You seem like you haven't taken a break since you began your musical career. How do you stay so passionate and positive about the electronic music scene?
I wake up every day with new ideas, new sounds, and new flavors bouncing around in my head. I love so many different genres of music, from hip-hop to drum 'n' bass ... how could I not be passionate when I have an abundance of music to get creative on? Sometimes it amazes me though how I stay so focused and energetic towards my career. I think so many talented artists surround me that it inspires me to do better with every working day. From DJs, musicians, promoters, and most of all the people that pay money to see me play, my fans are what keep me going.
With the influx of new music coming out everyday versus 10 years ago, what's the best way for you to discover new music?
There are so many ways now to discover new music, but for me SoundCloud is fantastic. Everyday someone puts a track up that I'm like, "Wow, this is some new funk that is floating my boat." Obviously still places like Beatport, iTunes, but SoundCloud is definitely ruling the waves!
Do you ever miss the days of owning a record store?
For sure I loved working there. It was an incredible feeling servicing music to the world. I discovered and found some amazing artists, genres and met so many awesome people like Fatboy Slim, Paul Weller, A.Skillz, J5 ... the list is endless. It was a melting pot of talent coming through. Plus I started my club nights and record labels from the shop, Supercharged and Against the Grain. It basically gave me the opportunity to kickstart my career, and here we are today.
What is your most valuable record?
I have a few. Land of Love by Moon People and Arthur Baker's Breaker's Revenge. To be honest, I have too many records to mention that mean so much to me in many different ways. Valuable sometimes means personal, as that record inspired me to write a tune, or it was a record like The Prodigy's Out of Space that rocked the clubs all over the world when I DJed.
DJ competitions have started making a comeback. What qualities do you look for when judging one?
I just did the the Red Bull Thre3style event in Baku last year with Z-Trip, Skratch Bastid, Shortkut, and Jazzy Jeff. It was one of the best weeks of my life, being surrounded by my heroes and idols was a unique experience in a hotel for one week ... simply inspiring. The things I look for in a DJ are confidence, originality, style, and obviously skills from mixing and scratching to clever blends, and beat juggling and not dwelling on certain techniques for too long. Sometimes the best technical DJ is not necessarily the greatest DJ. So there are many levels to being crowned a competition winner.
Tell us about this Armory Podcast you made out of S.F.
It was the perfect timing as I have loads of cool new tunes and a solid USA tour to back it up. Obviously spinning in San Fran this Saturday made this a good idea, but I have massive respect and love for the Space Cowboys and it was an honor to put together some Krafty bangers, and in the end I was very happy with how the mix turned out. Plus my good friend DJ Icey said this would be great idea, so I always trust his judgment.
What made you want to go out on this current tour in full breakbeat mode?
I feel that breakbeat is really on the rise. It has always been popular, but never given the full credit it deserves. There are some great talent out there, i.e., Marten Hørger, A.Skillz, Deekline, Keith Mac & Fixx, BreaksMafia from Spain, Wuki, Freestylers, and of course the one and only DJ Icey, all delivering such cool tunes and DJ mixes. It's good times ahead for breaks.
You've traveled all over the world and now have residency in Dubai with A.Skillz. What's the club scene in Dubai like, for those of us that probably can never afford to go?
[Laughs] It is an amazing place to visit and has loads of English, Australians living out there, so we already have a solid fan base. The clubs are very cool and the weather is hot so there are some great outdoor shows. People in Dubai have been getting big name DJs for years, so it's not a new thing. In fact the scene is growing quickly out there and more DJs are heading out to grab a piece of the action. A.Skillz and myself are enjoying ourselves out there and look forward to every show as it's always a different and unique experience!
As a veteran of the club scene, what club scenario still makes you the happiest?
I love them all! Big massive festivals are always a buzz and small intimate venues can bring the best out of me when I have no restrictions. But the best sets I tend to play are when the soundsystem is rocking, the DJ setup is perfect, and the crowd is hyped, buzzing, and ready to get crazy. So small or big crowd, it's all down to the setup and vibe, then we are all action stations a go-go.
Can you share with us what's coming up for your Instant Vibes label this year?
I have two tracks, "Souls on Fire" and "Dynamite Soul" featuring Dynamite MC, coming out in March. A collab with Dub FX in April, some remixes, and a couple of wicked new Freestylers tunes, so some solid action on the label over the next few months.
Where can we catch you hanging out in San Francisco this weekend?
Haight Street. I will always head to my favorite record store Amoeba and also go sneaker and t-shirt shopping. Grab some good sushi. But I love to hang out with my good friends Andrea, Brad Murphy, and Robbie Motion Potion. Love these guys! Breakfast of Champions is still one of the best shows I have ever played at in the USA, along with the Outside Lands Festival.
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