Najan Ward
Najan Ward is a label owner, DJ, actor, screenwriter and producer. Being based near Nottingham in 1996, Najan had plenty of inspiration to draw upon when he first started getting involved in the dance music scene. He first started a Sound Engineering course in Leicester, progressing onto the turntables six months later. Najan’s early influences were from the likes of Tuff Jam, Todd Edwards, MK, Kenny Dope, Kerri Chandler, DJ Disciple and Armand van Helden. Najan took to the Underground House scene after listening to a set by the Inland Knights at The Bomb in Nottingham and since has not looked back.
Wanting to get more involved in the music business Najan went on to open his own record shop called In The Groove Records. The shop quickly developed a strong reputation for House Music, with regular shoppers including Nic Fanciulli, Yousef, MYNC Project and Mark Brown of CR2. In The Groove quickly became a regular spot for many club DJ’s from all around the Midlands. It was at his record shop where Najan met Ian Straker (Strakes) and Peter Morgan (Pete Dafeet), quickly discovering their talent for dance music. The three of them decided to create their own record label, Lost My Dog Records. While simultaneously running the record shop and working on the label, Najan also got involved in club promotions and has organized events in cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham and Barcelona.
Najan has another major interest; acting. He has achieved a thriving film and television career, performing in shows such as Life on Mars and Doctors and is currently producing his first short film The Pick Up which he has co-written with Aml Ameen.
