What nights are you involved in and what are they about?
Firstly 13 Monsters, which started as a post-The Do (ultimate money-losing basement party) trial at the Barfly coinciding with a Liars show. Now it’s a monthly sell-out meta-low-brow social for late bloomers/early adopters at The Loft. See also, the four years young Lilo Feast at The Penthouse and Angry Dance Party at Digital.
What’s the essence of DJing?
Basically it’s playing songs people like, even if they don’t know it yet. Add to that not underestimating your audience, Sticking to your guns and not taking requests.
How important is it to play things that people think they want to hear?
Very. But so is creating new hits. Nobody wants to go to a club and not recognise a single hook, but at the same time if every track’s a hit there’s nothing new to make you come back.
What’s you cast iron get-out-of-jail card when things go south?
Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain – post-Optimo it’s become the de-facto mosh-a-long anthem.
Was your short-lived 90s hip hop night Ghost Ryde 15 years behind the times or 15 months ahead of the times?
There hadn’t really been any hip hop in Brighton for a couple of years, yet there’s tons of kids who only listen to Big L and Notorious. I wanted it to be Work It for Brighton which maybe was a bit optimistic midweek at Jam. Now though, there’s Sweatshop, there’s Milk Teeth, there’s Dirty Money – so there’s definitely space in Brighton for that kind of thing.
What makes Brighton worth living in at the moment?
The Tongues crew have been putting on special little basement parties, and have branched out to late-night shows at the working men’s club at the bottom of Lewes Road. Sex Is Disgusting have yet to put on a bad show (check their annual Dudefest on Sun 6th). Shameless is a non-guilty pleasure and there’s Milk Teeth too. And, you know, I have a lot of respect for New Hero for being the first people to make The Church/Club New York a viable venue.
What’s next?
I’m setting up Re: Re: No Subject, which I’d explain now as a post-everything ideal for living, but will probably end up being pictures of friends drinking Red Stripe and a night in a bar with live Chatroulette. Hungry For Power is our record label dealing in super limited 12″s – one side an EP, one side remixes. So far we’ve put out Peepholes and Cold Pumas with remixes from Brassica, DJ Murlo, E*Rock & Eyes, coming soon are San Francisco’s Water Borders.
How come you never tell anyone that Angry Dance Party is on – do you not want people to come or is it just us?
You’d have to ask Chris Pell about that one: it’s his baby.
TOP TEN
Fleetwood Mac ‘The Chain’
Electrik Red ‘W.F.Y.’
Liars ‘Scissor’
Jason Derulo ‘Whatcha Say’
Peepholes ‘Liar (E*Rock remix)’
Double Dagger ‘Luxury Condos For The Poor’
Tangerine Dream ‘No Man’s Land’Riz Ortolani ‘
Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)’
ROTFLOL ‘Lost Inside The Stress Boxes, The Movie
‘Souls Of Mischief ’93 ‘Til Infinity’
FYI
NEXT EVENT: 13 Monsters, Sat 5th The Loft
LABEL: hungryforpower.co.uk
RE: RE: NO SUBJECT rerenosubject.co.uk
