Tony Thomas and The Night Bazaar: A Tale of Cubic Proportions

I’ve been a fan of Tony Thomas since the late ’90s, drawn to his hypnotic, groove-led sound that helped define a golden era of underground house and techno. His records were part of my musical education, I learned to mix with his vinyl, and when he released his seminal album 20th Century Dub on Soma in 2003, I was already hooked. My mum gave me that album for Christmas that year, and I played it to death.

A few years later, after I began producing as Lunacy Sound Division, Tony signed my first Lunacy Sound Division releases, War Inside My Brain, Fear and Self Loathing and Bonzai Tree, to his label Cubic Records in 2007. Looking back, those early tracks were rough around the edges, but Tony saw potential and gave me the confidence to start releasing music. His belief in me meant everything during that exciting transition from vinyl to digital platforms like Beatport.

As my sound developed, Tony continued to release my music on his labels Cubic Records and New Era Recordings, and we became close friends. I often travelled from Maidstone to Nottingham to stay with him and make tracks.

Around 2008, during one of those sessions, Tony suggested we start a digital sister label to Cubic Records, and Cubism was born. Under his guidance, it became a respected home for underground house and techno.

Tony stepped back from the label in 2010, and after I met Saytek (Joseph Keevill) at a rave in a cave in Chatham, we continued running Cubism together. The label remains strong to this day, and Tony and I have stayed close friends.

When The Night Bazaar teamed up with Beatportal, I wanted to pay tribute to my mentor and celebrate his legacy. With his blessing, I compiled a collection of my favourite tracks for Tony Thomas – The Night Bazaar, available exclusively on Beatport, with a continuous mix by me on Mixcloud. Listen to the mix HERE.

I sat down with Tony to talk about his incredible journey.

“I was playing in bands from fifteen,” Tony told me. “I started out on guitar and vocals in a punk band called Spasm, then learned drums and joined a dub reggae band called The Reactors. I was gigging while still at school. But from thirteen, I was obsessed with synth music, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder, I was hooked.”

That obsession led him to buy his first synth, an EDP Wasp, at seventeen. “That’s when my journey into electronic music really began,” he said. “I was in a synth band called Robotnik with my mate Pete Karkut, and we recorded with and supported Vice Versa, who became ABC. In the early ’80s, I was listening to electro but also drumming in a contemporary jazz band called Vermin.”

By the mid-’80s, Tony was experimenting with early techno and house. “I was following what was happening in Detroit and Chicago and trying to recreate it,” he said. “But it wasn’t until the early ’90s that I figured out how to make proper productions using Cubase on an Atari.”

From there, his career took off. “A few friends and I started releasing vinyl in ’92 and didn’t stop until the mid-2000s. In ’93 I joined Nebula 2 and we launched several labels covering house, techno, trance and jungle. By the end of the decade, I was DJing internationally, playing on three decks, and touring thanks to the sheer number of releases I had.”

Tony also collaborated with Alan Barratt as The Producers and Roger Watson (DJ Hal) as Red Moon. “We did loads of releases and a couple of albums together,” he said. “Then I landed deals with Soma and Mr. C’s End Recordings. After that, everyone wanted tunes and remixes, it was an amazing time.”

When I asked which period he remembers most fondly, Tony didn’t hesitate. “The best years were from 2000 to 2014,” he said. “I was performing all over the world, sometimes two or three gigs a week, meeting amazing people everywhere. One week at Miami WMC I had seven gigs! It was a great time.”

Tony’s versatility and relentless creativity led him to release music under more than forty aliases. “At one point I was making two or three tracks a day, house, deep house, techno, minimal, chill, whatever. I created these pretend artists to give the music different identities. Some even got gig offers!”

In more recent years, Tony has focused purely on studio work. “I had to stop travelling in 2014 to care for my parents until they passed,” he said. “Now I just produce and release on my own labels. My approach keeps evolving, new software, new ideas. I never get bored.”

When I thanked him for his blessing on the compilation, he replied in typically humble style: “Nice track selection, Marky, I approve. I wouldn’t know which tracks to pick myself, there are too many!”

Tony’s now setting up a new home studio. “It’ll be ready soon and perfect,” he said. “Production is an addiction, but these days I focus on quality, not quantity.”

For me, this project has been a full-circle moment. Tony’s music has soundtracked my journey from fan to producer to label owner and journalist. Without his guidance, I might never have had the confidence to start releasing music or launch Cubism.

Tony Thomas – The Night Bazaar is out now exclusively on Beatport, with a continuous mix available on Mixcloud, a celebration of Tony’s incredible contribution to underground dance music and a personal thank you to a friend and mentor who continues to inspire me today.

Read the full in-depth interview on The Night Bazaar HERE.