THE FUNKAHOLIC

Born in London, England, he was raised in South London and that’s where his journey began. His background is from the Caribbean and is split between Jamaica and Barbados. The Funkaholic was brought up on Soul, Soca, Rare Groove, Ragga, Reggae and Lovers Rock. There have always been musicians in his family for many generations and they owned music “Sounds” back in the day when they were younger, it’s safe to say that music runs through his DNA.

The Funkaholic, real name Darrel learnt how to mix when he was 14 years of age. His older brother used to be a DJ, he was his idol just as big brothers are and was always intrigued in his hobby. Even though Darrel was raised on music as his family were a part of a Reggae, Lovers Rock & Rare Groove “Sound” (DJ Group) in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, he didn't have the fascination to become a DJ. Darrel was schooled on genres of music and how to analyse beats from the age of 6, but it took him till he was in early teens to want to take it seriously. Darrel’s older brother bought him some KAM Belt Drive turntables as a gift and taught him how to mix Drum & Bass and Jungle Records. It only took Darrel a fascinating 20 mins to get the basics of beat matching and with determination, hours later, he developed the art. As years went by he tried to perfect his mixing by experimenting with other genres of music. Darrel was a massive fan of Grime and Old School Garage and remained on those genres before he stopped DJing at the age of 18. Even though Darrel had a passion for DJing he didn’t see himself moving forward. A few years later, he was given a CD by his sister and was told to listen to it from beginning till end. It was a live set from DJ’s/Producers Karizma and Kerri Chandler. He wasn’t used to their sounds and ways of DJing but as you can imagine, it took him only one listen to actually want me to dust off the records and start again. From that point onwards, The Funkaholic hasn’t stopped DJing.

Launching his 1st ever solo EP, The Funkaholic (AKA Melo-D) has kick started his production journey of the year with a soul searching Afro House delivery. Artistically creating his Bio imprint, this EP is complemented by a wonderful songstress / spoken word artist ‘Ayaba’ from London, UK who creates a monsoon ambient feeling. The marriage of Deep House with poetry is the foundation of melodic rhythms alongside avant-garde styles.

The Funkaholic is working towards pushing the UK Underground House scene world-wide. He’s always got his hands in the jars and is always working on projects, whether it’s on the frontline or behind the scenes that will push the boundaries of the underground House scene and help publicize the talent internationally. There is an open market for UK Spoken Word records and with The Funkaholic aiming to be the pace maker with his debut release "Ancestral Forest", he hopes it will open up global doors for the UK poetry scene. Darrel also wants to create and set up platforms for the next generations to get involved in music and give them the ability to expose their skills through a positive medium.

The musical flavours that 'The Funkaholic' congregates are • Soulful • Deep • Afro • Tech • Minimal •