09 MANY NEW ARTISTS TAKE TIME TO DEFINE THEIR GENRE OR MUSICAL DIRECTION. DID YOU EXPERIMENT WITH OTHER STYLES? FOR HOW LONG, AND WHAT MADE YOU EVENTUALLY SETTLE ON YOUR CURRENT SOUND? I think a lot of people know about my passion for punk! Unfortunately I can only play the drums, and not well enough to be in a band, so that went out the window early on lol. I love heavy snares in punk rock music, and the style of heavy compression that is applied to drums, so that has helped define my style and sound. My fans know me for my drums, patterns and groove - that love for punk rock has helped evolve my music over the years and made my sound what it is today. When people say they have been making music for 10 years they often mean for only a few of hours a week. I have been making music for over 10 years…from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to sleep! I have definitely taken the time to define my sound. I was experimentingwith playing techno and dubstep at the start. The dubstep influence can be heard in the weird noises and synth stabs I add intomy records, and the techno side can be heard in the heavy kicks that I have inmy tracks. To answer the last part of your question, I am not sure how I settled on the current sound I have now. I just like it! I make music for myself, if it resonates with others then that is a bonus. WHAT’S THE LONGEST SOLO SET YOU’VE EVER PLAYED? Oh god I dunno! For a club set it’s around 6-7 hours. But I used to love house parties at university, and I would be the DJ playing from the moment we started and would finish when the police came knocking! WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL PAID GIG, AND HOW MUCH DID YOU EARN? (YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON’T WANT BUT TRANSPARENCY IS BEAUTIFUL TOO). My first official paid gig was for a promoter in Bournemouth who used to run a couple of festivals, and an event called Treatment - to this day, it’s still the best name for a party! I got it through blagging that I knew how to use the latest CDJs (I didn’t) and managed to play an entire set for them. I’m pretty sure it went down well, as I continued to play for them throughout university. I think I was paid with a pack of cigs - I was happy with anything back then! DO YOU PREFER DJING OR PRODUCING? I IMAGINE YOU’LL SAY BOTH, BUT IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONLY ONE—AND BOTH PAID THE SAME—WHAT WOULD IT BE? If you would have asked me this a few years ago I would have said producing. The reason for this was that I genuinely find traditional DJing quite boring. Most people can mix one record into another now, and so I felt like DJing was becoming over saturated. I was playing with 3 CDJs and Soundbite Pro and I still wasn’t enjoying it. The thing is, I have ADHD and other ‘isms’ lol, so if my brain isn’t working at 1000 miles an hour I get bored. I now play on a fully hybrid-live set up, which is so much fun. There are so many different things I can do and create in moments of madness that just keeps things interesting when I am DJing. I have finally found a way to bridge the gap between producing and DJing. So for sure, I much prefer touring and DJing now! WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MUSIC AND DJ INDUSTRY, IN ALL ASPECTS, COMPARING IT TO THE PAST & THE PRESENT? The industry is always changing and I am all for it. There are certainly things that I don’t enjoy about it, such as phones out in raves and social media in general, but that is because I grew up not doing that. I would never take my phone out for a photo or take a video of a DJ (though I kinda wish I did now for the memories!) - I would prefer to live in the moment. I think the industry is moving in a positive direction, but one thing that I think a lot of new artists lack is experience and time. They expect things to happen overnight, and then often resort to AI tools, social media and purchasing fame to speed the process up. I can’t compare it to 20 years ago, as I was 11 years old then lol, but in the time that I have been in this industry I have enjoyed it’s changes and progression, as it has forced me to learn new things and push myself as an artist. IF YOU HAD THE POWER TO CHANGE THREE THINGS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, LIKE A FICTIONAL SUPERHERO WITH A POWER, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? This is a hard one! Not that there’s loads I would change, but because no one’s ever asked me a question like this before. Firstly, I’d shine a light on every talented DJ and producer, regardless of gender, race, location, or how many followers. Too much of the scene still favours who you know, or where you’re from. My Equal Exposure Beam would level the playing field, letting raw skill and unique sound take the spotlight. Secondly, I’d ensure fair pay across the board - from DJs playing packed rooms at 4am, to the underground producers fuelling the scene with unreleased music. No more ‘play for exposure’ or getting paid a £100. Passion alone doesn’t pay rent. Lastly, I’d have some kind of no-ego forcefield, lol. I’d cast a forcefield that basically deflects DJs shitty egos. The underground scene was built on community, not clout. My power would bring the focus back to connection, collaboration, and pure love for the music. IGLESIAS HOW DID YOU LEARN TO DJ AND PRODUCE, AND IN WHICH ORDER? DID YOU HAVE ANY HELP WITH THE BASICS AT THE BEGINNING? AND LATER ON, DID ANY ESTABLISHED DJS OR PROMOTERS FROM THE SCENE SUPPORT YOU? I taught myself to DJ on various controllers. I actually still get ‘memories’ on Facebook pop up of me using the old controllers such as the Mixtrack Pro or a Pioneer T1 - so this is going back around 14 years. I was mixing either dubstep or dubby techno back then though! It wasn’t until I went to Ministry of Sound for the first time, when I was 18, that I met a guy called Harry Allen -a music producer who had a studio in London - we got along, and he invited me back to his studio and showed me a couple of things in Logic. From that day on I was messing around making loops and creating records. When I was 22 I went to Point Blank in London, where I spent a year learning the fundamentals of music production and sound design. I had incredible tutors there and their passion was passed down to me - I really do owe a lot to the team there. I even remember an assignment they gave us where we had to write an entire track only using massive and sculpting sounds fromwhite noise - no presets back then! To keep things brief about establish DJs supporting me; I used to run some parties at university, where I booked artists such as wAFF, Steve Lawler, Solardo, Latmun and so on. Me and Joe (Latmun) hit it off and became really close friends - he really started to push me, invited me to his shows and introducing me to key people in the scene. He already knows how much he helped me in the early days… but if you are reading this Joe - I appreciate you bro! WHICH DJS INFLUENCED YOU AND HELPED SHAPE YOUR SOUND? A big part of my early career was influenced by the sound of Music On in 2014/15. I was obsessed with that straight groove tech house, and that has continued throughout my career. I’ve spoken about this before in another interview, but I remember myself and Latmun going to Music On one weekend and hearing Marco drop a version of Kerri Chandler’s ‘Heal My Heart’ and thinking – “I recon I could do one better”. I went home and made something two days later. Me and Latmun flew out to Ibiza the following weekend and stood in Amnesia when Marco dropped it. It was the most incredible feeling - I have goosebumps right now thinking about it! Later on in my career I sent some music to Paco Osuna, we got chatting and have now become really close friends. He has been a great mentor for me over the last five years or so - I cannot thank him enough for his advice and guidance in this crazy industry.
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