Q: How would you describe your style musically and who have been your influences?
I always like to play a variety of music in my sets. I like to keep it fresh and exciting and give people a few surprises. But there is always this edgy funk element running through my sound which I guess is my trademark. I love it when there are lots of girls on the dancefloor - it creates a nice atmosphere for everyone, and so I always make sure that my music has sex appeal even whether I am playing deep or more driving. I have been influenced by many people in my 11 years of djing - in the early days it was DJs like Sasha & Digweed, Tony de Vit & Tall Paul - and more recently it has been my good friends James zabiela & Nic Fanciulli - not necessarily DJs who played the same music as me, but each have their own amazing attributes which I have adopted into my style and technique
Q: DJs such as Paul Woolford say their residencies have been pivotal to developing their technique and confidence - is your residency at Familia just as important? If so why?
My current residency 'Familia' at The Key, London has been great for me. It has given me the opportunity to play with DJs that I have utmost respect for - like Lee Burridge, James Zabiela, Steve Bug & DJ Ralf. You never know how good you are until you put yourself in with the best of them and by doing this I have learned a hell of a lot. Standing next to zabiela on the opening night of Familia ready to go on after him, watching him destroy the dancefloor with awesome music and his lightening skills was extremely nerve-racking! But once I got on it went really well and that gave me a lot of confidence. Just a few weeks ago I played before him again in Serbia which is a lot easier I must say ! !
Q: Your track 'Its my Rave' has been doing the rounds with Lawler, Zabiela, Fanciulli and co. Do you enjoy producing as much as DJing or do you see them as 2 completely different things?
I actually only started producing in February this year. 'It's My Rave' was the first track that I made and I have been shocked at how many big-name DJ's have been playing it. Since then I have made 2 more tracks 'Soame' and 'Karalis' and the top jocks seem to be into them aswell. I am still a baby at the moment when it comes to producing, it takes me a lot longer to write tracks than most producers so I am at that stage where it is frustrating when I'm not finding the sounds that I have in my head, but with each track that I make it's getting easier so therefore more enjoyable.
Q: How crucial do you think it is for up and coming DJs to produce tracks now?
It is a huge asset if you can produce good records. Only in the last 6 months since I have started producing that my career has been taken to the next level in terms of how many gigs I get. Most of the successful DJs out there have got great tracks behind them so I would say that it is definitely crucial these days. There are a few DJs though who can still make it without producing big tracks - I have a lot of respect for Damian Lazarus and Desyn Masiello who have broken through in the last few years in different ways than production - so it shows that it can still be done. But I would still say that for up-and-coming DJs - production is the best way to go if you wanna break through quickly.
Q: This year has been your biggest yet in terms of DJing with gigs at Exit Festival, Tank in Sydney and so on, what can we expect from you in the coming months?
This year has been great so far ! I have played in Brazil, Australia and all over Europe which has been amazing! There is a big tour around the corner, but I am not allowed to reveal all just yet! Watch this space!
Q: Finally, your latest track 'Karalis' is getting a proper release soon on Saved Records ' tell us more!
I went into the studio back in June with the idea of making a track that would be massive on the Space Terrace in Ibiza this summer. A tall order I thought maybe, but as it is my favourite venue in the world I had to have a go ! So I came up with 'Karalis' - an upbeat electro-tech track which I gave to We Love Space resident Nic Fanciulli to try out. He loved it and has played it every Sunday all summer and now has signed it to his label Saved Records - to be released in November so I'm very happy with the outcome. Nic has been the only DJ to have it other than me so we are the only ones playing it for now!
Karalis' is out on Saved in November
