Al Wootton

A versatile producer based in South London, Al Wootton has explored an array of dance styles under multiple names, chiefly Deadboy as well as his own. Beginning with releases as Deadboy in the late 2000s, he consistently delivered striking singles that transformed melancholic, occasionally heartbroken vocal samples into vibrant, upbeat garage and 2-step anthems while also exploring jungle, house, and ambient forms. His early reliance on chopped R&B vocals later expanded to include his own singing on the 2017 album Earth Body. After retiring the Deadboy alias, he issued the dub-infused full-length Witness in 2020 as Al Wootton, followed by club-focused EPs including the 2022 Azu Tiwaline collaboration Alandazu.

Prior to wider recognition he issued two limited experimental cassettes on Judgement Dispenser, one as part of the chiptune/dancehall project Hyper Black Bass, plus a 12" under the name Deadboy Racer. The 2009 Well Rounded Records single "U Cheated" marked his first significant breakthrough. The 2010 track "If U Want Me" appeared among the earliest releases on the Glasgow label Numbers, soon recognized as one of dance music’s most forward-thinking imprints. Additional 12"s followed on Well Rounded, among them a limited promo house edit of Drake and Alicia Keys’ “Fireworks,” while three further singles landed on Numbers; he also supplied remixes for Jamie Woon, Scuba, Foals, Paul Weller, and numerous others.

In 2015 the lush ambient single “It Did Not Feel Right” surfaced on Crazylegs, preceding the Local Action EP White Magick, which merged ambient and new age textures—styles featured at his club night New Atlantis—with his signature knotty, bass-heavy garage rhythms; the more beat-oriented remix EP Black Magick came next. The year 2016 saw a collaboration with grime producer Murlo as DBM along with 12"s on Unknown to the Unknown and Ten Thousand Yen, after which he relocated impulsively to Montreal. While there he began crafting downtempo pop songs influenced by Drake and Rihanna and featuring his own vocals, culminating in the 2017 Local Action debut full-length Earth Body.

Following a handful of further singles he abandoned the Deadboy name entirely and began releasing as Al Wootton, launching the Trule label in 2018 and issuing his first EPs under that name the following year. The dub-heavy album Witness arrived in 2020, the Maenads EP in 2021, and the solo EP Callers Spring alongside the Livity Sound collaboration Alandazu with Azu Tiwaline both appeared in 2022. Through his experimental imprint Amidah he has also released ambient material as Immrama and, with drummer and percussionist Valentina Magaletti, organic dub as the duo Holy Tongue.