What music did you listen to as a child?
My Dad had a lending library at his workplace for albums – he brought home stuff like ELO and War of the Worlds. We had a club with my sister, My Dad and I – we would all put money in each week and buy a 7” single in turns every week – we all had to listen to each others choice – was a great intro to music…
When was the first time that you realised that you liked electronic music?
I had a friend from the age of 11 called Peter Ryding – he became Zero B – we were both into the Street sounds Electro Albums and used to hunt for Electro tracks in a record shop called Hitsville USA in Newcastle when we were 13. I found a track called ‘Wired’ To The Beat of the Drum’ which turned out to be recognised as one of the early house tracks. These experiences started us both on the route of buying the hardware in 1986 and eventually releasing tracks – my first was in 1992
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
The first underground club I went to was in 1989 – Club Havana in Middlesbrough.- They were local DJs – Simon Gibb (close friend to this day) and Huey. I was still a teen and obviously under the influence of some new ‘mind expanding confectionary’ … it changed my life.
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
I’m actually a big fan of Thom Yorke …Producers that inspired me as a kid are people like Trevor Horn – His production on Frankie goes to Hollywood was inspiring as a teen – as an old producer there are so many new talents that I respect, it’s too many to list – I would forget one and piss someone off….
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
Last physical album I actually bought on CD was A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead. I’m lucky enough to be given some amazing underground albums/compilations and again too many to list.
What is your current production and DJ set up like?
My studio is stripped back from what it was from 92-2005 where I had loads of outboard. My synth collection was vast back then, and I really regret selling it. I work on Cubase and Ableton although I teach on Logic too. I just have a pair of Mark 1 Nexus 2000’s and a Pioneer DJM800 for jamming on the DJ side.
What releases do you have on the horizon?
There are some great tracks coming up… one for Mango Alley and of course Balance Music, plus a few others… Watch this space.
Where can we hear you perform?
I have two UK gigs coming – One in Sheffield for Secluded Events on March 25 and one in London at the end of April for Subcode. I’m eager to get back to my international gigs too. I was all over the world from 2000 -2015, but had a bit of a hiatus, however, things are building again.
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
I’m doing a LOT of edits and playing some exclusives which my industry friends have been kind enough to share with me – I’m so happy to do this – totally thrilled to be onboard.
My Recommendations
If I could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
Love the original by Moderat, but this is special.
May and Robert Koch (Bad Kingdom) (Dark Season 3)
The last movie I watched that I really liked:
My favourites are Jackie Brown and Apocalypse Now… The Accountant is also very good.
My favourite TV show:
I Don’t watch much but, Rick and Morty is very good – surreal AF.
