Name Jack Smooth | ||
Role Record Producer ยท soundcloud.com/ronwellsjs People also search for DJ Phantasy, Chris Simmonds | ||
Jack Smooth, real name Ron Wells, now known as RonWellsJS born in London 1970.
Ron is the creator of Sound Entity Studio and often claims to be the pioneer of Jungle techno, and Drum and Bass, in particular the 'Intelligent' or 'Liquid' variant.
During his career Ron produced over 200 dance music records, spanning many genres. He usually focused on creating his own chord structures and melodies using synthesizers, as opposed to relying on sampling the work of others. His music embodies an electronic, ambient techno signature with production standards that are recognisable as more 'polished' than typical underground dance music. He also clearly writes and edits his own wikipedia page.
Ron began his musical life as a Pirate Radio DJ in 1987 on the Crystal, Medina & WLR stations in London.
During 1987 Ron met Chris Simmonds at Medina Radio and they went on to form Wax Factory Productions in 1989. Wax Factory were one of the first UK dance music labels to deal directly with record shops - not having a distribution deal. In years to come, Wax factory would earn cult status as an underground UK house and techno label. Many, to this day, believe that their productions were from the USA, due to their authentic Techno sound.
Around 1991 Ron formed Sound Entity Recordings as a solo project where he was introduced to Phil Wells of Basement Records by DJ Loftgroover. Ron and Phil quickly developed a powerful relationship where Ron went on to produce and co-write 42 releases on the label. The Basement Records label today is often credited as the most influential label that the Jungle Techno scene produced.
In 1992 Ron masterminded the hit single Trip to Trumpton project with Urban Hype, where he co-wrote and produced the single. The single reached no 6 in the National Charts and kept its top ten status for one month.
1993 saw Ron forming Smooth Recordings. He also founded Fast Floor Productions with Paul Clarke, where they produced many Jungle Techno anthems. Their music was highly regarded for its combination on musicality and dance floor presence by many DJs, in particular, Top Buzz. In 1994 Fast Floor produced an LP called "On a Quest For Intelligence" which has gone on to demand crown jewels prices on the second-hand music market.
In 1995 Ron Wells and Paul Clarke formed Earl Grey. This was specifically a drum and bass / jazz crossover project. They signed to MCA music publishing and Carl Cox's Worldwide Ultimatum label to release the LP "Purveyors of the New Groove".
In 1996 DJ Dr S Gachet invited Ron to join him in producing a 2-hour mix for BBC Radio 1's One In The Jungle show, which was aired in December of that year.
During 1996 Ron and Paul could sense that a decline in the music industry was on the horizon. This led them to take the decision to leave music behind for a while and concentrate on starting a commercial business. They changed their name to Fast Floor Multimedia Ltd in 1997 and embarked on building a marketing communications company, which still exists today.
Moving into business however has not meant the end of Ron's music career. He has written a considerable number of works for the Sonoton Music Library in Germany and after an 8 year hiatus in 2017, due to a resurgence of vinyl sales, he commenced a project to re-release his back catalog. Upon rebuilding his Sound Entity Studio he also creates new music for release on vinyl via Music Preservation Society.
Discography & Credits:
2 Da Core : 20 Hurts : Advanced Vector Synthesis : Aubrey : Aurora : The Engineers : Beatmen : Bolt Upright : Brothers With Soul : Chemical : Citizen Kaned : Crowd Control : Cyba Space : Cyborgz : Danse City : Dimensions of Elegance : DJ Chemistry : DJ Mayhem : DJ Phantasy : DJs Unite : DJs Unknown : DNS : Dylan Rhymes : Earl Grey : Electronic Experienced : EPS : Eximinus II : Fast Floor : Floor Filler : Frantic & Impulse : Freehand : Hedgehog Affair : Insomnia : Jack n Phil : Jack Smooth : Kev Bird : Missing Time : Mutants : Mystic Moods : Nightshift : Panic : Phantasy & Gemini : Phantasy & Smooth : Pronounced Percussion : Psychoacoustic : Pukka : Q Project : Rhythm X : RonWellsJS : Ruff With The Smooth : RWDS : S and A : Salute : Scott Free : Smooth & Simmonds : Smooth But Hazzardous : Sound Science : Spencer T : Structural Damage : System X : Tech-Aluco : Techno Bros : The Authentic 1 : The Watchmen : Touch of Jazz : Top Buzz : Trance & Maze : Transparent Sound : Two Dark Troopers : Urban Hype : Wax Doctor : White Lightning : Whitestorm : X-Pansions