My earliest influences were definately Reggae. My dad's a Jamaican, and he is used to playing his 45s at top wack on a Sunday morning; and boy the bassline used to just shake me out of bed. My Cousin used to run a sound system in South London so props was alwys playing these tapes in his car, but my craziest recollection is being pushed around the Notting hill Carnival in my buggy when I was around 2 years old, trying to figure how to eat sugar cane and ginneps and screaming all day because of all the sound systems on the streets, I just remember that shit being so real loud man but all that Reggae burned an image on my musical soul and I find so many memories and inspiration through the music of the Mighty Diamonds, Gregory Issacs, Dennis Brown, U ROY, etc and oh yeah..... some guy called Bob Marley.........
How I got into Djing happened during the year of 1988/89 when I started going out to parties,and I mean parties, these things were held any and everywhere, fields, beaches, warehouses. I've been to an illegal outdoor thing which was in a field next to Bradwell nuclear power station. Anyway, the music blew me awawy and I was into all kinds of things and dj's my favourites being Carl Cox, Fabio &Grooverider, Frankie Bones, Mr C, Randall & Pogo. I used to get these tapes with pirate radio shows on them, the most influential of which were Centreforce, Fantasy and Kiss Fm.
The music from that period of time was just dance to me then, it didn't matter if it was techno, Hip hop, Garage or Hardcore as long as you could shake your ass to it that was the main thing. I was really into the music, but I expressed myself through dancing which was a habit I picked up through break dancing before hand, and it never really occurred to me to get into playing records, that was until an old friend of mine got a pair of belt driven Technics and the now legendaryRealistic mixer. The name of this friend was Floyd, and he already had a nice selcetion of Hiphop tunes and he had just started buying some House records on inspirational labels such asTrax, Cutting Dj International, KMS R&S, Future Sound and for me the roughest label of them all the mighty NU GROOVE records.
My progress as a dj was slow at first, but as started to buy records my desire and quest for knowledge of ther music became stronger and I found my self being consummed by the whole scene; observing, reading, listening and all the the learning. Eventually I purchased my own 1200's, and the rest is history.
My first gig was due to Floyd. He used to hook up with the occasional House parties and a few gigs that has me in stitches every time I think about them becuse they were so bad, you know, engagement parties where your playingPierre's Pfantasy club in a pub to about 30 relatives of a friend who all ask you to play something by Shakin Stevens or something worse like that, err the cringe factor.... and to tell you the truth there have been worse but I ain't gonna into that shit.
The truth of this all being said was that the experience was priceless, and I wouldn't exchange those nights for anything because everytime you play out you always learn something new. We did however hit on some slamming parties. My favourite being those after parties round someones house and your still smokin, drinking and mixing well into the following afternoon in fact thats still my favourite kind of party.
To me its important to realise that all Djs have their own techniques, and the longer you have been a dj the more it evolves, the most vital trick I've learnt and have strived for is that I've always gone for originality; you can't learn that off anybody but yourself, and it takes time to cultivate your own techique in your own way and putting this across in to your music. There are loads of Djs out there more so now than ever before, so its essential that you have a style all of your own to get recognised.
My tip to anybody new on the dj block is not to try and kiss anybodies butt, nobody respects a butt schmoozer so just be yourself and be a genuine person. Don't let go to your head, nobody likes a big head just becuse your a Dj. It just means that your a perosn who just plays records.So respect your peers, promoters and above all the crowd; after all they are playing your wages.
Another tip is that if things aren't going your way then keep at it and don't feel presurrised into playing something that you don't feel comfortable with because it acan be more disastrous. Confidence is the most powerful tool in this trade, so think positive, and be persistant because we all get knocks, but it is vital that we get back on that road and start again.
You can learn a few tips by watching the more experienced jocks, but it is the most annoying thing in the world to have a bunch of people watching your every move whlist trying to satisfy a crowd; if your gonna spy then do it in a subtle way, check out what they do with the pitches, faders and monitors and then xxxx off. You can then bascially suss out someones technique and learn something within a couple of mixes, but if you really want to get skooled watch someone like Tony Humpheries. Then get a blunt, get on the dance floor and get ready to move because the headmaster of House music is back, so you'll better do your home work!!
I've had a few encounters with lot of well known people on both sides of the pond who have inspired me, and all of them have been really nice because they can tell I'm a genuine music lover and not some sad wanabe ass kisser.
My choice on what style of house music do I prefer; either UK or USA doesn't come ito it. I love house music period, and anything with a groove that I feel will work well on the dance floor I'll play. I did start out playing Soulful house, and yes the majority of it was American, but over the years I have incorporated more of an innovative and deeper material into my sets because people like to hear different shit when they go out dancing and there is alot of exceptional music that is often overlooked by so called Garage heads. So I go out on a limb to represent these records and this also makes my sound even more original.