It’s been a while since I wrote something
specifically for the blog, I can’t remember the last piece, but it was probably
last winter. Of course, during that time I’ve been reviewing and interviewing
for Ibiza Voice, communicating through a series of links and blurbs, and life,
as it does, has taken over,. But it’s about time I started to redress the
blogging balance. It’s therapeutic and, in spite of the recently rumoured drop
off in all blogging activities, fills me with a nebulous sense of achievement,
the same as finishing a particularly satisfying mix, only less fraught with
difficulty and prone to error.
Watching the evolution of deep house,
techno and its associated sub-genres from semi-rural Suffolk will always feel
vaguely surreal. I haven’t been out clubbing for a while now, but still believe
I’ll make it down to London for the next Thunder (something always scuppers my
carefully-lain plans at the last moment). At the moment, my main objective is
to try and make it to the next Free Rotation, but I need an invite, which could
yet prove top be a stumbling block. (If anyone can invite me and a friend I’ll
be eternally grateful). What I have done, musically over the past twelve months
though, is go back to basics, sort of.
To my mind, the best music of any genre
being made at the moment is coming out of the west coast of the USA. The deep,
abstract, cosmic house sounds of Joey
Anderson, Fred P, DJ Qu, Nicuri and Jus’ Ed isn’t particularly
revolutionary, but it’s crafted with such attention to detail and soul that it
kicks everything else in the same genre into touch. Having said that, what
comes out on the Sex Tags family of labels is equally vital, but from another
angle entirely, lacking the reverence of the former group but being every bit
as competent because of, not despite, its eclectic, loose-limbed approach. The
reactivation of Ferox and Mosaic has gone swimmingly so far, while Steffi’s
Dolly goes from strength to strength with some of the best deep house
outside the west coast being well-represented.
Right, it’s tiring trying to squeeze
everything in, I guess I’ll just have to update a lot more regularly from now
as it's the only way I’ll say what I need to. Having said that, I started this
article with the sole intention of describing how difficult it is to put a mix
together when time is tight. In effect, what this means is that I almost always
start to out a set together from scratch, hardly having had a chance to listen
to any of the tracks before playing, and being guided by my instincts
throughout. This makes me think how any sets are regularly approached, and what
level of concentration is required in order to play the perfect two hours.
Given the time and space I think I’d be the
best DJ in the world, but we all would be if we had the chance. It’s important
to me because, to my eternal regret, I never learnt to play a musical
instrument. That being said, despite having sung in a few bands in my
mid-teens, I doubt that being in a group would have been a good fit. Far too
many rehearsals and practices for my liking. I get bored too easily and am a
little skittish so, as far as my personality is concerned, DJing is more me. Every set is different , even if
similar records are being used. Plus you answer to no one, except yourself.
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