Joe Cullen - Brought up in a home where there was always music playing - mainly soul and rare groove - its no wonder Joe has always had a head for music. As a kid he would spend his pocket money on the latest singles and would spend hours making up mix tapes on his cassette player, and during his Indie days at school he was always involved in school parties and concerts. It wasn't until 1997 that Joe fell in love with dance music after first going clubbing, and after wanting to own the tunes that he'd heard out, he soon became a regular at local record shop Swag Records. The hard house scene was just kicking off and Joe went with it, spending his weekends following his favourite DJs Steve Thomas, Pete Wardman, Ian M and BK as they'd played all over London. With his record collection and his passion for music growing Joe bought his first pair of Technics in 2000 and started practising. By the summer of 2002 he had played his first set, at Bar Monaco in Croydon.

It was his first trip to Ibiza that converted Joe to house music. At the time he was listening to techno, although most of his friends (Ben and Carl!) were already well into house. "It was hearing DJ's Lottie, Yousef and Erick Morillo that converted me and they are still big influences today. Until then I thought that you had to listen to full on music if you wanted to go out and have it, but I realised that a good DJ could get you going, no matter what type of music". Since then it has been house music all night long, and while Joe has seen his tastes change over the years, and his box fill with the tougher side of house and electro, he still loves soulful funky house. "I think there is a fine line between playing what you want to play and what people want to hear, and I am always aware of this when DJing. I always try to push boundaries and wise up the dance floor with the freshest sounds, but I never forget that the most important thing is to create that party atmosphere and ensure that everyone has a wicked time. For me the best DJ knows how to get a party started and keep it going all night long!".

It was in 2003 that Joe started to make his mark; he went travelling in Thailand armed with his headphones and a box of tunes and played at various bars and clubs - even playing an 8 hour set at a full moon party in the middle of the jungle. That summer he started playing at Bar Room Bar, Sutton, and soon became a regular DJ before being invited to play guest slots at their now legendary Bank Holiday parties, and later going on to run a monthly night "Residentz". Later that year saw his schedule pick up, playing at bars and parties around South London, and DJing at fashion shows for fashion label Joy.

In October, Joe began his residency at ZIPCODE* at Loop, where he has warmed up for Brad 212 Finlay, Shane Watcha and Sophiedj. His residency is still going strong, as is ZIPCODE* which is coming up to its second year (and has been featured in ES Metrolife magazine) and he is heavily involved in promotion and the creative aspect of ZIPCODE*. Since then he has also started his own parties under the name House Proud alongside Nicky Noods, and with bookings lined up across London including The Whitehouse in Clapham and his new residency at Beenseen, 2005 is looking to be a good year for this bright star.

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