Biography
A debilitating struggle with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, sparked the creation of Broadway Project by Dan Berridge. The condition, which remains incurable and combines profound exhaustion with impaired focus that frequently triggers depression, prompted him to abandon his London residence and retreat to his parents’ home in Sussex for recovery. Following medical guidance that encouraged creative pursuits among those affected, Berridge acquired a sampler and, shaped by sources as varied as Tom Waits and Miles Davis alongside 1970s jazz-funk, developed a distinctive style of melancholic, instrumental hip-hop issued on the Memphis Industries label. He merged DJ Shadow’s cut-and-paste technique with the 1960s cinematic atmosphere associated with Portishead and the buoyant outlook of Saint Etienne, coaxing elegance from an overtaxed Akai sampler whose collection of appropriated elements fused modern classical passages, rock solos, and enigmatic vocal fragments into an expansive, optimistic electronic vision comparable to that of Aphex Twin or Future Sound of London. Several scarce extended players first outlined this approach, after which the album Compassion fully realized the sweeping, filmic scope of the endeavor.
Albums
