Alan Simms
dr, IE
Musician of Dance
Alan began DJing as the acid-house phenomenon swept Europe, helping to establish Belfast’s burgeoning club scene.In 1993 he set up his first club night, Different Drum and began DJing all round Ireland. Soon the night had outgrown the venue and a change was required. From the ashes of Different Drum sprang the now internationally celebrated Shine, which remains one of the best clubs in Ireland and the UK.
Alan’s sets can comprise anything from low slung bass heavy house music, to solid funky techno, with an eye fixed firmly on the dancefloor. This open minded flexibility with an underground sensibility has been key to Alan’s popularity.
As A&R director of both Shine Recordings and off-shoot imprint BlackOut, he has overseen releases from Jon Carter and Justin Robertson, and the label's next release will feature one of Alan's own tracks, 'Disco Sucks', with a remix by Slam on the flipside. Alan has produced Eps for BlackOut and Mixmaster records, with others in the pipeline, and Slam have name checked him in DJ Mag as one of the UK's hottest emerging production/dj talents.