How did a young rave fan from Portsmouth become Dave Spoon—and later reinvent himself as Shadow Child? In this conversation, Brad and Shadow Child explore the music, people, and creative choices behind his journey through UK dance music.
Shadow Child looks back on growing up surrounded by records, early rave, acid house, jungle, and electronic music. He shares how making breakbeat tracks at school, discovering synthesizers, and meeting Liam Howlett of The Prodigy helped shape his path as a DJ and music producer.The conversation follows his first steps into the industry, from sending demos to XL Recordings to releasing music as Dave Spoon with Toolroom. Shadow Child explains why that successful chapter eventually stopped feeling creatively right—and how starting again under a new name gave him the freedom to make music on his own terms.
Brad and Shadow Child also revisit the underground dance music scene of the early 2010s, the club nights and communities that made it special, and the records that brought the Shadow Child project to a wider audience. They talk about creative confidence, imposter syndrome, staying true to your sound, and the challenge of making music without simply chasing trends.There’s plenty for music-production and synthesizer fans, too: Shadow Child discusses the gear, samplers, and studio processes behind his music, as well as the eclectic sounds shaping his DNA EP and next chapter.In this episode:Shadow Child’s early life in Portsmouth and introduction to rave musicUK rave history, acid house, jungle, breakbeat, and electronic musicMeeting Liam Howlett and sending early music demos to XL RecordingsThe story behind Dave Spoon and his releases with ToolroomWhy Shadow Child started a new project and reinvented his soundThe underground dance music scene of the early 2010sMusic production, synths, samplers, and studio gearCreative confidence and advice for producers finding their own soundA candid conversation for fans of Shadow Child, Dave Spoon, UK dance music, rave culture, electronic music production, DJing, synthesizers, and the stories behind a long creative career.
