Sonny Wharton is a British house and techno DJ and record producer. In addition to his artist career, Wharton now manages a range of electronic DJs and producers alongside running his newly founded record label, Strength In Numbers.
Sonny Wharton was born in mid-Wales, where he was encouraged to explore music by his father Alex Wharton. Alex Wharton produced the Moody Blues' first record "Go Now", scoring a No. 1 UK single and a No. 10 US hit in early 1965.
Wharton's early dance music influences have been cited as Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim and X-Press 2 alongside live acts such as the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers.
Wharton's debut release as a producer came in 2004 with the release of Hotsteppa which saw him collaborate with fellow producer MangoTrasher.[1] Following support from the likes of Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong and Roger Sanchez, Wharton has worked on remixes for other artists of varying genres, including Fatboy Slim,[2] Morcheeba,[3] Aloe Blacc,[4] the Temper Trap, Utah Saints and X-Press 2.[5] [6] [7]
Wharton has released singles most prominently on Brighton based Skint Records. His collaboration with DJ Chus featuring vocalist El Chino Dreadlion, "Runnin'" topped DMCWorlds magazine's Buzz Chart going straight in at number 1.[8] Wharton's single "Raindance" was championed by Carl Cox and dubbed "Radio 1 Ibiza Track of the Summer" and "Radio 1 Track Of The Week" after winning the public vote on BBC Radio 1's Review Show with Edith Bowman.[9] Popular online blog In the Mix also cited Wharton's "Raindance" as number 1 in their article "Ten Massive Tunes That Ruled Ibiza".[10]
As a DJ, Wharton won a DJ Mag mix-tape competition for Renaissance. The award afforded him a chance to present sets in the Ibiza nightclub Amnesia. He was subsequently given a weekly residency at Manumission held at Privilege Ibiza (the world's largest nightclub), where he belonged to the island's large British dance contingent. This initial exposure in the Ibiza scene has led Wharton to play shows at other club venues such as Pacha, Space and Ministry of Sound in London where he supported Armand van Helden for the club's 22nd birthday.[11] Wharton has held international residencies in Stockholm, Barcelona and most notably at Club Octagon[12] in Seoul, recently ranked at #7[13] in DJ Mags Top 100 Clubs poll. Fatboy Slim endorsed Wharton as his "producer of the year"[14] and included Wharton as a key support act on his sold out 'Eat Sleep Rave Repeat' UK Tour alongside Riva Starr.[15]
A regular on the festival circuit, Wharton has performed at events such as Glastonbury, V Festival, Global Gathering and The Isle of Wight Festival. Wharton's largest event to date was The Berlin Love Parade where he played to a collective crowd of over 1 million people.[16] [17] [18]
Wharton has featured on several guest mixes for BBC Radio 1,[19] following the support of Annie Nightingale and his music has been played by Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Danny Howard. His music has featured on Channel 5's The Gadget Show television programme, E4's Misfits and MTV.
Wharton is the UK ambassador for music technology brands Ortofon and Ecler, appearing at international trade shows where he displays the range of products for the companies and features in the companies advertising campaigns in the press and on screen. Wharton is also regularly associated with primary ticket outlet and events guide Skiddle, with exclusive mixes appearing on the website's news section[20] and appearances at events associated with the business (including corporate events organised by and for the business).[21]
Sonny curated and mixed Stress Records recent Club Culture album[22] featuring music from Prospa, Tommy Farrow and Alex Metric.
Alongside Mark Ronson and Eddie Temple Morris, Wharton is an ambassador for the British Tinnitus Association campaign "Plug 'Em"[23] as well as a leading ambassador for the charity group Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), who deal with the issues of depression and suicide among young men in the UK.[24]
Whartone records was founded in 2009 and recently celebrated "10 Years of Whartone Records" with a 50-track album release.[25] As well as being the main hub for Wharton's solo productions, Whartone has released music from Avicii, K-Klass, Will Clarke, Leftwing:Kody and X-Press 2. The label has been supported by the likes of Carl Cox, Pete Tong, Sander Kleinenberg, Sebastian Ingrosso, Mark Knight, Roger Sanchez, and received plays on BBC Radio 1, Kiss FM and Capital FM. In an interview with Wharton he claimed that:[26]
Newly founded in 2022 Wharton's new label Strength In Numbers has been supported heavily across BBC Radio 1, Capital Dance and Kiss with releases from such artists as Dark Arts Club, Coco Cole, Monoed, Atkiins and TrippleJayy. The label's first release was by Dart Arts Club entitled "Still Dream About You" which celebrated four weeks in the Capital Dance playlist.[27]
In 2017, Wharton joined London based Your Army Ltd[28] as part of their management department looking after such artists as OC & Verde, Jansons, and Sharam. In 2020, Wharton began managing Chicago based Gene Farris and signed new UK artist Jess Bays. In 2021, Wharton began managing Charlie Tee ahead of her joining BBC Radio 1 with her newly appointed position as the stations "first full-time female presenter of Radio 1's Drum & Bass show".[29]