GPO Records are set to fire up dancefloors this summer with the release of 'Freedom' the debut single from DJ and producer Niall Lynch aka DJ Ted.

For Lynch, Freedom is the fulfillment of a longstanding ambition.
"It is something I always wanted to do, but didn't have the time with two jobs.
Then through a friend Daragh Mulligan [one of the Rhythm Brothers] I met his brother Ciaran [a studio engineer at Lime Street Sound and another Rhythm Brother] and suddenly I had a studio outlet. It took considerable time to find out that it is not just a matter of tucking your three favourite samples under your arm and heading in to the studio and suddenly a masterpiece is produced. We submitted 5 pieces of work to GPO records and they liked Freedom [the single] best.
I then sent it to the biggest independent dance producers in the UK [Hook] and they signed it immediately, which I was bowled over by. They are due to release a beefed up version in the UK in early August. The album, Essence, is a mix of a number of tracks from top dance artists and is fairly representative of a typical night at Essence which starts off funky and ends up with anthemic trance & house good fun overall. As regards production, I have a number of other projects in the pipeline. God that sounds such pretentious twaddle!
Pretentious twaddle or not, like many producers, Ted has a strong background in deejaying.
I started DJing in college circa 1989, playing firstly indie and then soul, funk & hip-hop. The idea was to earn some money and pick up chicks. Both initiatives failed miserably! However, I persevered playing music as I was bitten by the bug and I moved from the seminal Soul of the Mile High Club to the sublime house sounds of Jooce [with DJ Mike Kearney] which won DMC's Irish Club of the Year award in 1994. Since then I have been resident at the GPO Nightclub and started Essence over three years ago the club has gone from strength to strength and my Djing style has taken on a harder edge. The progression to musical production has been a logical one.
First up for Ted's hectic summer diary is this weekend's first ever Creamfields Ireland festival.
Creamfields will be good fun and we've a few surprises lined up for the Kitchen tent while I'm on, enthuses Ted. Even though I'm ten years DJing you still get nervous in such large environments sometimes your em mixing goes to pieces but the main thing is that you play with energy and conviction, enjoy yourself and play tunes that enable the crowd to enjoy themselves it'll be great and it's the day before the album launch so I'm very excited.
Creamfields is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reasons to be cheerful about indigenous Irish producers, and Ted sees many positve developments for the scene in general.
One thing that is marvellous about the Irish scene at the moment is the amount of unsolicited help you get when embarking on projects of the nature of Freedom . The promoters and DJ's at all the venues I've played have rowed in behind, especially Paudi Cronin In Transmission, Tralee, Webster in Panama Jacks, Castlebar, Stevie G and numerous others. There is a very positive attitude to Irish innovation now particularly in the dance arena. Irish Dance music is no longer a pedantic beat with droning bagpipes in the background Mr. Spring, Agnelli & Nelson, Mark Kavanagh and others have helped dispel that notion. However, one major problem is the lack of facilities and promotional vehicles for producers. It is very hard to get your material to the right person. A properly advertised and marketed dance-oriented record company and agency in Ireland would not go amiss. The clubbing scene is quite vibrant at present I don't think that there is too much wrong with the attitude of Irish clubbers."
So how does Ted intend to continue thrilling the same fun lovin', up for it clubbers?
Well I hope to make a few more singles and another mix album or two. I'm fond of going on tour and while I've already played extensively in Ireland and in the US, I'd like to play in as many venues as possible around the country and I would particularly like more residencies. It can be difficult getting English dates as the English DJs frequenting here don't often offer reciprocal gigs at their own residencies I'd like to see that change I'd like to travel some more and retire at 35 to St. Lucia with an intelligent, funny supermodel that's not unrealistic is it? Is it?"
Of course not. Keep your dreams.
Freedom is currently available. The Album Essence The Mix is out on July 7th. Further information: [email protected]