Riton

Henry Smithson (born 13 September 1978), best known by his stage name Riton is an English electronic music DJ and producer from Newcastle upon Tyne. Smithson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. The name Riton is French slang for "Henry". He graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. After finishing university, Smithson started the Switch Recordings label, upon which he released his first two 12" singles. He began DJing at Newcastle's "Shindig" nightclub. There, he was discovered by Mark Rae and signed to Grand Central Records independent record label. Like Rae, he then worked in Manchester's Fat City Records label/distribution/retail outlet. His first release on Grand Central, the song "Communicated", featured on the compilation album Central Heating 2 (2000) and was followed by his mostly instrumental debut album, Beats du Jour (2001). Riton's second album, Homies And Homos (2004) was a much more vocal affair, and featured, among others, Lee Jones of Howdi and Luca Santucci. It includes a cover version of The Cure's song "Killing an Arab".