Your career streches over a decade and in your own  words, you have had every job in the industry. So tell me about your history and how did you start out? (of course with lots of details...)
I originally started in the music industry when I was 18 years old. I was working for a radio station in Manchester and I was a reporter on a teen magazine program, I did interviews, rewievs that kind of thing and that really gave me the taste for it. I didn't start dj-ing untill I was about 24 and it was just purely by accident, I've been going out to clubs for many, many, many years and I've been known on the scene but I wasn't known for anything other than dancing in clubs and going to clubs. And a friend of mine was doing a party, she payd for all the flyers, she payd for the hire of the club but she couldn't afford to pay for the dj in the end.

 
So you stepped in...
Yeah cos' I had a lot of records and I thought it would be fun and she said ooh I'll pay you, which is like, ok than. And she said that she'd pay me 30 pounds for playing till 9 o'clock in the evening untill 2 in the morning and I was like „My God!!“ it was like a fortune. And then I went out to spend a 150 pounds on records, so I didn't make any money (smijeh...) but it was a great party and it was in a great club, it was the number one club, really underground spot in Manchester. So from there the people that were starting a new monthy night in the Hacienda in Manchester, currently played there and they really liked what I did and they asked me if I would host their second room at the Hacienda for their monthly party and really it was just by luck, by chance, by playing the right music that I went from never dj-ing at all to dj-ing at the biggest club in England at the time. And from then I just played everywhere.

 
So where does the music come from for you and how did you get inspired to be in this bussines?
Well I love music, that's just my soul inspiration. I love doing music, I love all music as well, so I have a realy wide, huge collection of records and my inspiration for dj-ing was, you know I've been going to clubs since I was 13 years old, and I still enjoy going to clubs on the other side of the day, I like going out and there were dj's who are now friends of mine, to when I started out I was like...ooh Louie Vega!! And I'd go out at night, here them play and they would inspire me and now 15 years later we are all friends, so that was my inspiration. It's going out and hearing great dj's and not necessarally wanting to be a dj, but knowing what it is to do a good party and hearing that, and taking there influences, a litle bit of their influences and making it my own. And that's how I done it.

 
How would you describe your style?
Hahaha... a little bit of vocal, al little bit..hmm it can be a bit punkier actually, I like noisy music, I like music with a really good dynamic. So...and I like music that makes people get up and dance. In fact if I would going to describe my music in the best way it would be just anything that makes people dance. That's how I play (smijeh...)

Where has your music taken you recently?
Ooh well I've been to Egypt, South Africa, Russia, that's Moscow and St. Petersburg. I've been to Ibiza, all around France, England, North America, Montreal...I've been everywhere.

 
Is there anything that you hate about your job? What about the traveling?
Now let me see. (smijeh...) well...I mean it would be really, really nice if ever I could fly, you know first class and lay down and be seriously comfortable on a long hall flight. But I dont really have any complaints beacuse I'm doing what I love and there aren't very many...I dont think very many people in life get the oportunity to do what they love and get payd for it, and so I just thank God, thank my lucky stars or whatever it is that made my life like this. You know, to give me the oportunity to do what I love and give that to other people, and hopefully they love it too.

 
What's big at the moment on the house scene in London and Paris, I know you moved there from London...in what way is it different, the scene, the clubs, people...what's your personal favorite and why?
Well the scene is completely different, London it's still very...hmm, it's still worth more on the vocal house scene, you know more Defected, Hed Kandi, Soulfuric...that kind of records. But in France it's way, way more electro house. You get the sound of Steve Angello, Eric Prydz, M.A.N.D.Y., Booka Shade, Trentemoller, that kind of thing. So it's a different sound, you can still play vocal but it's a lot more, it's got a lot more energy in France and it's more for bigger rooms.

 
I'd like to talk to you about a hook-up you had with another dj and I suppose a good friend, he was here last week...Dan Marciano. Your singin on his new maxi, right? So I'm curious how did you hook-up with him?
Well I've known Dan for many years in fact when I was living in London I spinned a record of him, it was a track called Try Again Later, which I loved and I charted and charted. And after that we kind of contacted each other by e-mail and this kind of thing. And then when I moved to France we met up, we talked and we said „Hey let's make a track together“, and that's what we did.

 
And what music are you making now?
It's more a french style, like electro house, very energetic, powerfull, strong beats, rich bass lines and for sure I sing a little bit on the track, but not a lot, not so much.

 
What would you consider yourself as a dj or producer at heart?
A dj, I'm a dj. Yeah at the moment (smijeh...)

 
So what makes you special as a dj and what can we expect when we come and see you?
You gonna expect to hear, well...I would just have to say come and see, beacuse it's different everytime. A lot of the way I am behind the decks depends on how the crowd are reacting to the music. But you will always hear a funky, groovy, energetic set.

 
As well as your dj-ing, you also have a couple of radio shows, one is one radio FG and the other is Ministry of Sound, the weekly show. Can you tell me about that and how it works for you?
Well the Ministry of Sound I started, I started working for them in 2000 and I did a weekly radio show for them untill I left London to move to Paris. And when I moved to Paris I started a radio show with Radio FG, but the shows were different. In London I played a mixture of everything, vocal house, not very much electro house at all, but I played a lot of tribal, beacuse the show was called „Hard & Soul“ so I played soulfull and harder stuff. So in Paris the show is just the best of electro house.

 
The new compilation on Fashion TV, FTV Winter Session, how did you arrange that? What was your process of picking up the tracks?
I just wrote a list of all the tracks I like and send it to the label and said license these (smijeh...)

 
So did you manage to get all the tracks that you wanted on the cd?
Well we didn't get everything we wanted, no way. And also the way compilations work, it's no matter which label you do them for the labels always tell you to put some of their own music on there as well. But the good thing we are doing is the djs tend to it, they have a lot of great music and a lot of records I was playing anyway, so they were on the list.

 
Is this reflective to your dj sets?
Hmm yeah for sure, for sure! You know, some of it. I do probably 70 or 80 percent of the tracks that are on the Fashion TV cd you will hear me play anytime in the club.

 
With regard for the cd, where do you see it being played?
The cd (smijeh...) hehe at home, in the car, in the club, in the bar...wherever. I mean on the beach, you can ply that cd anywhere, it's just great, great entertainment. You know if you got home from a club and you dont wanna play around on your decks, put a cd on. You got a top class, world famous dj playn' in your room for nothing (smijeh...)

 
Nice, well do you think house music can progress any further than it has in the last 15 years? And what's your opinion on the whole digital revolution, and is it going to change the way you perform as a dj?
Well I mean the digital revolution is certainly changed the way I play anyway. I remember when just playing on the cd was a new thing. You know, that only came in, thats only come around really in the last 5,6 years. And you know I remember my first cd wallet, probably held about 20 cd's and I used to take it to the club and I was so scared of handling the cd players and everything. And now probably 50 percent of my stuff is on cd's. Also I've sent a lot of MP3's for the record labels. Record labels don't mail vinyl that much anymore. Most record labels now send out MP3's, so I'm downloading a lot of material drectly from the label on to cd's. I don't actually play MP3's in my sets, beacuse I dont think the sound is good enough in the club. But you know for sure I trust the MP3's on the cd, I will play them and I think it's all good, the only thing I think that has to happen with the quality of the sound that you get from MP3's, beacuse I think at the moment their really not good to play in clubs, the sound is very linear, it's not as warm or positive as you would get from the properly mastered vinyl, but it will come...10-15 years ago I wouldn't have thought I was going to play a tiny little cd, so it's going to happen, the development will come and certainly in terms of house music that will also evolve and develope. The sound will change anyway, it used to be vocal house, a lot more easy and now we are hearing the electronic, the rock, indian influences coming threw. And people are looking everywhere just to find something a little new, a little bit different and I think that will always keep the scene fresh.

 
What about this years WMC in Miami, are you going there this year?
No, no I'm not. I'm working. Well unfortunately I'm working in Paris, all over the place before that...but you know WMC for me is something that I written on my body. I used to go every year.

 
So thanks, it was a pleasure talking to you.
My pleasure (smijeh...)

 
Do you got anything more to say to the readers?
Well live love, live music and you know if your gonna do anything take it to the dancefloor... (smijeh...)


Interview by: Alen Spiler