Jon Carter | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Monkey Mafia |
| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) Essex, England |
| Origin | Portsmouth,Hampshire, England |
| Genres | Big beat,electronic |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, turntables |
| Years active | 1992–2004 |
| Labels | Wall of Sound |
| Spouse | |
Jon Carter (born 1970[1] inEssex, England) is an English electronic musician. He initially rose to prominence in the 1990s as abig beat DJ.[2] However, as his career progressed both his productions and his DJ sets began including a variety of musical styles. From 2004 onwards, he began to scale back his DJing due totinnitus, but simultaneously launched a second career as a businessman, co-founding a company that runs a chain of live musicpubs across London.
Carter began his musical career playing in bands when he was atSouthampton University. Dropping out of his studies, he moved back to London and started to learn studio engineering, ending up working in the No U-Turn studios which at the time was involved in the nascentjungle scene of the early 1990s. During his spare time, Carter began making his own tracks, which caught the ear ofMark Jones, the founder of theWall of Sound record label. Carter was eventually signed to Wall of Sound and released his first record "The Dollar" under the name Artery.[3]
At around the same time, Carter was one of the regular DJs atThe Heavenly Social, a Sunday evening club in the Albany pub onGreat Portland Street in central London. Alongside the other regular DJsthe Chemical Brothers,Fatboy Slim and Richard Fearless ofDeath in Vegas, the night was instrumental in developing the form ofelectronic dance music that became known asbig beat, with its mix of rock,hip hop andbreakbeat, as well as dance.[3][4]
In 1995, Carter left Wall of Sound and signed withHeavenly Records to producedub anddancehall-influenced dance music under the name of Monkey Mafia. The project developed into a full band playing live shows, and an album,Shoot the Boss, appeared in 1998. By now he was also in demand to produce mix albums and remix songs by bands as diverse asU2,Manic Street Preachers andthe Beach Boys. By the end of the 1990s he had secured DJ residencies at several nightclubs in the UK and was regularly playing sets abroad.[4]
In 1999, Carter moved back to Wall of Sound and its new subsidiary Nu Camp to release "Women Beat Their Men", ahouse record under the new pseudonym of Junior Cartier. In 2003, he and fellow DJ Tim Sheridan formed a short-lived record company, Saville Row, and released a few singles on the label.[citation needed]
A severe bout of tinnitus curtailed his DJing activity and brought a halt to his record productions for a couple of years,[5] but by 2008 Carter had returned, first with another one-off collaboration with Tim Sheridan, and then "The Rabbit" with Stretch Silvester ofStretch & Vern, the first single in a planned series of collaborations with other DJs under the name Gentleman's Agreement.[6] He has also teamed up withLiverpool-born, New York-based DJ Alex Blanco under the name Roosevelt High.[7] In 2009, he became a member of the Rizla Invisible Players, an ever-changing collective of musicians and artists. Alongside Carter, the 2009 line-up includedJazzie B,Micachu,Gruff Rhys andDavid Shrigley and performed at a number of festivals across the UK that year, includingRockNess,Lovebox,The Big Chill andBestival.[8]
Carter's first foray into business was in 1998 when he became co-owner of The Lock Tavern pub inCamden, London.[4] In 2004, he co-founded 580 Limited, a company which owned several live music pub venues, initially across the UK but later solely in London. Working with the company, Carter helped to set up The Lock Tavern Tent at theGlastonbury Festival from 2003 until 2010, and a Lock Tavern arena at theField Day festival in 2010. The company was also involved with the Beacons Festival that takes place annually nearSkipton in North Yorkshire. In October 2014, the four pubs in the 580 Limited chain were sold to the brewerYoung's.[9]
Carter married model-turned-DJ/presenterSara Cox in October 2001.[10] Their daughter Lola Anne was born on 13 June 2004.[11] In December 2005, the couple separated[12] and then divorced the following year. He has since married his second wife Nina. Carter also has a son from a previous relationship.[6]
(taken fromDiscogs.com)[13]
Monkey Mafia:
Artery (withMark Jones):
The Naked All-Stars (with Derek Dahlarge):
Monkey Mafia:
Junior Cartier:
Jon Carter:
Tim Sheridan/Jon Carter:
Tim Sheridan vs. Jon Carter featuring Ferank Manseed:
Stretch Carter (with Stretch Silvester):
Roosevelt High (with Alex Blanco):
