Woody Madera AKA DJ Woody is one of Britains most respected hip hop dj’s and arguably one of the most innovative and musical turntablists of his generation. Responsible for the invention of a host of groundbreaking scratches and turntablist techniques including his famous signature 'Woodpecker' scratch, not many DJ's can lay claim to having had US legend DJ Qbert on the telephone asking for tips.
In 1999 Woody entered his first dj competition and by 2001 Woody had become the worlds most successful scratch dj by gaining more major championship titles than any of his contemparies. On taking a trip to the mecca of the scratch dj, San Francisco, Woody made history by becoming the first ever European dj to win the coveted World ITF title (International Turntablist Federation), following in the footsteps of such legendary dj's Babu (Dilated Peoples) and A-Trak (World DMC champion, Kanye West DJ). The following year saw Woody become 2 times World Champion when he stormed the Vestax Extravaganza World finals taking out competition from 14 countries.
Unlike many scratch happy turntablists Woody's roots lay firmly as an allround DJ and with his blend of funky, feel-good hip hop he has rocked the worlds dancefloors as effectively as he's murdered dj's in battle, sharing the stage alongside many of musics biggest names including Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, De La Soul and DJ Shadow.
In the last 5 years Woody has toured the world relentlessly in various incarnations taking in over 35 countries along the way.
Spotted by an American agent in 2001 whilst performing in Hollywood at the World Vestax Finals, Woody was asked to join the 'Superrappin Tour' as the only Brit alongside US hip hop major players Madlib aka Quasimoto, Wildchild and Declaime (Stones Throw), providing American audiences with a rare glimpse of the cream of UK turntablism.
The following year he joined UK hip hop's most accomplished tour the 'Russian Percussian' alongside UK super producer DJ Vadim and vocalists Blu Rum 13 and Yarah Bravo. This touring outfit was later to form Ninjatunes' latest hip hop phenomenon 'One Self'. Woody recorded the perfect musical scratchscape to compliment Vadims production on their 2005 debut LP 'Children Of Possiblity' and the One Self band had their premier performance to a sold out crowd at London's famous Jazz Cafe. They have since been performing to crowds of up to 30 000 at many of Europes biggest festivals and most prestigious venues, from the main stage at The Big Chill, Sonar or the epic Monegro festival to Fabric in London or the The Red Club in St.Petersburg. The group were described by the Times as "best newcomers of 2005" and were Channel 4's Slashmusic Showcase champions.
In April 2006 Woody released 'A Country Practice' on his Woodwurk imprint, it received a unanimous 'thumbs up' from the music press, described as "Jaw-droppingly awesome" by DMC Update, Lodown Magazine said "Honestly, I think we finally found an album by a turntablist that is absolutely worth listening to 'til the very last second!", it was also recently listed in Blues & Soul magazines' best releases of 2006.
So what's does 2007 hold for Woody, well for starters he will be taking his DJ skills to a broader audience again this year by becoming the official tour DJ for latin hip hop's biggest female rapper Mala Rodriguez (Universal Records). There are imminent releases from Aquasky, DJ Vadim and Zebra Traffic's Dirty Diggers all to have received the Woody treatment and he is currently working with seminal UK producer Tim Simenon on tracks for a whole new Bomb The Bass LP.
In 1999 Woody entered his first dj competition and by 2001 Woody had become the worlds most successful scratch dj by gaining more major championship titles than any of his contemparies. On taking a trip to the mecca of the scratch dj, San Francisco, Woody made history by becoming the first ever European dj to win the coveted World ITF title (International Turntablist Federation), following in the footsteps of such legendary dj's Babu (Dilated Peoples) and A-Trak (World DMC champion, Kanye West DJ). The following year saw Woody become 2 times World Champion when he stormed the Vestax Extravaganza World finals taking out competition from 14 countries.
Unlike many scratch happy turntablists Woody's roots lay firmly as an allround DJ and with his blend of funky, feel-good hip hop he has rocked the worlds dancefloors as effectively as he's murdered dj's in battle, sharing the stage alongside many of musics biggest names including Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, De La Soul and DJ Shadow.
In the last 5 years Woody has toured the world relentlessly in various incarnations taking in over 35 countries along the way.
Spotted by an American agent in 2001 whilst performing in Hollywood at the World Vestax Finals, Woody was asked to join the 'Superrappin Tour' as the only Brit alongside US hip hop major players Madlib aka Quasimoto, Wildchild and Declaime (Stones Throw), providing American audiences with a rare glimpse of the cream of UK turntablism.
The following year he joined UK hip hop's most accomplished tour the 'Russian Percussian' alongside UK super producer DJ Vadim and vocalists Blu Rum 13 and Yarah Bravo. This touring outfit was later to form Ninjatunes' latest hip hop phenomenon 'One Self'. Woody recorded the perfect musical scratchscape to compliment Vadims production on their 2005 debut LP 'Children Of Possiblity' and the One Self band had their premier performance to a sold out crowd at London's famous Jazz Cafe. They have since been performing to crowds of up to 30 000 at many of Europes biggest festivals and most prestigious venues, from the main stage at The Big Chill, Sonar or the epic Monegro festival to Fabric in London or the The Red Club in St.Petersburg. The group were described by the Times as "best newcomers of 2005" and were Channel 4's Slashmusic Showcase champions.
In April 2006 Woody released 'A Country Practice' on his Woodwurk imprint, it received a unanimous 'thumbs up' from the music press, described as "Jaw-droppingly awesome" by DMC Update, Lodown Magazine said "Honestly, I think we finally found an album by a turntablist that is absolutely worth listening to 'til the very last second!", it was also recently listed in Blues & Soul magazines' best releases of 2006.
So what's does 2007 hold for Woody, well for starters he will be taking his DJ skills to a broader audience again this year by becoming the official tour DJ for latin hip hop's biggest female rapper Mala Rodriguez (Universal Records). There are imminent releases from Aquasky, DJ Vadim and Zebra Traffic's Dirty Diggers all to have received the Woody treatment and he is currently working with seminal UK producer Tim Simenon on tracks for a whole new Bomb The Bass LP.
Hip Hop