Guru Josh: Musician, producer and DJ who became a leading figure on the rave scene with his hit single 'Infinity'

Initiated into the world of house in London in the 1980s, Walden became one of its best known figures

Guru Josh in 2008 on stage in Strasbourg (Rex Features)

"Here's my key, philosophy, a freak like me just needs infinity... Relax, take your time..." So began the lyrics to Guru Josh's 2008 smash hit "Infinity", the electronic dance music song which became such a massive success for him twice over, during the so-called "Second Summer of Love" in 1989 and again nearly two decades later.

The musician, producer and disc jockey was born Paul Walden in Jersey, the son of a dentist, Harold Walden. He had intended to follow in his father's footsteps and had begun studying dentistry but was instead drawn to the US. On leaving the island for the States in 1983 he sought to pursue music as a career but found himself in San Francisco decorating by day and chaffeuring by night.

He told a friend at the time, "I came here to do music, not run two companies. I've had the time of my life but music is my heart and London is where I need to be... If I go to London with this cash I will not do music."

Returning to the UK after three years, he established himself in London as a booking agent, providing bands and DJs to venues across the capital. Around the same time he created Joshua and the Wolf, a rock band somewhat out of step with the music world, at a time when rock was giving way to electronic dance music, in the Second Summer of Love.

His life changed, when, as he recalled, "I was playing a pub in London when somebody popped an ecstasy tab in my mouth. From then on, I started playing house music." Initiated into the world of house, Walden would soon become one of its best known figures.

"Infinity", his greatest hit single, began as a one-off project for a dance music party. "A friend of mine had a warehouse party called Infinity and he gave me a few hundred quid to make some white labels for the party," Walden remembered, "So I called up Mad Mick, the saxophone player from my band, and adapted the "Infinity" line from one of my old rock songs. We pressed up 500 copies and 480 people threw it in the bin."

A dance track with electronic saxophone was an unlikely formula. But when the DJ Mike Pickering picked up on "Infinity" and played it regularly at the Hacienda club in Manchester in 1989, it caught on and was soon a hit, reaching No 5 in the UK singles chart. The album Infinity, released the same year, made it to No 41 in the UK charts. A wildly catchy follow-up single, "Whose Law (is It Anyway)" (1990), again with Mad Mick on sax, scraped into the top 30.

Walden saw further success under the name Dr Devious, releasing the single "Cyberdream" in 1992, a song made popular by the late John Peel on the radio and MTV's Party Zone, with an accompanying video created by Walden.

James Hyman, producer of Party Zone, told The Independent, "The impact of Dr Devious and 'Cyberdream' cannot be underestimated in the context of its time when released. In the early '90s it was rare for underground electronic music to have quality videos produced. This, with its then pioneering sharp computer graphics, made viewers of MTV's Party Zone and the industry sit up in awe."

In 2007 Walden, Darren Bailie and Anders Nyman formed the Guru Josh Project. The second incarnation of "Infinity" came the following year when the original song was remixed by DJ Klaas and released as "Infinity 2008", making No 1 in many countries across Europe and selling around 6m copies

Following Infinity Walden moved to Ibiza and become an inventor. "What do I want to do for the rest of my life, keep churning out rubbish?" he told an interviewer early in 2015. "Music has been good to me, but now I get more excitement out of setting up new businesses. About a year ago, I patented a new invention that's being manufactured in China at the moment. It's a big secret but you'll know about it soon. People say it's the next cat's eyes." His invention remains a mystery. As an artist Walden had created canvasses of bright swirling colour, reminiscent of his 1990s videos, while under the name "Louie Fabrix" he created illuminated glass art which he sold in small shows in New York, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

He died in Ibiza, apparently by taking his own life. He had reportedly been suffering from depression. His friend, DJ Fat Controller, paid tribute. "I had the pleasure of working alongside him with the Dr Devious Christmas Show at the infamous Sanctuary back in '94 and can only say that he truly lived up to the great quote from Lemmy who also has just passed away: 'If you're going to be a f**king rock star, go be one!'... People don't want to see the guy next door on stage, they want to see a being from another planet. You want to see somebody you'd never meet in ordinary life. Those words suit Josh more than anything else anyone could write."

Paul Walden (Guru Josh, Dr Devious), musician, agent and DJ: born Jersey 6 June 1964; died Ibiza 28 December 2015.