CNN.com - DJ Louis Osbourne shares dad's love of music

By Simon Umlauf
CNN Headline News

(CNN) -- He's Louis Osbourne, the up-and-coming DJ fresh from spinning deep house and techno beats in seven countries and nine U.S. cities during 2002. If you don't know this younger version of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, you will see him soon in Mixer magazine.

This Osbourne has a smooth demeanor, light on the cussing, with a firm understanding of the music business. In his own words, he's "mad busy" right now with photo shoots, travel plans and an impending record deal for a DJ compilation due out in April.

You might have seen Louis a few times on "The Osbournes." He appeared on the Christmas special, at his father's 54th birthday and other holiday events. Louis is definitely a part of the Osbourne family, but only incidentally a part of the MTV reality show.

The 27-year-old Osbourne, a son from Ozzy's first marriage, grew up in Birmingham, England, and shares his father's tough looks, cocky panache and love for music.

Unlike his father, "I play the techiest side of house and the funkiest side of techno," Osbourne proclaims. Osbourne's been a DJ more than eight years, much longer than the family's lovable bulldog, Lola, has been puking on TV.

The DJ bug bit Osbourne when he was only 16, after seeing his first rave. It wasn't long before Osbourne was working as sales manager at Birmingham's "Hard to Find Records," the niche shop for DJs seeking musical meaning. A college dropout, he refers to his three yea'rs tenure there as his "university course in dance music."

By 1997, Osbourne earned his first DJ residency at Birmingham's techno mecca, the "House of God." Later, Osbourne graduated to the rave party capital of the world, the island of Ibiza off the coast of Spain, where he spent three years spinning with some of the top names in the techno/house industry.

I think touring helps … because when you’re going from city to city, you have to learn how to keep people moving any which way you can … people's tastes change from place to place. -- Louis Osbourne

When asked about the musical groups that have shaped him, Osbourne cites house greats: Deep Dish, Tenaglia, and Carl Cox. Cox is one of the founding fathers of house music and is known for his high-energy sets.

But heavy metal has also played a part in his style, Osbourne readily admits. "I'd say I've been brought up by one of the most charismatic entertainers of our time. I try to put the energy that I see my dad put into an auditorium into my kind of sets. It's not about making people move -- it's about moving people."

The younger Osbourne has done just that. He's moved a lot of people throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and hit dozens of cities in the United States during the last two years.

Obviously, being an Osbourne could be a real drawing card. However, to forge his own path, Louis has clauses in his contract that prohibit promoters from using Ozzy, MTV or "The Osbournes" in any billing.

From Louis' point of view, "Obviously, I try to protect my artistic integrity about what I do. [The name] is obviously an advantage and it's not something I blatantly want to use. I feel my own merit should get me where I'm going. It has undeniably helped me -- but I got the skills to match it."

Where to see Osbourne next: He is in the British Isles and hits the United States in February.