GOES ON ONE ABOUT HIS LIFE-LONG LOVE AND LUST FOR MUSIC!
1. HEY PAUL... HOW ARE THINGS IN THE LIFE OF A DJ AT THE MOMENT?
Starting to get a bit busy at the moment, due to my gig for The Collective, as well as having recently done a guest-set at Electric Dreams, Gossips, >London and I have also DJed at this new club night called Venus which is in its embryonic stages.
2. HOW DID YOU GET INTO DJ-ing, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WHY?
One of my best mates who shared my passion for music and in combining the right set of tunes together had been DJing for a little while. I thought if he could do it then there is no reason why I can't. He said he would lend me his decks and after doing an 18th birthday party the rest is history.
3. WHAT ARE THE BEST AND WORST THINGS ABOUT BEING A DJ... AND IS THERE POTENTIAL TO MAKE A LIVING FROM BEING A DJ ASWELL AS DOING IT BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT?...
Best things are when the crowd likes your set, when you fill a dancefloor and when you are responsible for controlling the mood of a successful evening. Worst things are you are never going to please everyone and sometimes people can be aggressive if you play things they don't like and don't play their requests, such as underground speed garage at a work party, which you would never even think about playing at such an occasion. It can be stressful if you are doing a big party when you are using your own equipment. If it goes wrong you are responsible for ruining somebody's big night. Well you've seen Paul Oakenfold and Fatboy Slim. If you can you will I suppose, but if you don't earn enough from it to give up the day-job it can be nice to earn a bit of extra cash from doing something you feel passionate about. As far as I am concerned, let's just wait and see.
4. HOW MANY DJs DO YOU THINK THERE ARE IN LONDON? (a rough guess will do, ha ha)
How long is a piece of string. I would say 10,000. That's as a rough a guess as any.
5. YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLY ECLECTIC TASTE IN MUSIC WHICH IS REFLECTED IN YOUR SETS THAT INCLUDE SONGS FROM COLDPLAY TO ROYKSOPP, FROM DEPECHE MODE TO JAKATTA. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO MAKE THE MOST OF SUCH ECLECTICISM?
By eclecticism I take it you mean diversity. I think it is important not to just play one genre of music unless you are at a night which specifically requires it. You need to have cross-over songs, because as every DJ knows some songs just will never go together. There are all sorts of things which I use when I am crossing over to a different genre, such as a similar melody, or where the melody of the second song compliments the previous song, an association between 2 songs such as the time they were >released, or quite simply two songs which sound good together. Clocks by Coldplay followed by Eple by Royksopp would apply to most of the above.
6. BUT BE HONEST THOUGH, WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED STYLE OF MUSIC AND DO YOU HAVE ANY REAL STAND-OUT, ALL-TIME FAVOURITE BANDS?
Natural favourites would be Electronic music from the 80s. Hardcore, Old Skool dance from the 90s and trance from the '00s. I don't really like Garage or R & B as it just doesn't do it for me, but I can find the right track from each genre to play in a set if the occasion warrants it. Depeche Mode are of course my favourite, but I also like The Human League, Duran Duran (hurry up with the new album)and Tears For Fears. A lot of my current favourites were played in my set at The Elephant Bar. I do like Coldplay's album, my favourite from last year. They have the potential to be massive on a worldwide scale as their music is very accessable. A lot of my mates who don't like most Indie type music, do like Coldplay.
7. HOW DID YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF 'THE COLLECTIVE'?
I was having a drink with someone I used to work with who had found out about Matt's Rococo website through a mutual friend. I had a look, liked what I saw and heard and contacted Matt from the site. This was the first time we were in contact after Matt left where we both had worked over 2 years previously. Matt sent me a CD and I played 'Old Skool' at Electric Dreams. It was about that time that Matt thought about The Collective and >asked me if I wanted in, which of course I said yes. It was great to re-establish contact with Matt and meet loads of other great people also.
8. WHICH ARE THE BEST CLUBS RIGHT NOW IN LONDON, AND WHERE DO PEOPLE HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF HEARING YOU PLAY?
Electric Dreams on a Monday night at Gossips, Soho. This plays dark Electronic music and all the big hits from the 80s. 80s Electronica/New Romanticism was the sound of the suburbs but originally came from something far more dark and underground and this club reflects that. All sorts of Electronically influenced music from more recent times is also played there such as Industrial and Electroclash. Don't You Want Me by The Human League sounds just as at home here as it does at any suburban disco. My next guest set there is on June 23. I have also DJed once at Atomic at LA2 in Charing Cross, a more commercial 80s venue. The promoter of Atomic is starting up a new night called Venus at Radius Club, Goslett Yard, off Charing X Road, WC2. This is on Friday nights and I have DJed there a couple of times. The mix of music is commercial from the 70s onwards. Watch this space...
9. IF YOU HAVE ANY PLUGS YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE, NOW'S THE TIME MATE...
Check out Venus, next time you're in London for a great party night out. Check out Electric Dreams if you are into your 80s. I will be there on June 23. http://www.electricdreamsclub.com Last but by no means least, I do not need to say anything more; http://www.musiccollective.biz