Travis has been a keen music fan from a young age. His father was a rocker and his mother was a mod. Travis’ mum was the record collector, she was always playing Philly, Motown, Dusty Springfield and particularly Stevie Wonder.
Growing up on the Fern Street Estate in Bow, East London, he was surrounded by a variety of different musical influences but predominently sound system culture. Soul, hip hop and electro were his first musical loves. Travis’s parents moved to the Essex coast in the mid 80’s to look after his grandparents. Soon afterwards his sonic taste had developed into early house and the techno music scene as a teenager although he just missed out on the big raves during the summer of love (88).
Travis left school in 1990 so it was then he started to hit the clubs and purchased his first set of Soundlab turntables. Roots reggae was rife in Southend during his formative years. Learning riddims from the likes of Jah Shaka, King Tubby and Irration Steppas. It was also about this time when local legends N Joi and Prodigy were making waves and also the time when the house/techno scene started to fragment even more.
Jungle was born and Travis was at the very birth attending underground clubs all over London such as The Paradise Club in Angel and Lazerdrome in Peckham. Travis was DJing at local underground jungle parties in E London and Essex throughout the mid to late 90’s rubbing shoulders with the likes of DJ Hype (Ganja Kru Records) and Danny Breaks(Suburban Base Records) both of which he knew from Boogie Times Records in Romford. Travis was honing his craft playing on various pirate radio stations and club events such as SE1 and Destiny Cream on Clacton Pier.
Fast forward a few years and Travis joined Influential House Records as A&R Manager in 2005 before the label was acquired by Wes Saunders now Defected CEO. Influencial House “Sessions” held a monthly residency for a number of years at the original Sunrooms during previous owner Glen Ratcliffs glory days. Travis also promoted the opening night for Henry & Ed when they took over the Sunrooms in 2009 with an event called Delirious. With best pal Stonefish, they brought Marie Anne Hobbs to the Sunnies just as Dub Step was exploding in London.
During the 2010’s Travis was also resident for other legendary local events such as Kool Kids Klub, Audio Chic and Too Damn Glam. Global bookings soon transpired with sets in Germany, Thailand, India and various seasons in Ibiza to name a few. Fatherhood happened in 2010 with the birth of his daughter Moloko (yes taken from the band) and soon after his son Phoenix so Travis made a conscious decision to slow down and enjoy his family. It’s just been in recent years that the DJ bug has come back.
During COVID, Travis joined an email newsletter called Love Will Save The Day written by Leigh on sea resident Jed Hallam. The ethos of which is taken from David Mancuso’s The Loft. It’s all about community, art and culture with inclusion for everyone at its heart. The newsletter soon turned into a very active WhatsApp group with members from all over the world. With so many like-minded music lovers joining the community, in July 23, a radio station was born.
Travis now hosts a monthly radio show playing Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Rare Groove, Deep House, Disco, Broken Beat, Techno, Jungle and everything in between on the first Friday of every month. Expect global vibrations for a truly worldwide listener on www.lovewillsavetheday.fm. Travis thrives on playing extended sets, notably his recent local event, All Day Long, where he gives the dancers a glimpse into his broad sound system history, covering all beautiful musical bases.
My latest radio show:
