The extraordinary technical skills of Rik Parkinson have raised countless eyebrows in the DJ industry. However, that’s mainly because the organic-electro-tech selector doesn’t so much play music as remix it live – as only a musician can. Part DJ prodigy, part nuskool producer, and full-on party aficionado, Rik works out his music-driven passions by developing DJ gear from top-flight manufacturer Pioneer DJ by day and rocking dancefloors by night!
Born in 1983 and raised in the town of Chorley, Lancashire (UK), Rik has loved music deeply since he was a kid. Back then he would listen to all sorts of compositions and even learnt to play the drums, keys and trumpet. A devoted muso, it seemed. Then came electronic dance music, house parties and dancefloors. And for the first time Rik saw heavyweight DJs such as Sasha rule the earth. Aged 16, and listening to a mix tape in a friend’s car en-route to the Glastonbury festival, he experienced a ‘eureka’ moment and realised that that was it: he was hooked…
Finding the builds and breaks exhilarating and the flow of molten loops addictive, Rik started DJing in 1999. But although gigs were already bubbling nicely in his hometown, he was still hungry to discover more about the making and shaping of electronic music. So in 2003 the ginger ninja upped sticks and decided to journey across the Pennines to seek further knowledge and fulfilment over in the City of Leeds (home to such DJ legends as Sir Jimmy Savile OBE and Dave Beer B2B). Continuing to DJ, and by then producing his own tracks as well, Rik went on to graduate from Leeds University with a degree in Creative Music and Sound Technology.
What’s more, if you are a gear head, then you may already know Rik from his Pro DJ video tutorials on YouTube, which have clocked up more hits than a popstar outta rehab. Likewise, through his cutting-edge work of introducing new Pioneer kit to the UK massive, the man-like-DJ-machine has enjoyed sharing his fast-fingered decks and EFX wizardry with world-renowned DJs such as Steve Lawler, X-Press 2, Demi, Yousef and Yoda, no less.
So stay tuned. Riding high as one of clubland’s sharpest decknicians and presently based between Leeds and London, the future appears to hold much for this DJ wunderkind!
