Joe Wakeford

Joseph Matthew Wakeford (born 28 September 1980 in Guildford, Surrey, England) is a musician and record producer based in Prague, Czech Republic. Private tuition from regular (drummer for Republica) preceded his graduation from the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in 1998 with Honours. He taught Drum kit and Music theory in his own relaxed but informative style at music workshops and from his Guildford based recording studio from 1998 to 2006 at which time he relocated all business activities to Czech Republic.

Early years
Joe's early training was snare drum based giving him a wide knowledge of drum rudiments and stick/brush technique. He is well versed in the Moeller method, a variety of drumming techniques with the goal of improving hand speed, power, and control while offering the flexibility to add accented notes at will. Joe's musical sensitivity is attributed to his first public live performances in churches resulting in an early developed sense of spacial awareness, volume control and close musical interaction with band members. His performance skills and well-trained ear, alongside techniques learned during his study, have earned him experience alongside Boyzone, Herbie Flowers (David Bowie, Elton John and Lou Reed), and Alvin Stardust.

Career
During his association with EMI Joe has written and produced music for some of the Czech Republic's most prominent artists, such as Lucie Bílá and Gothart, enabling him to enter the nation's top ten with love-song 'Priceless Gem' and top forty with 'From Here To Eternity', a collaboration with Swedish lyricist [http://web.telia.com/~u74700917/english/index.html Lars E. Carlsson].

As producer, his skills are heard on Arnold McCuller's (James Taylor and Phil Collins) 'Start All Over', Timmy Mallet's forthcoming 'Itsy Bitsy' 2007 remix and Louise Glover's (Miss Hawaiian Tropic UK 2007) debut release for which Joe wrote all the songs. His style is characterised by innovative use of alternate chord progressions not normally expected in a standard song structure. He often transforms a song by altering it's style or feel using unusual chords and introducing new musical hooks.

In his musician or producer guise Joe's working associations include Skunk Anansie (Mark Richardson and Ace), Republica (Pete Riley), Bee Gees, Jeremy Healy (Haysi Fantayzee), BBC Radio (notably jingles for BBC Southern Counties Radio presenter Paul Miller) and Mel G.

His solo project 'Flight of Fancy EP' was exclusively released on iTunes worldwide in September 2007 to coincide with his birthday.

Trivia

*Wakeford is a sports car collector who continues to support the credibility of the Mazda MX-5 featuring his own example in Japanese vehicle tuning magazine article in November 2003.
*Wakeford uses Pearl Drums and Roland V-Drums electronic drums.
*Wakeford has his own drum sticks with a caricature of his face printed on the shaft.

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