Congratulations on getting nominated for Pioneer Breakthrough DJ. How does it feel to be nominated?
Very surprising at first, but now I’ve come round to it I’m quite excited by it. I’ve already given my acceptance speech in my head. I’ve been thinking about who gets the dues for putting me where I am now because I don’t want anyone to be missed just in case I win.
Would you say these sorts of nominations are what DJing is all about for you?
Not really. It’s not really what I’m about. It’s great to get some kind of acknowledgement for being so passionate about music and keeping the music alive. It’s what I’m doing. I’m heavily involved in keeping the whole underground thing going. I’ve never done any charts or mix tapes. I just turn up with my records and DJ.
What was your first gig at Basics?
Millennium, 1999. I can remember it exactly. It was with Satoshi Tomiie and Bobby D’Ambrosio from the Def Mix crew. A bit of an odd choice for me because I wasn’t mad into them. I was doing the back room. I was working with Paul Woolford in Barkin’ Records at the time. Paul had already had a few slots at Basics. Then basically he came in around December time and said “I got the back room at Basics. Terry Farley has cancelled; I’m doing the back room!” We went to Basics all the time, that place was like sacred ground to us. I said “wicked mate, I’m really chuffed for you”. But he said “You’re doing it with me mate”, and I nearly shit myself and buzzed at the same time. Millennium came, I did the gig and obviously did it right.
Who were your early influences?
I remember in 1995 and 1996 when Basics was at the Pleasure Rooms and Ralph Lawson was really rocking the top floor up there. In terms of other early influences; Masters at Work and in particular Louie Vega. It was the way he did it, it was seamless and that’s why I liked Ralph’s style. Louie Vega was a massive early influence. I was very much into the soulful sound when I got into the house thing and the classic house stuff like Larry Heard. When you find massive influences like these, their influences becomes yours as well. It’s like a tree. You’ve got your roots and then you keep growing new branches.
Where have these branches lead to? Who are you into at the moment?
I’ve always been into the most interesting music and every type of music has its time. Electronic music is very interesting at the moment because it boundaries are not as narrow as a lot of other styles. There are still people cutting it who are moving with the times like Kerri Chandler and Masters at Work. I’m loving the digital disco, the modern disco, the stuff Lindstrom’s doing. Idjut Boys people like that. Anything from the Get Physical guys in Germany to John Tejada. There is such a wide range. Also all the 2020 artists we got who I work with. They are all fantastic. The Sliver City boys are great. There is so much talent in Leeds now it’s just a fantastic time for Leeds in general.
Why has Basics been going on so long?
Number one, because the man behind it has had such a passion for it for so long, Mr Dave Beer. The place wouldn’t be anything without him. If he died tomorrow then Basics would end. It wouldn’t feel like Basics if Dave wasn’t there, for me. That’s it. It’s been going so long because he’s had such a strong vision of what’s the future and what’s next. He has always moved with the times. He has been responsible for bringing the likes of Danny Tenaglia, Derrick Carter, all these people over for the first time. And also his choice of residents throughout the time. He has handpicked some superb residents who have had the same vision as him each with their own style, their own flavour, their own take on it. For me they all represent house music under one roof. A house has many rooms doesn’t it?
Apart from Basics, what other nights in Leeds are you into?
I always like the Mad Hatters parties. It’s on a Friday and its something different. They have superb residents as well. I always like going down and hearing them boys. I like the after hours parties and the mores personal parties. The scene is shit hot in Leeds. When you look at who is coming through the city week in week out there is no where else where you get a Mark Farina Mushroom Jazz party on a Sunday and then Joeski the week after and then Andrew Weatherall and Ashley Beedle and whoever else who comes through Basics or Technique or Asylum. We have the cream of the underground or the overground coming through the city all the time.
Why has Playmusic moved?
We had five fantastic years at the Corn Exchange and that was where we planted the seed.
Are there any new features in the new shop?
The shop was split into two before, a reception area and the record shop. It divided me from the customers sometimes. But now… you can run but you can’t hide! I can chat to people as well as answer the phone. We got seven working decks, we got sound effects, and we got little quirks. Basically, we have gone for a lot more of a personal service. It’s a loungey, living roomy feel now. There are free DJ magazines for everyone who walks through the door. And we got our website which is working very soon where we will be selling vinyl online.
Do you think the Leeds scene has changed much over the years?
Yeah, massively. The scene has changed, the music has changed. Ten or fifteen years ago the music was less splintered and segmented. You didn’t have tech house or electronic house it was just house. I’m not sure if that is necessarily a good thing because for me the house ethos is about playing it across the board.
Leave a Reply