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Once A DJDeep dive conversations about how music shapes life Author: Remote CTRL
Paths of Rhythm is a conversation series about the journey a life in music takes you on. Hip hop is the starting point for a lot of these conversations, but the show ranges across house, drum and bass, radio and more and it's not just DJs. Hosted by Adam Gow, each episode talks to DJs, writers, photographers and sound engineers about their passion for music and where it's taken them. Guests have included Carl Loben (Mixmag), Photographer Eddie Otchere, DJ Rap, Rob Da Bank, House Shoes, Cutmaster Swift and many more. Language: en Genres: Music, Music History, Music Interviews Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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David Piccioni - The skinny lad from 70s Huddersfield who became one of NYC's premier DJs thanks to a punk rock mindset
Episode 88
Thursday, 30 July, 2026
Paths of Rhythm is a Remote-CTRL production. If you're looking for audio or video production, then check out https://remote-ctrl.co.uk to see how they can help.Other ways to support the showFollow the show on Spotify or Apple PodcastsAny feedback or questions? Hit up https://www.instagram.com/pathsofrhythmpodcast/This week's guest is a Yorkshireman I'd heard whispered about by more than one person in the scene before I ever got him on the mic — David Piccioni. Born to an Italian father and South African mother and raised in Huddersfield, David got his real education in a punk scene that had him sneaking into soundchecks before he'd even worked out he wanted to DJ. A few years later, economics and politics at Liverpool University led him straight into throwing his own parties and playing American import records at Liverpool's Wednesday night club nights — and by 1986 he'd saved up for a one-way flight to New York with £300 in a bag and no contacts waiting for him.What followed is the kind of story you can only get firsthand: getting schooled at Paradise Garage under Larry Levan, soaking up David Mancuso's Loft, and becoming one of the biggest DJs in the city within two years. When he came home to London, David co-owned Black Market Records with Nicky Blackmarket — the shop that helped break UK jungle and drum & bass upstairs while he ran the house side — before founding Azuli Records, a label that got away with pretending to be American for years, broke Afro Medusa's "Pasilda" and Spiller's "Groove Jet," and put out the Late Night Tales and Choice compilation series. When digital killed the vinyl business, David didn't look back — he moved to Ibiza and built a restaurant instead. This one's full of stories you won't find written down anywhere else.Topics covered:Growing up in Huddersfield and sneaking into gigs during its punk sceneMissing the Sex Pistols at Ivanhoe's on Christmas DayThe move to Liverpool University and falling into DJing by accidentSaving up for a one-way flight to New York in 1986Getting schooled at Paradise Garage by Larry Levan, and David Mancuso's LoftComing home to co-own Black Market Records with Nicky BlackmarketBuilding Azuli Records — and the fake American label trick that fooled the industry for yearsBreaking Afro Medusa's "Pasilda" and turning down Spiller's "Groove Jet"Curating the Late Night Tales and Choice compilation seriesWhy Azuli couldn't survive the shift from vinyl to digitalTrading the dancefloor for a restaurant on a clifftop in Ibiza
