Listening to other DJs playing inspired me to become a DJ. I was hooked on house music when I first heard it at Manchester’s Hacienda, and it encouraged me to move from Wales to Manchester. But honestly, I didn’t plan on becoming a superstar DJ.
The clubbing scene in the ’80s got out of control. Clubs were fiercely competing with each other, and sometimes DJs weren’t paid on time. But now the business is settling down. I sense it getting real lately. People are being offered a lot more, and it’s healthy for the scene.
Touring around the world is OK once you get over the jet lag.
It is special when I play a set with John Digweed. We are so busy doing different shows that we play together only five or six times every year.
I love drinks. My favorite is red wine. Drinking gets me into the mood, but not if I drink too much.
The clubbing scene in Asia has evolved a lot compared to last year. I went to Babyface the club in Shanghai and it was pretty cool.
Hip hop has changed the clubbing scene a lot. A more commercial crowd goes to hip hop parties—but house and trance are still massive. Trance, house, breakbeat, hip hop… it’s just a question of taste.
I was worried in recent years about how the scene would be, but I’ve seen so many new DJs coming up last year who are pushing the scene forward.
All of UK’s superclubs are closed now. It was a one-off thing.
I can’t trust the computer 100 per cent. It’s a new technology to me. My computer crashed during my last gig and I had to restart it—that was not good. Sometimes I prefer to do small and more intimate
shows. My sets are usually huge and just crazy.
DJing is a crazy career. I don’t know how I ended
up here.
I’m always trying to push myself by putting new influences and sounds into my sets.
It’s easy to track down new music on the Internet. Just keep your ear to the ground.
I’m not very good at predicting the future.
If you want to be a superstar DJ, you can do it. It just takes a lot of hard work and focus. There are a number of world top DJs coming out of nowhere these days.
A DJ is an entertainer. I’m always reading the crowd on the dance floor and making sure everybody has a smile on his/her face.
I’ll be happy if I am still remembered in 100 years.
