After getting to house in his mid teens. Ian finally managed to save up enough money at university and purchase his first set of decks early in 2002. After playing at a few house parties Ian was invited a gig at Jimmy Allans in Durham, which he then held a weekly residency till early 2003 when the bar changed ownership. The weekly residency was continued around the corner though at Saints, now Warehouse. With more exposure to club nights in the region and various other sources Ian's taste of music began expanding encompassing many different sounds including house music, disco, broken beat, Detroit techno and soul to name a few.

Around January 2004, Ian decided to share his passion and knowledge of music world wide by setting up his own website, which has no had over 8000 and has received praise and attention from viewers from all corner to the globe. It was early in the 2004 that a knocked up cassette earned Ian a runner up place in the IDJ magazine reader's mixes. A strong competition where many budding young DJ's send there mixes each month.

In March 2004, disillusioned with the lack of quality nights in the area, Ian alongside two of his friends decided to start a club night in Middlesbrough called the Ghetto. At first this was held on monthly Sundays at a small bar. Quickly in the first few months the night out grew its venue and moved to the Purple Onion, a dark basement with low ceilings. The perfect intimate venue for the night. Since then the club night as produced some of the most memorable parties the North East has seen with guest DJ's including DJ Camacho, Quentin Harris's (UK debut), DJ Spen, Karizma, Frankie Feliciano, King Britt, Theo Parrish (joint party with Solid ground) and just recently a massive one off event with Body and Soul Legends, Joe Claussell and Danny Krivit.

The Ghetto has also hosted pre parties for Solid Ground @ Hush who guests have included "Little" Louie Vega, Frankie Knuckles, Kenny Dope Gonzalez, Timmy Regisford and David Morales. Within this time Ian has played a host gigs including the backroom at Erick Morillo's Subliminal Sessions with for 'Sugarshack' @ The Empire, a 6 hour set for 'Spirit' in Liverpool and played 'to the Manor Born's Easter Ball on the same bill as DJ Spen, Sandy Rivera and the Unabombers.

Add this to the many mixes hosted on different websites and Radio shows and it proves a rollercoaster few years and quite an accomplishment for the amount of time someone has been mastering the art of record playing. For the duration of the last few years Ian has seen and played alongside some of the best DJ's on the planet. Learning and watching them has influenced Ian and given him a great enthusiasm to play all different types of music but not only just playing them but, learning how to play them well.

www.ianblevins.co.uk