Let's begin by talking about how you first started out DJing & Producing.
Blimey, where to start!? I had always loved electronic music from the age of about 12 after seeing the Chemical Brothers on TV playing at Glastonbury. Later on, I remember I went to a festival when I was about 14 with my parents and snuck out of the tent to go and explore one night. I ended up dancing in this rave tent for about 5 hours then sneaking back in the early hours. The sounds, energy, crowd, MC and DJ absolutely fascinated me and I guess I was hooked on the culture after that. I used to stay up super late every night either mixing away on a little DJ controller I had called an 'M Audio X Session Pro' (had to do some googling to find it - a long way from what controllers are now lol) or attempting to make music using a DAW called Reason. I didn't really know what I was doing and it was a lot of 'fiddling until something sounded good'. I loved listening to Aphex Twin and figured this was how he made all his music. I kept working at it and when I was a bit older I managed to get a weekly gig at a local bar, and a weekly slot on a local radio station. The radio show was the first place I played my badly written demos in public - I still wish I had copies of some of those original tunes I made! By the time I moved to Leeds to study Music, I was taking the production side way more seriously. We had a maximum amount of studio time we could use... but I found a way around it. So I would end up going into the studios from about 10-2 am every night. In these sessions, I wrote my first pieces of music as 'Soundbwoy Killah'... and I guess the rest is history!
Who influenced you early on, in terms of getting into DJing?
Dubstep Dubstep Dubstep. I think a lot of my style of making music and DJing is based around Dubstep nights I used to go to in Bournemouth growing up (I'd love to say it was the cool years of dubstep.... but nope, it was the Brostep years - still had a wicked time and wouldn't have traded it for the world!). After that, back when Boiler Room was literally a little boiler room in a warehouse, me and my friends would all tune to the live streams most nights and chat with each other on instant messenger while we watched. I watched some wicked DJs from that post-dubstep scene (James Blake, SBTRKT, Oneman...etc) playing head-sy sets which showed me a more considered side of DJing. It was a big move away from the build->drop->build-> drop...etc of those dubstep nights. I would love the final hour of DJing at that bar when I was 17/18. Most people had left and I would use that time to play out all the hessle stuff, 2-step and bass music. The bar staff loved it as it would clear the remaining people out and it meant they could close and go home early! I guess I also had quite an early intro to the idea of what 'DJing' was and had been aware of it from a young age. My dad used to play these sick hip-hop tapes in the car from the big US turntablists: DJ Nu-Mark, DJ Premier...etc. I really liked how they would mash one vocal from a track onto the instrumental of another - that's something I do several times in pretty much every set.
Focusing on the different venues and events that you play at, do you prepare music specifically for certain sets, or is it just a case of being organised before playing at the event?
I really like bouncing all over different genres when playing (hopefully you can hear that in the mix) so it's definitely a mix of both. I will always try and do a bit of research as to where/what time/what sort of crowd so I have a loose idea of roughly what sort of vibe to bring. I like to leave a lot of the set completely open to improvisation though. Usually, if you see me play, you'll spot me in the crowd about 45 mins before my set. I usually use this time to listen to what the DJ before me is playing, get a vibe for what the crowd are feeling and importantly - listen to the sound system and to what sort of tracks are sounding best on it. Over this time I'll usually work out my first 2/3 tracks, then the rest of the set I play by ear.... doesn't always work when the previous DJ ends on a curveball though! (Have a few notable examples but don't want to name and shame on the internet)
Do you think you have a specifically definable mixing style?
I actively try not to! As I've said: I really like playing lots of different genres in a set and each usually has its typical way of mixing that sounds strongest with it. I think it's also really important to switch up your style of mixing during the set so it's exciting for the crowd and keeps them on their toes. The only exception I can think of is when playing super late - the crowd's bodies are usually a bit tired by then and, as much as they will be enjoying the music, they won't respond that well to quick chops or long beatless breakdowns. Best to keep things rolling and hypnotic!
In December you visited Newcastle and played for our pals at Music Sphere, but what's your favourite Geordie slang term?
Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt: HOWAY MAN!