerk, King Tubby, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, John Coltrane, Giorgio Moroder, Gino Soccio, and all the way up to Bass Bin Twins, King Yoof, Lee Coombs, The Freestylers, Badboe, Olav Basoski, Maceo Plex, and Carl Cox. His passion for DJing is still as strong now as it was when he started more than twenty-five years ago, and he is still on the radio running his internet show called ‘Techtonic Funk Brigade ‘on NSB Radio (1st and 3rd Fridays 5pm-7pm PST). For more information on Justin visit: www.djjustinjohnson.com www.facebook.com/djjustinjohnson Artwork by www.jempanufnik.