The 4th production on our Hull Underground VA is a Collaboration with Label Boss Ben Straw and good friend, Lewis Hawkes.
Ben started DJing at the age of 17, inspired by a wide range of artists such as Darius Syrossian, Sidney Charles, Max Chapman & Dennis Ferrer to the likes of Chad Andrew, Rossko & Hernan Bass. His eyes were opened to the Underground Scene of Hull, when he took his first visit to Different Language. He has since had a residency at House Of Tequila Events & currently at ILLICIT Events. As well as guest slots at Deja vu events Hull UK & outer city slots including, Leeds with Unsung collective & sets in London at the likes of Egg London, which was B2B with Lewis.
Ben got in to production originally just out of interest of finding out how he could create his own tracks to play during his sets. This interest soon turned in to something more serious, having releases on Morph reach the Beatport Tech House & Overall New Releases Charts at No's 17 & 68 respectively. Ben now shares his focus of producing & DJing with the label where he tries to help up and coming producers progress, as well as progressing the label itself. Hoping to gain respect and credibility on the way.
Lewis began DJing in his early teens after hearing his older sisters Underground MixTapes recorded from local pirate radio station Twilight FM. Inspired by early UK pioneers such as Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules, Carl Cox & Greame Park his style has always been longer flowing mixes with an emphasis on blending & playing through a set with a congruent theme of sections. Attending local events in the form of Different Language and POGO amongst others, brought Lewis into the underground scene where he took residencies with House Of Tequila, ILLIC|T and Curiosity.
Still first and foremost a DJ at heart his interest turned to production in 2016 mainly for the purpose of understanding the music he would be playing on a more fundamental level, however having sent out a few originals for feedback his track Bubbs was signed to Jak-Daw Records which motivated Lewis to look at taking production more seriously and hopes the upcoming collab with Ben Straw is the first stage of this process.
Here is Ben and Lewis's page, in the book of the Hull Underground VA:
Peace! ✌🏼
