Richard Vission

One of the preeminent house DJ/producers around Los Angeles since the late ’80s, Richard Vission — or Richard "Humpty" Vission early on — became known for a freewheeling mixing style that cycled through dozens of records per hour, and a production career that saw the same frenzied sound crest with his sports-anthem classic “Jump,” by the Movement. Born in Toronto and raised in East L.A., Vission began DJing hip-hop in high school and graduated to a local rap station, KDAY. By 1990, he’d left for the dance station KPWR-Power 106, first working as an intern and one year later beginning his own long-running show, Powertools. In 1992, Vission got together with producer A.J. Mora and rapper Hazze to form the Movement, which debuted in summer 1992 with the techno-pop barnstormer “Jump.” A staple of sports-arena PA booths for years to come, “Jump” went gold and just barely missed the Top 40. After touring with the group and releasing a self-titled Movement album, Vission founded the Aqua Boogie label for his burgeoning production career. It got a boost in 1995 when he hooked up with British remixer Pete Lorimer to form the production team Vission & Lorimer, responsible for dance hits recorded by Crystal Waters, N-Joi, Raw Stylus, Martha Wash, and Brand New Heavies. His first mix album, This Is My House, appeared that same year and introduced his extroverted DJing style to a wider audience. After a follow-up (House Nation) in 1996, Vission recorded The House Connection, the first in a series of tag-team mix sets with fellow renegade DJ Bad Boy Bill. He continued releasing about an album per year, and aside from continuing the Powertools show (the highest-rated dance show in Los Angeles), Vission spent time remixing for artists including Donna Summer, Radiohead, Todd Terry, Lady GaGa, the Shamen, RuPaul, Ace of Base, Taylor Dayne, and Crystal Waters. Even legions of non-dance fans likely saw or heard him at work, considering he was the resident DJ at MTV’s The Blame Game and also composed the score for the syndicated Judge Mathis. His second installment for Tommy Boy, Damn That DJ Made My Day, was issued in summer 2001. His 2004 mix CD, Big Floor Funk, whipped through 31 tracks on one disc while his 2005 effort, Automatic, was a double-disc set featuring the likes of Mylo and the Bravery. In 2006 he had a club hit with the track “Somebody.” ~ John Bush