20 years in the making. 4 years in the finishing. 150 tracks left on a train not backed-up, rescued, and now released. All over the place and all at once... FORTUNE FAVOURS THE RAVE
UMPH!'s been a mischief maker since 82. Tapping to rave tapes and The Prodigy since 1992. DJ at 13. Manumission resident in Ibiza at 18. Making music on the side of a busy career and family life for 20 years. Today I'm one year unemployed and looking after my baby full time (hardcore never dies ;-) and finally finished F.F.T.R.
F.F.T.R started in 2022, when 350 uncompleted projects filled my mac to a halt. I decided to stop making em and try to finish 100. Did that and then left it on a train, not backed up, like a bellend. It was miraculously saved and given the title FORTUNE FAVOURS THE RAVE. Here it is,150 self-produced tracks spanning balearic broken beats, house, techno, drum & bass, jungle, breaks and electronica, landing all at once. I got a little carried away in the mix and made artwork, videos and a label with merch too... Bosh!
The long blurb:UMPH! is not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy. A master of the forward roll, backward roll and maker of a mean sausage roll - jack of all trades and master of some, particularly the high five. Looks his best in his mums old blue sequin dress and was a prominent figure in the legalize umbongo movement. Run over by a car twice as a kid (10 years apart, not the same one) and holds a place in the Guinness world record books for the longest procrastination with the release of Fortune Favours The Rave.How'd it all start? My big sister Dawn gave me the Prodigy Experience album in 1992 aged 10. I bought all their singles and saw them live with my big bro Graham in 1995 - it was a late show and I was the only kid in there. Like all the cool kids, I also banged out Helter Skelter, Hysteria, and Dreamscape rave tapes on the school bus etc, doing that finger wave thing that makes you look like an absolute G ;-)I got a pair Technics SL1210's for xmas that year aged 13 and grew my collection from hardcore through the usual teenage mix of trance, techno, house and bundles of carboot finds. I played out locally and was a resident DJ at Ibiza's iconic Manumission aged 18. I soon realised the only way to climb the bill was making music. So I started on Cubase SX2, slowly not surely, but happy with the hobby. When Ableton Live 9 landed in 2013, things started to click. Though my career was in full swing so I did the sensible thing.Looking back, I should have started putting stuff out in 2017, it was good enough. Getting the sound and mixing right was the hard part for me, so I just kept making and making. A good 20 years of starting tracks, but never finishing them later... FFTR begun when my computer ground to a halt in 2022, memory full with 350 uncompleted projects. Why finish em when you can start a new one hey?So, I deleted half to make some space and went on a mission to complete 100 tracks. That was a lot back then, before Suno and ai.Just as I was getting there with the 100. The entire project was lost in 2023 after leaving my laptop on a train going to the airport for Ibiza Not backed up... That feeling still sends a shiver! But, it was rescued by my great friend indeed, Ali, who dashed out of work in Brighton and got it off the train. Phew! The name was born... FORTUNE FAVOURS THE RAVE.Was it a sign? Yes, I am a bellend! And so are you if you've not backed up your biz. Do it now!The story continues. 4 years sounds like a long time, it is. I'd hate to think how many hours have gone into it. But, I had a busy career and a young family to juggle, so I plugged away on F.F.T.R with my spare time; usually early mornings and late nights.The more I arranged, mixed and mastered, the better and faster I got. I'm no pro, but went back through them with my new tricks and added 50. Here they are all landing at once, sorry about that... Naaaaaaaaaat!I was kinda there with the music by summer 2025. Then my second son joined the party and life got hectic. I found myself unemployed soon after this. It's now been a full year off work. But a glorious silver lining is time with my baby and finally getting time between the nappies and never-ending cleaning to finish F.F.T.R.I though the slog was done, but no, this past year has been long, creating artwork, videos and admin. An everlasting gobstopper of account creations, uploads, descriptions, edits this and changes that. But I'm there, it's here.Of course imperfect, but I'm happy with it. I've learned a tonne and faced my demons. I'd like to hope anyone reading this feels sorry for my wife, Maggs, she's been beyond patient seeing this through and deserves a free ticket to see me play Glastonbury 2027.I also hope it inspires others to look at that pile of dreams sat in a corner of your house or head, and see it's never too late, just get it out. The worst that can happen is it sits there doing nothing.I always wanted to self release F.F.T.R. Boshcino Rave Gear is a label that's dedicated to the pure fun in the party. An amazing technicolour mix of peeps coming together to do their thing around the same groove. A place to be, forget or lose yourself. The acid smiley throwing a phone away tells it how it is... No one gives a fuck about your social story from the party, put it away, let the good times roll and rave in peace.Great beats know when to drop...Keep dropping.