Chris’s introduction to Djing is unique in clubland. The very first time he touched a set of decks was in front of 800-900 people. The DJ on the night played “Show me love” and left Christian in control of the decks (or so he thought). Not knowing what to do when the song ended, he pulled the needle back to the start and played it again to an overwhelming response and so began a career spanning 18 years and numerous highlights.

“I’ve always loved music, I’ve bought music from an early age. Before I got into djing and bought a set of decks I used to buy everything on cassette”

Christian was introduced to music by his Parents. He was heavily Influenced by his mothers liking for the Motown sound and his fathers obsession with all things Hendrix, but when he first heard “Cloud Cuckoo land” by Tom Frederick’s and Damon Rochefort (Mista-E) his music taste changed. So began the journey from acid house to a deep, tech tinged house style that is Christian’s trademark today.

Christian’s first residency was in Tin Pan Alley in 1992. He played there, learning his trade for over three years. The venue became so popular that on Saturday nights, the doors closed @ 10pm as it was already full to capacity. Christian soon got offered a chance to play “Shaft”, which was by then the best Underground club in Ireland.

“The atmosphere in that club (Shaft)was amazing. Sometimes we’d run till 5am or 6am”

Christian’s usual slot was Sunday night. A slow night for most clubs but not for this mixed venue. Although it had a reputation for full on music, Christian could build on the deep/progressive aspect over the 5 or 6 or so hours that it was open. In 1996 Chris was given a chance to take his sound to Belfast’s “Love in the blue zone”. While being a resident in “the blue zone” for a year he hooked up with one of his future “Omnis” partners Al Manning and his first foray into music making began. The fruits of there labor was a track called “Lowdown”, they made this with a then up and coming producer: Chris Agnew of “Agnelli and Nelson” fame. A year later he decides to experiment again with sound, but this time, making his own sound. He buys a Mac and kits out a small recording studio. About this time he starts to co-host his third radio show on Dublin’s Kiss fm (Nocturnal- Thurs. 8pm-10pm). His studies are going well but a few Gigs in U2’s legendary “the Kitchen” on a Saturday night (Fever with Podge) soon brings back the urge to play out.

“We wanted to reproduce the feeling at that party, the reason we all started clubbing in the first place”

New Year’s Eve 1999. Chris and friends have been asked to put on a party in a 4-storey Georgian house. The night is magical. Praise is heaped on the DJ’s. Christian decides to take the concept on the road. He and his crew plan and run the USIT tour, 5 venues all across Ireland, International names (Danny Howell’s, Steve Thomas, Steven McCreery) lots of promotional work in a short period of time.

The tour is a success. In Cork, Galway, Limerick and 2 venues in Dublin, Christian then ends up bagging a hi-profile run in Sir Henry’s, Cork.

“I was still Djing, but spending a lot more time promoting and managing the night”

So began the highly popular summer run of “Modern Amusements”. This then resurfaced in Dublin on Nova fm, a Sunday afternoon slot. It was known as Mass (Modern Amusements, Sunday service). It proved to be a milestone in Irish dance music radio. A daytime show with 3 hours of uninterrupted music. Voice-overs were minimal; there were no ads. Every now and then, a cryptic announcement from Cardinal Boshell announcing further penance as the tracks went deeper and more twisted. The show gained a cult following in a matter of weeks.

“I decided I wanted to do it differently, not just falling into one club and falling out of another. I’ve got a plan and I want to stick to it.”

The popularity of Mass led to the Mass Friday night residency in Red Box. Chris and the other lads from Mass handed out promotional CDs on the opening night to the appreciative crowd. Soon afterwards, Chris was offered a residency in Spirit. Weekly he drew crowds of 1000+ and has played there with Tom Middleton (Cosmos), Jon Carter, Lil Louie Vega & Prince.

Chris' work now encompasses music production, record label management and Djing. He is currently working in a studio in Dublin on his projects Boshell & Cody(Proton/Particles/Olaris), Coherent(Particles) with Brian Cody and Silinder, with Steven McCreery(Voco/Qaitek) as Enuma Elish and with Jonathan Ojeda as Boseda.

Christian over the years has dj’d in places such as; Solidaritet in Sweden, Petofi Csarnok (Budapest), Collective Music @ The Vaults(Dublin), Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, Love Parade in San Francisco and a number of gigs in Turkey and also @ “Creamfields”.

Interview by Dermot Bolger [Dubfly]

You can download Chris' & Omnis releases from Itunes, DjDownload and amongst numerous others Beatport.

His music has been gaining support by top DJ’s/Producers: Psycatron, Dubfire, Roger Sanchez, Dave Seaman, Martijn Ten Velden, Lemon 8, Hernan Cattaneo & Pole Folder.

http://www.omnisrecordings.com  

http://www.christianboshell.com