Born in the UK and growing up between three major clubbing cities, Nottingham, Leeds and Sheffield, a young Steve was constantly bombarded by a plethora of new and exciting dance music. His earliest musical memories are of artists such as New Order, The Prodigy and Jean Michelle Jarre and with the discovery of house music the lure and proximity of some of the best venues and nights in the UK led to countless weekends over many years lost in a world of electronic music and of total immersion in clubland.

Legendary nights such as Progress, Gatecrasher, Renaissance, Back to Basics and The Bomb were the clubs of choice for Steve  back then, and along with annual visits to the clubbing Mecca, Ibiza, it wasn't long before he felt the desire to move beyond the dancefloor and into the Dj booth; it was time to have a go at playing the tunes instead of just listening to them.

Armed with a pair of Technics1210’s and a unrelenting passion for the music he had grown to love, Steve would spend countless hours locked away in his bedroom at his parents house learning and honing the skills that would eventually see him break out into the public eye.

As with many young and upcoming Djs he started with low key gigs at various local bars and clubs in his hometown that eventually led to his first weekly residency at bar/club The Mint. Fate would ultimately play its part when the club owner accidentally booked another budding young DJ by the name of Eddie Vanderhyden to play on the same night and they had no choice but to share deck duties. It was to be a Godsend as Steve and Eddie discovered that their sounds blended together in a perfect balance of toughness, groove and musicality. The duo needed a moniker to DJ under and "Funktec" was born. With the sound centred squarely around deep, funky, tech house music it didn’t take long for the name and the music to start to become a recognised underground force.

Free parties, boat parties, house parties and gigs at all the best venues bars and clubs in their hometown soon followed as well as gigs in major clubs such as Stealth and The Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, but it was his hometown gigs that Steve had the most passion for. Playing to his home crowd held something extra special for Steve, and his first residency, alongside Eddie, for "Reach" at PoNaNa in Leicester cemented his reputation during their 3 year tenure as a dj with solid technical ability who could be counted on to rock the dancefloor everytime. During his years at "Reach" Steve was fortunate to share the booth with such house music legends as Mark Lowry(Shindig) and Craig Smith (The Revenge).

Soon after "Reach" ended Steve would return to one of his old haunts, formerly The Mint and now renamed The Cell to become resident DJ for a new night called "Choobe". It was here that Steve honed his already distinctive sound and along with "Choobe's" other residents garnered country wide recognition as UK clubbing bible Mixmag continually placed the night in its top 3 of UK nights. Resident here for two years, Steve played alongside the likes of Mark Knight, Inland Knights and Pete Gooding.

It was around this time that Steve felt the need for a new challenge in his life was faced with an opportunity to move to Dubai in the Middle East.

Primarily a move to further his career in the construction industry that had paid the bills throughout his forays into clubland, it wasn't long before Steves insatiable appetite for house music and clubbing led him to launch his first podcast "Mixtape" and soon his music caught the attention of local promoters Kazeen Events and it wasn't long before Steve became their resident Dj. Kazeen were a rare thing in Dubai at the time (and indeed still), championing a more underground sound than most of the other promoters in town and Steves tough polished grooves struck an instant chord with their crowd.

It was at this time that Steve had another fateful meeting of minds when he met James Hastings, a kindred passionate house music freak with a long pedigree of promotion in the UK dating back to the early days of acid house, and within months of meeting the duo were organising underground villa parties, regularly rocking crowds of 200+, the like of which had rarely been seen in Dubai. This in turn led to the inevitable move into "real" venues, and "Substance" was born. Over the past two years the guys have had guest Djs such as Steve's old sparring partner Mark Lowry and heavy hitters like Alex Niggemann from the "Get Physical" label in Berlin. "Substance" is now a major player in Dubai's nightlife and their parties are reknowned for being the "real deal" with Steve now recognised as one of the top underground Djs in the region. 

With a solid club night and residency in the bag, a series of parties in Thailand about to happen and a tour of Sri Lanka and gigs in Beirut and London in the pipeline for 2011, Steve's star is very definitely on the rise. Just as happy playing (and re-editing as he goes) on Ableton, Traktor, CDs or vinyl, Steve has become, through his passion, determination and sheer hard work, a musical tour de force to be reckoned with. 

For bookings, Contact: James Hastings at substancedubai@gmail.com +971(0)50 550 1489.