Terence Toy: Vanguard of House Music

Terence Toy started spinning house tracks in the early 80s, back when the genre was progressing through major east coast cities with velocity. The late New York house DJ David Bryant was a mentor to Terence and turned him on to the deep, funky sound of the underground scene. Bryant’s perceptive advice to Terence was, “to be really successful in this business, these are the grooves to play.” Terence never looked back.

To the benefit of his audience, Terence brings to his turntables his experience as a trained musician. He’s a skilled drummer, he reads music and was a member of his high school band. He understands music theory and is an expert at reconstructing verses, bridges and breaks. Terence is also an accomplished composer and producer of house music, including deep house, R&B house, gospel house, Afro-Cuban rhythms and Afro-tech.

His roots embody the styles of New Jersey swing to the Miami sound to Chicago warehouse; the beats and tempos speak to him. Soulful-vocal-house and straight-ahead jazz have always moved him equally.

Click the links below to listen to the tracks we played on our episode with Terence, plus a few more including Terence's musical response to George Floyd and the story about it.

http://www.terencetoy.com/