DJ // PRODUCER // LABEL FOUNDER // RECORD SPECIALIST
KIERAN JANDU
Learn from someone who has spent years inside record shops, clubs, studios and labels. Not just in front of a laptop.
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MEET THE TEAM
Practical, individual tuition informed by production, performance, records, studios and underground music culture.
ARTIST // PRODUCER // DJ // MUSIC TUTOR
ETHAN DOWSE
Eighteen years of musical experience across instruments, bands, live sound, electronic production and performance.
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KIERANJANDU
Learn from someone who has spent years inside record shops, clubs, studios and labels. Not just in front of a laptop.
[ 01 ] BACKGROUND
INSIDE THE MUSIC
Kieran Jandu is a DJ, producer, label founder and record specialist with more than a decade of experience working within underground electronic music.
After eight years managing Phonica Records in London, he moved to Manchester, where he has spent the last two years working at Eastern Bloc.
His own productions have appeared on vinyl through Phonica, with 'From My Soul' included on 20 Years Of Phonica, the label's twentieth anniversary compilation, whose wider running order features artists including Four Tet, Peggy Gou, Daniel Avery and Willow.
Under his Orphic alias, he released the Shelter EP on E2-E8 Records, featuring a remix from Marco Shuttle, with the release receiving Hardwax Berlin's Pick of the Month.
Alongside international touring as a DJ and producer, Kieran now runs two new record labels, Nightshade and Orphic Records, with upcoming vinyl releases involving artists including Jay Tripwire, Polygonia and Konduku.
His teaching combines technical knowledge with years spent buying, selling, playing, making and releasing records.
- PHONICA RECORDS // LONDON
- 8 YEARS // MANAGER
- EASTERN BLOC // MANCHESTER
- 2 YEARS
- ALIAS
- ORPHIC
- LABELS
- NIGHTSHADE // ORPHIC RECORDS
- BASE
- MANCHESTER // TOURING
[ 02 ] ECOSYSTEM
MORE THAN DJ LESSONS.
Kieran's experience spans the full ecosystem around underground music. Sessions draw on all of it.
RECORD SHOP → STUDIO → CLUB → LABEL → VINYL
01
RECORDS
Phonica Records // Eastern Bloc
02
PRODUCTION
Vinyl releases // Orphic
03
DJ
International touring
04
LABELS
Nightshade // Orphic Records
05
TEACHING
DJ // production // industry knowledge
[ 03 ] VINYL
SELECTED RELEASES
Selected vinyl credits as Kieran Jandu and under the Orphic alias. Artwork, tracklists and audio below.
R01VINYL COMPILATION // SAMPLER 4
20 YEARS OF PHONICA
AS KIERAN JANDU
'From My Soul' features on Sampler 4 of 20 Years Of Phonica, the record shop and label's twentieth anniversary compilation.
The wider compilation running order includes artists such as Four Tet, Peggy Gou, Daniel Avery and Willow.
COMPILATION APPEARANCE
- LABEL
- PHONICA RECORDS
- CAT#
- PHONICA038
- YEAR
- 2023
- FORMAT
- 12" VINYL // SAMPLER
- A1Tim Reaper & Comfort Zone - Subterranean
- A2Toby Tobias - On My Mind (Freak Mix)
- B1Shy One - Uncle G
- B2Kieran Jandu - From My Soul
Mastered at Alchemy Mastering At AIR // Design - Alex Egan
VIEW ON DISCOGS →
R02VINYL EP
SHELTER EP
AS ORPHIC
Released under the Orphic alias on E2-E8 Records, featuring a remix from Marco Shuttle.
Received Hardwax Berlin's Pick of the Month.
HARDWAX PICK OF THE MONTH
- LABEL
- E2-E8 RECORDS
- CAT#
- E2E8 04
- YEAR
- 2022
- FORMAT
- 12" VINYL // EP
- A1ACSXD
- A2Mena
- B1Half Ten
- B2Macoubea
- B3ACSXD (Marco Shuttle Remix)
LISTEN
Mastered at Analogcut Mastering // Artwork - Naïma Ben Ayed
VIEW ON DISCOGS →[ 04 ] LABELS
STILL RELEASING
Kieran remains actively involved in releasing music and developing new artists through his own labels, Nightshade and Orphic Records.
ARTWORK // NIGHTSHADETBC
NIGHTSHADE
Vinyl-focused, forward-thinking underground electronic music.
- UPCOMING // JAY TRIPWIRE
- UPCOMING // POLYGONIA
ARTWORK // ORPHIC RECORDSTBC
ORPHIC RECORDS
Vinyl releases built around the Orphic sound and new artists.
- UPCOMING // KONDUKU
[ 05 ] BEHIND THE DECKS
INTERNATIONAL TOURING DJ AND PRODUCER
Students are not simply learning how to beatmatch. They are learning how to think like a DJ.
Teaching is informed by playing real rooms: different systems, different crowds, different lengths of set.
DJ PERFORMANCE PHOTOGRAPHYTBC
- 01Club DJing
- 02Vinyl
- 03CDJs
- 04Track selection
- 05Programming
- 06Reading a room
- 07Long-form sets
- 08Mixing styles
- 09Preparing for gigs
- 10Understanding sound systems
- 11Booth technique
- 12EQ and gain structure
- 13Effects
- 14Rekordbox
- 15Record digging
- 16Building a personal musical identity
[ 06 ] TUITION
LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE
01
DJING
Fundamentals through to advanced club technique.
- Beginner DJ fundamentals
- Advanced DJ technique
- CDJs
- Vinyl
- Beatmatching
- Phrasing
- EQ
- Gain structure
- Track selection
- Set construction
- Long blends
- Effects
- Rekordbox
- USB preparation
- Club preparation
- Understanding booth equipment
- Playing different types of rooms
02
VINYL
Years behind record shop counters, turned into tuition.
- Learning to DJ with vinyl
- Turntable setup
- Cueing
- Manual beatmatching
- Handling records
- Understanding pressings
- Digging
- Buying records
- Identifying labels
- Building a collection
- Understanding different eras and scenes
- Developing musical knowledge
03
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Getting tracks finished and sounding like your own.
- Track development
- Arrangement
- Sound selection
- Electronic music production
- Sampling
- Synthesis
- Groove
- Drums
- Bass
- Creative workflow
- Finishing tracks
- Preparing music for release
- Developing an individual sound
04
INDUSTRY // RELEASE KNOWLEDGE
Practical knowledge from years of direct involvement, not business coaching.
- Understanding record labels
- Preparing demos
- Approaching labels
- Vinyl releases
- Release strategy
- Building relationships within music
- Starting a label
- Developing an artist identity
- Selecting music for release
- Understanding the role of record shops
- DJ promotion
- Navigating underground electronic music culture
[ 07 ] ARCHIVE
SHOPS // CLUBS // RECORDS
PHONICA RECORDS // LONDONTBC
EASTERN BLOC // MANCHESTERTBC
VINYL RELEASESTBC
RECORD SHOPTBC
CLUBTBC
UPCOMING RELEASESTBC
PLACEHOLDER FRAMES // REPLACE WITH ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND ARTWORK
[ 08 ] BOOKING
BOOK WITH KIERAN
ETHANDOWSE
Eighteen years of musical experience across instruments, bands, live sound, electronic production and performance.
[ 01 ] BACKGROUND
INSIDE THE MUSIC
With 18 years of musical experience, Ethan brings a broad understanding of music, production and performance to every lesson.
READ FULL BIO +CLOSE FULL BIO −
His musical background began in 2007 through playing instruments and performing in bands, developing into songwriting, composition, arrangement and live sound. He plays a range of instruments including guitar, bass and drums, and has a comprehensive understanding of music theory, giving him a strong musical foundation that extends far beyond working inside a DAW.
Alongside performing, Ethan developed extensive experience in live sound and event production. By 2017, he had produced and headlined around 15 live events, managing everything from hiring venues and booking artists to promotion and technical production. This provided a practical understanding of live audio and working with artists.
In 2021, his focus shifted towards electronic music, particularly house and techno. He began DJing around Manchester in 2022 before concentrating more heavily on production from 2024. Working primarily in Ableton Live, with experience in Logic Pro, his production style centres around music that's deep, dubby and hypnotic.
His approach to teaching is built around understanding the fundamentals so you can have fun. Rather than simply showing students how to use a particular plugin or technique, Ethan focuses on understanding the foundations behind what makes music work.
Every lesson begins by establishing where the student is currently at, identifying their strengths and any pain points holding them back. From there, lessons are tailored around their individual goals, developing both their practical skills and their understanding of why things work.
His areas of expertise include music theory, melody, synthesis, sound design, programming, mixing, automation and creative problem solving. He also brings hands-on experience with drum machines, MIDI keyboards, effects racks and pedals, live instruments and microphones.
The goal is simple: to give students the confidence to understand what they're doing at every stage of making music.
Whether you're picking up Ableton for the first time, coming from a traditional musical background, learning electronic production, or looking to develop your sound, lessons are built around your current ability and where you want to go next.
Patient. Technical. Creative. Encouraging.
- EXPERIENCE
- 18 YEARS
- INSTRUMENTS
- GUITAR // BASS // DRUMS
- PRODUCTION
- ABLETON LIVE // LOGIC PRO
- FOCUS
- DEEP // DUBBY // HYPNOTIC
- APPROACH
- PATIENT // TECHNICAL // CREATIVE // ENCOURAGING
[ 06 ] TUITION
LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE
01
MUSIC FOUNDATIONS
Understanding what makes music work, then putting it into practice.
- Music theory
- Melody
- Harmony
- Composition
- Arrangement
- Writing by ear
02
PRODUCTION
Practical electronic production centred around the student's own goals.
- Ableton Live
- Logic Pro
- Synthesis
- Sound design
- Programming
- Mixing
- Automation
03
INSTRUMENTS // STUDIO
Connecting traditional musicianship with modern production tools.
- Guitar
- Bass
- Drums
- MIDI keyboards
- Drum machines
- Effects racks and pedals
- Microphones
04
TEACHING APPROACH
Patient, technical, creative and encouraging.
- Individual goals
- Current ability
- Practical skills
- Creative problem solving
- Confidence
- Understanding why
[ 08 ] BOOKING