Charles Webster ()

“Charles Webster was around for the original rise of house music in the U.K. He has seen it
ebb and flow but Webster’s own richly melodic, subtle take on the genre has quietly endured.”
XLR8R

“As if Everything But The Girl, Larry Heard and Womack & Womack decided to merge
musical ideas in the studio.” Billboard US
Operating in house music since the late-80s, Charles Webster is revered as something like
the producer’s producer, spoken about in the same breath as Larry Heard or Ron Trent
amongst the DJ cognoscenti.

Growing up in the Peak District and falling in love with electronic music through a parent’s
Kraftwerk records, Charles’ apprenticeship was at the feet of the Belleville Three when they
would record at Square Dance studio in Derby where Charles worked as a recording engineer.
His production work started right at the roots of electronic music in the British Isles, writing
tracks for electro/breakdance outfit The Rock City Crew and in 1987 UK early house crew TCUT-
F. Since then he has released music under 30 different pseudonyms with over 600
remixes.

With such an auspicious start, it’s no wonder Charles would go on to create a revered
discography. He was at the forefront of the halcyon years of deep house from 1997, working
with vocal talents like Terra Deva (as Furry Phreaks), Robert Owens, Shara Nelson, Ingrid
Chavez and Tracey Thorn. He moved to San Francisco in 1993, starting the acclaimed Love
From San Francisco but it was his debut full-length record recorded under the alias Presence
called “All Systems Gone” released on February 22nd 1999 which would prove to have the
greatest legacy. Praised at the time as “probably the first classic record of the 21st century” it
never received the blanket mainstream overplay of contemporaries like Massive Attack but
has lived on as something of a forgotten masterpiece (receiving a never repeated 11/10 rating
in Mixmag). In fact, the “pillowy” sound design of this subtle classic is cited as a key
influence on his music by Burial. For “Decision Time” Burial has paid tribute, contributing a
rare co-production “The Second Spell'' which also features poetry legend and Prince muse
Ingrid Chavez. It’s a moment of intergenerational UK mirroring, the iconic ambient sound
reflecting and refracting back onto itself. Chavez has a storied career, playing Prince’s love
interest in1990 movie “Graffiti Bridge” as well as famously writing the spoken word poetry
in Madonna’s hit “Justify My Love’. On a parallel track to the Burial influence, Charles is
also a foundational influence on the South African house scene that finally blossomed 20
years later in the international star Black Coffee. Presence single “Better Day” was a huge
radio hit in SA in 1997, with Charles first visiting South Africa then. In fact, in March 2019
he moved to South Africa and immersed himself in the scene there collaborating with some
of the country's most exciting talent like: Sio, Thandi Draai and Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse,
while also mentoring a new generation of producers.
“Decision Time” is Charles first major solo record since 2001’s “Born On The 24th July”.
With an album of this quality and the 20-year cycles of electronic culture, it feels like this is
the perfect moment to celebrate the brilliance of his legacy. From citing Rickie Lee Jones as a
key influence, storytelling and song writing has always been important for Charles as he used
house music as the medium. From the downtempo impressionistic soul of “This Is Real” that
moves like slow morphing clouds across the soundscape to the irresistible two-step and
impressionistic words of Ingrid Chavez on “The Spell” (over 1 million streams on Spotify so
far) a new generation of ears deserve to discover the influential underground sound world of
Charles Webster.

Charles continues to work and push the boundaries of electronic music, since Decision Time
he has; signed a deal for a follow up long player (details soon), remixed countless artists
( Luciano, Sio, Nutty Nys, Frank & Tony, Luka, Ingrid Chavez amongst many others), DJ’d
worldwide and has just completed an album of South African colabs set for October 2025
release, preceded by the first single on March 2025 (collabs include; Muzi, Sio, China
Charmeleon, Armos Blaq, Bokani Dyer, FKA Mash etc)….no signs of slowing down at all
we see !