Terence Toy Biography

From an early age Terence Toy was fascinated with sound equipment, electronics and the most important element of a DJ­– records.
He began buying 45RPM records at the age of eight. Later on, his first album purchase (Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Open Our Eyes”) would prime him for a future of playing records–a future that would open the eyes and ears of those who were lucky enough to be on his dance floor.

This dance floor could at times, be as far away as Japan; where he was flown out to play a series of dates, that soon after, turned into a six month stay because of so many offers to play in the country’s best clubs. All of the major cities in the U.S. have hosted nights featuring his sound, as well as Montreal, Vancouver and other parts of Canada, plus countless trips up and down the West Coast.
Based in Los Angeles since the beginning, his DJ career began after a friend suggested that he enter a major DJ competition at a popular nightclub. After easily winning the competition (by using two copies of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean), Terence went on to hold extremely popular residencies at such clubs as 24k, (held at The Probe nightclub) and later on Paradise 24, held at a venue called Circus (which now is known internationally as Giant). Paradise 24 was a Thursday night event that was always filled to its capacity of 2000 people– for the entire seven years that Terence Toy was the resident. It was also the place where Terence made the transition from playing “freestyle” – a sound popularized by artists such as Debbie Deb, Lisa Lisa and Expose– to the newer sounds that were known as “New York Dance.”

His friend and mentor David Bryant conducted a weekly ritual of hearing the sounds played by Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage on Saturday, purchasing them during his weekly trip to the record store on Monday, and sending them to Terence in Los Angeles by Tuesday. After some time these records became known in the underground as House Music, a sound for which Terence Toy has been well known, throughout his extensive career.

He began to expose thousands of people to this unique sound of dance music by hosting his own radio show “The Underground Beat” on 92.3FM The Beat in Los Angeles. At the same time he was heavily involved in exposing House Music to the people of San Francisco as resident of the city’s largest and longest running club, Release. Produced by well-respected promoters Martel and Nabiel, Release was the logical place for Terence Toy to hold a residency in San Francisco. Terence Toy’s working relationship with the successful promotion duo began when they heard one of his storming sets at the Winter Music Conference in Miami; soon after, they booked him to play their night at The Sound Factory, along with legendary vocalist Michael Watford. This in turn, lead to his residency at Release where he would play his version of House Music for four years.

Never one to slow down, Terence was heavily involved (as he is today) with all aspects of House Music culture. In addition to the Radio show, and multiple residencies in the two major cities on the West Coast, he was busy with his own venture, House Vibes. In order to promote himself as well as his unique sound, he began producing mix tapes that were representative of his own passion for the music. Soon, these tapes began to appear in various stores across the country, helping him to steadily reach his goal of exposing as many people as possible to the music that had taken over his life. Not content with pushing only his own tapes he began to produce and distribute the tapes of other DJs, helping many upstarts (as well as more established DJs) to gain more exposure and get their message of music to the masses.

Currently Terence Toy remains extremely active in all aspects of the industry. He spends his time not only as a DJ and entrepreneur, but also as a promoter and a true supporter of House Music. His highly touted clubs “Toy Box”, and “Afro-ma Therapy” have been very well received; and his residency at the legendary, Los Angeles afterhours “Does Your Mama Know” has been an important part of the local House Music scene. He continues to spread the word via guest appearances on KPRW ‘s Powertools, an immensely popular Saturday night dance-music program the reaches millions of listeners throughout Los Angeles County.

He also keeps his ears open to different styles of music. While being mostly known for playing Deep House and Garage, he also plays other varieties such as Afro-Cuban, Latin, Acid Jazz and Jazzy Drum & Bass. The most important thing to mention is that after being a DJ for so long, he knows exactly what to play and the right time to play it. Many people forget that this is the mark of a true DJ, knowing how to move the crowd and not allowing them to leave the floor.

All of this is the result of years of hard work and valuable experience, in an industry that is growing larger and more competitive every minute. Longevity is hard to accomplish and Terence Toy has proven that he will be around for a long time, doing his part to expose people around the world to the soul and passion that is House.

For booking Inquiries contact booking@terencetoy.com