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Wednesday 25 February 2015

DJing Sober

I was a little bit concerned about DJing totally sober on a Friday night straight after a long week at work, without even a red bull allowed.


So I took a flexible half-day so I could sleep in and then have a disco nap in the afternoon.

I slept in until 7am and had a 15 minute afternoon nap.

As has become my new plan, I practiced the first two tracks only, though I had an idea of what else I wanted to play.  It was quiet when I started – the downstairs bar had only just opened but it gradually started to become busy.

I played a lot of minimal to start – in fact someone told me that everything I played was minimal – though I like to think that I finished on underground house.  It was an opportunity to play tracks that I love that I wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to play.

I did get some good feedback, though one German guy questioned me on why I would play minimal.  I didn't see him again.  My good friend JP told me that he actually liked it - kind of hypnotic I think he said.  Especially this track by Cristi Cons - one of my favourites from 2014.


Fairly quickly I have worked out what the crowd there like – and that is punchy kickdrums – and basslines.

And when I played this monster by Enzo Sirasuga & Alexkid, people flooded in, and it was already quite busy.


I handed over a reasonably busy dancefloor to my hosts to take the tempo up a notch and then danced for as long as my tired, sober self managed, which was about 45 minutes.

So what was it like DJing totally sober?

Well pretty much the same.  I was still a little nervous beforehand and my love of the music carried me through any tiredness with a dose of adrenaline too.  I don't recall any mistakes, one or two mixes could have been tighter and I had less confidence when it came to being adventurous in my mixing style so there was more blending than I had planned.

I enjoyed it just as much as DJing drunk and managed to resist all temptations - and there were a lot of temptations.

Next up I am DJing at the Eli and Fur night on 14th March at Zeus, in the garden from 230am until 4am.

I won't be sober and I won't be playing minimal.  Well, maybe a little to bring it down at the end.

And I'll be back at the Purple Turtle every 3rd Friday until I get barred.

Thursday 12 February 2015

Exciting News!

I have exciting news.  I have a DJ residency!

I will be playing on a monthly basis at the Dark Matter Presents night, on the 3rd Friday of every month in the basement of the Purple Turtle.

This is like a dream for me, to have my own residency, once a month, where I can play to a crowd of regulars, playing new and old music that I spend several hours every day discovering and hopefully being an integral part of what I believe will be a successful night.

It means I have opportunity to play all the types of music that I enjoy – from minimal/underground house, to full-on techno, chunky house, deep trance, proper deep house, disco and electro.  Different set times should give me the chance to try different music styles, and hopefully some back-to-backs with Martin & JP.  It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

To be a part of something is far more rewarding than just playing an hour for a random promoter.  I really do feel the night will be a success, and will be talked about.  It does have a really good feel down there and of course, is delightfully free to get into.

It means when someone asks me when I am next DJing, I can say “3rd Friday of the month – come down, it’s free entry!”.  I have something to sell to people.

The first one is Friday 20th February.


I said that I wanted to do one set a month this year and this suits me perfectly.  I don’t want to be doing random hour-long sets in the garden of Zeus in the middle of winter for 2 drink tokens where I subsequently end up spending £50, not to mention the time spent downloading music, burning CDs and the fuckers that stole my headphones – twice.

I am going to be much more choosy in the sets I accept.  I don’t need to do the two drink token sets any more – I will still occasionally do one but only if there is something really appealing about it.

On that basis I agreed to play for AudioEdge on 14th March.  I think I have the last set in the garden – and will be playing for more than an hour.  Which I like – hour sets are pointless – how can you build an atmosphere in an hour?  Other than playing big tunes – which I don’t always want to do.


Plus the night has good headliners in Eli & Fur, it should be busy and I simply think I will enjoy the night.

See you on 20th February.  You know it makes sense.