Gareth Jones

‘Art, music and design have and always be central to my creative output and I hope even just a trickle of this comes out in the music you’re listening to.’ Garamond is the musical moniker of graphic designer Gareth Paul Jones. ‘I remember the day I was first given a Perception Rave flyer around 1989 by my then pony-tailed raving neighbour; holding the flyer I was taken with its futuristic dreamlike imagery, unlike anything I had seen before. I was in my second year of Secondary School at the time and having by now started Art and Craft, Design & Technology lessons (where we drew isometric trucks with Rotring pens), I was already beginning to fall in love with futuristic aesthetics in life. That Summer became a journey into rave culture as the music also began to take hold - a soundtrack to the rave culture visuals all around me.’ College and University quickly followed where his passion for music, DJing and dance culture continued to gather pace. During this time Gareth began to focus his skills towards typography within design and as he began to DJ more he realised he needed a name to perform under. It was at this point that someone casually suggested he should call myself ‘Garamond’ - a nickname that had arisen from the vague connection between the legendary typeface, his name and that he was focussing on the practice of typography within his studying. It was a great connection and it stuck. Eventually along came the opportunity to design his first album cover. ‘A live brief was given out by Nick Purser who was the in-house designer at Good Looking Records, which at the time was one of the leading labels riding the drum n' bass wave of success it enjoyed towards the end of the 90s. I didn't fit with many of the conventions at my Uni and whilst I felt outside their prescribed way of overly conceptual thinking, I knew I wanted to produce beautiful visuals for the record industry. A few badly produced covers using my fledgeling photoshop skills, a zip disc and jiffy bag (and a few interviews reminiscent of something out of the Sopranos) later I found myself working at Good Looking Records.’ A dream job straight from University doesn’t happen every day. But Gareth had now found himself working for his favourite record label and DJ all in one, at the very centre of the energy-filled drum n bass scene. Gareth’s true design and music education was now in full swing, working as an understudy to Nick who he looked to as his personal mentor in those early days. ‘Nick was absolutely the person who gave me the chance to prove myself and learn the craft of working in design and music. During that time I was lucky enough to also work as the in-house photographer at all the nights the label held at venues like The End, MOS, Cargo and the Bridge & Tunnel to name but a few. Along the way meeting world-famous DJs from all musical genres - another dream come true and something I have always been grateful for.’ It was during this time that he began to push his dance music envelope - moving from drum and bass to deep house - djing at a number of nights in and around London with various collectives, until eventually starting his own club night, Schnaffle. With two partners he ran a series of hot, intimate nights at the underground sweatbox that was ‘Public Life’, also known as ‘Jack the Ripper’s’ old toilet near the infamous ‘Ten Bells’ pub in Shoreditch. Eventually, the party came to an end as he decided to fully focus on his design career and music production in his spare time, with a view to making music that works equally at home or in the club. Music for the mind, body and soul.