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Guru Josh
Jersey musician (1964–2015) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Paul Dudley Walden (6 June 1964 – 28 December 2015),[1] better known as Guru Josh, was a Jersey musician, active in the British post-acid house scene, best known for his debut single, "Infinity".
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Biography
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Musical career
Walden was the son of a Jersey dentist, Harold Walden.[1] After studying dentistry himself in 1981, he began his career as an entertainer and keyboard player at the Sands nightclub in Jersey, performing under the names Syndrone, and Animal and his Crazy Organs.[1] In 1983 he moved to the United States to pursue a musical career but did not progress, instead working as a chauffeur and decorator.[1] He withdrew £1,000 and moved to London, setting up rock band Joshua Cry’s Wolf, alongside saxophone player Mad Mick.[1] In 1988, Walden tried ecstasy for the first time at a London pub during the "Second Summer of Love", subsequently switching from rock to house music.[2]
In 1989, Guru Josh released "Infinity" also known as "Infinity (1990's... Time for the Guru)", from his debut album, Infinity. Mad Mick played the saxophone on the song.[1] The song was originally produced for a friend of Guru Josh, who was organising a warehouse party of the same name. He made 500 copies and distributed them to leading DJs.[1] gained attention when it started to be played by Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering.[2] Guru Josh signed for BMG Records,[1] and the song achieved success in Europe, especially in Germany, the UK, Portugal and Austria. The song was later re-mixed and re-released on multiple occasions (the most popular remix by Klaas), still receiving particular success in 2011.[3]
Guru Josh released several other singles in the 1990s, including "Freaky Dreamer", "Holographic Dreams" and "Whose Law (Is It Anyway?)", which reached number 26 and number 12 in the UK and Germany, respectively.[4] In a Record Mirror interview, he endorsed the poll tax at a time that its unpopularity was leading to riots, which may have affected the outcome of "Whose Law (Is It Anyway?)".[1][5] "Hallelujah" was released in 1991. Shortly after this, Guru Josh diversified into also doing multimedia production creating the Dance in Cyberspace series of music videos under the name of Dr. Devious and also VR. His single "Cyberdream" achieved heavy rotation on MTV programme Party Zone for its psychedelic video.[1]
Following the success of "Infinity", Guru Josh moved to Ibiza, concentrating on art and running a promotions company.[2]
In 2007, he was part of Guru Josh Project, formed by Darren Bailie and signed by Big City Beats. The group consisted of Paul Walden, Anders Nyman and Darren Bailie. In 2008, "Infinity" was re-released as "Infinity 2008", which was remixed by the German DJ Klaas. It experienced widespread success, peaking at number one on the Belgian, Dutch, French and Danish singles charts, the Czech airplay chart and the Eurochart Hot 100.[3]
In 2010, he released a new single entitled "Frozen Teardrops".[6] In March 2011, he released "Love of Life", with a more modern and punchy house style.
In 2012, saw the release of a remix of the 1989 original of "Infinity" called "Infinity 2012" by Guru Josh, with the main remix done by DJ Antoine.[7] This single was then used by Langnese for a large marketing campaign promoting a new product launch during the summer of 2012 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[8]
Guru Josh created 3D glass art under the name of "Louie Fabrix", sold in small exhibitions in New York, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.
Death
Walden died by suicide on 28 December 2015, at the age of 51. Associates said he had been suffering from drug and alcohol addictions as well as depression following a breakup with his girlfriend.[1][5]
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Discography
Studio albums
Singles
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