Ray Mang

Ray Mang is the disco dance party DJ alter ego of writer/producer Raj Gupta. The moniker was introduced as a vehicle for creating, releasing and spinning anything goes disco-centric party music for collectors, dancers, enthusiasts and Jocks alike. Taking inspiration from the extended disco mixes, dub versions and edits of such luminaries as Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, Daniele Baldelli, Tee Scott, Began Cekic and Tom Moulton, and the open minded music policies of some of the pioneering early clubs such as the Paradise Garage, the Loft and the Italian Cosmic parties, Ray Mang set out to help keep the glitter ball shimmering and the disco flame burning into the new millennium!
His first EP under this moniker entitled 'No. 1' was released in '97 and has since become a much sought after underground classic. It has been included on both Mixmag Presents Monsieur Dimitri's De-Luxe House Of Funk and Groove Armada's Back To Mine compilations and there are still people trying to track down copies of the original 12" release on Noid! This was followed by a string of limited edition edit style 12" on his very own Mangled imprint. Mangled releases found DJ support from the likes of Pete Tong, Harvey, Gilles Peterson, James Lavelle, Dimitri from Paris, The Glimmers, Groove Armada, Doc Martin, Spun, Daniel Wang, Trevor Jackson, Idjut boys, Buck, Royksopp and Andy Weatherall amongst others.
Moving into the naughties and Ray hooked up with David Fouquaert (of the Glimmers) who was A & R for legendary Belgian dance label R & S. The 12" 'Praia Do Londres' was released and an album was planned but R & S sadly ceased trading before the release. Ray jumped ship with David Fouquaert to new Belgian label 'Eskimo Recordings' to release an album of some of his past 12" excursions. The Ray Mang album 'Mangled' was released in April, 2002.
Since then further singles followed on Eskimo together with 'Big Bambu' for Big Bear and 'Disco Dementia' for US label Smash Hit Music Company. Ray Mang also teamed up with Belgian DJ's The Glimmers to form Dirty Minds. Three singles have been released to date on Eskimo Recordings. The relationship with the Glimmers has also seen 12 collaborations for the boys own project with releases on the Diskimo imprint and as part of the Glimmers album debut “Gee Gee Fazzi’ (parts 1 + 2) along with numerous remixes. Work on a new Long Player is in the final stages and the project should hit the stores mid 2010!
2008 onwards has seen new releases on the revitalised Mangled imprint. Six new 12's have surfaced to date along with the compilation CD 'Mangled Again'. Lot's of new goodies are scheduled for 2010!!
A new Ray Mang single 'Bullet Proof' featuring vocals from Lady Miss Kier and backed with 'Look Into My Eyes' has recently been released on excellent New York imprint DFA!