John Kelley

about

For the past decade, Los Angeles native John Kelley has been considered one of North America's foremost breaks DJs - a true pioneer of the West Coast sound. Over the past few years, he has been busy perfecting a selection of edgy, well-crafted tracks that combine his signature desert breaks with a new flavor of hard tech-hop and broken beats. The release of his debut artist album, 'A Night in the Park', marks a new chapter in Kelley's long-standing career and, most notably, his transformation from DJ to world-class producer. John Kelley was originally known for his sets at Full Moon Gatherings. The influential series of raves held in the deserts outside Los Angeles during the mid-'90s created an emergent sound, led by breakout producers like Crystal Method, Uberzone, Bassbin Twins, and Electric Skychurch. Fused with the breakbeat genius of UK acts such as Leftfield and Underworld, Kelley pushed the intensely funky, hard sound of breakbeat techno from the underground into the masses. In 1996, Kelley released, Funkydesertbreaks, his first mix album with Moonshine Music patterned after his desert sets. The compilation became an instant hit, sparked a US tour and spawned a sequel one year later. With 1998's 'Knee Deep', he exhibited a transition into a more club-friendly mix of house, techno, trance and breakbeats. The release of 'High Desert Soundsystem' and 'High Desert Soundsystem 2', released in 1999 and 2000 launched a number of tours with The Crystal Method, Orbital, Car

top songs

albums

A Night In The Park

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BP Free Tracks

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Integrate

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A Night In the Park (Bonus Track Version)

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A Night In the Park (iTunes Version)

Knee Deep

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Groove Salad: a nicely chilled plate of ambient beats and grooves. [SomaFM]

High Desert Soundsystem

Funkydesertbreaks

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Desert Funk 1995

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funkydesertbreaks 2

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Lunar Funk 1996

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