Tales From A Disappearing City - Episode 28 - special guest - Dexta - Part 1

In the first of a two-part conversation, we sit down with Chris (aka Dexta), co-founder of Planet Wax, a legendary record shop, bar, venue, and radio station in New Cross dedicated to underground dance music and its surrounding culture and community.
This episode explores Dexta's journey through the UK music scene from the late 1990s to early 2010s. Growing up in North London, his musical passion began with compilation albums and cassette tapes, with a particular affinity for The Prodigy and UK garage.
Dexta recalls his first production experiments using basic software that came free in a cereal box, before transitioning to DJing after acquiring a pair of belt-drive turntables.
The conversation traces his evolution through various music scenes—from UK garage to grime, and eventually to drum and bass. He shares his experiences with pirate radio, first as a listener of Y2K Radio, then as a presenter hosting his own shows on stations like Rush FM, Elite Radio, and UK Bass Radio. These platforms allowed him to connect with fellow DJs and build an audience while honing his skills both as a DJ and presenter.
Dexta recounts his early club experiences, including his first gig at age 16 where he played a 15-minute set as part of "Solid Jam Cartel" (SJC). He discusses frequenting iconic London venues like Fabric, The End, and Bar Rumba, where he discovered various subgenres of drum and bass. His musical tastes gradually shifted from "jump up" drum and bass to darker, more underground sounds.
Throughout the episode, Dexta reflects on technological changes in music production and distribution—from early software like Mixman and Fruity Loops to the transition of record shops moving online. He also touches on his brief relocation to Bournemouth, where he discovered even darker drum and bass sounds, before returning to London with ambitions to launch his own record label.

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Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the mid 80’s when he first began to go to nightclubs, gigs, and illegal parties. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throughout Europe and beyond and has an eclectic and seriously deep collection of music built up over time that reflects an appreciation of all elements of the London groove. Neil currently runs Presence Unknown, a vinyl and digital label dedicated to releasing music influenced by his love of Electro, Acid House and Rave. He also does a fortnightly show on Planet Wax radio where his aim as always is to play you some amazing music that you have never heard before.

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