Haunting affects on the dancefloor live and direct from Leeds
Welcome to the DMCWORLD Lee. A brilliant start to the year with a cracking new record which we’ll come to. But first your band name Ghosts of Venice. Most people are not meant to be able to read coming back from Ibiza – tell the world where the name come from?“It was the title of an article I read in an in-flight magazine coming back from a holiday there. I was starting to take a different musical direction with my productions and DJing so when I saw that it stood out and alarm bells started ringing and I knew that was the name to choose.”
You have a huge love of house music however you were introduced to music via your parents who had a huge love of soul music – what artists did you grow up listening to?
“Some of my oldest memories are hearing my parents listening to Randy Crawford, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross but the first artist that really got me to appreciate music was Michael Jackson. In my early teens I discovered Cassius, Modjo, Daft Punk and people like Paul Johnson and Dave Morales.”
What were the early clubs you were bouncing around in growing up?
“I taught myself to DJ around the same I discovered House music but I was way to young to go to clubs. I think i was 12 or 13 years old. As I got older I started playing and touring in bands so I didn’t go to clubs until I was 18. They were pretty bad ones too.”
Your massive ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ is a cover of the infamous Yarbrough & People’s 1980 dancefloor hit – talk us through your new re-work that is sending dancefloors crazy…“The original is one of those tracks that you would have heard thousands of times and it’s been covered a few times since the 80’s. The last time I remember it being used in modern dance music was by french house producers Altered Beast in 2002. I was given the sample and just ran with the idea.”
What is your current top 10 you are spinning?
Bryan Jones – Yesterday
Chalaa – The Reason
Todd Terry & J Paul Getto – Go Bitch
Treasure Fingers & Malente – Crusaders
Dominic Martin – Homage New Jersey
Carl Creme – My Lovin
Bubba – Dance With Me
Modern Amusement – Cold As Ice (Louie Fresco Remix)
Danny Daze & Matches – If This
Jon Allegro – Darlin Baby
A Leeds boy, what is the state of clubland like in your home city at the moment, we see Dave Beer has just reopened at the new look Warehouse…
“Leeds is amazing for House and Disco. Deep House is huge in the city. There’s a lot of great producers/DJs that come from or live in the city. Grum, Miguel Campbell, Pearson Sound, Death On The Balcony. Its great that people are open to it all.”
So we head back to yours after the club, what is your Ghosts of Venice Back To Mine Top 10 you’d spin us?
James Welsh – The Way
VFB – Love Prescription
Tanner Ross – Goodbye, Summer
PillowTalk – Long Lost Friends
Villalobos – Miss You So (Endless Summer Love Remix)
Mogadishu – Don’t Talk (Howes Remix)
Cisco – Cisco – If You Want Me (Jay Shepheard Remix)
Jackson Five – Dancing Machine (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
The Revenge – Forever In Their Debt (Pitched Down Mix)
Dirty Old Ann – Turn Me On (Black Madonna Remix)
What piece of advice would you give to aspiring DJs/producers out there reading this?“Make the music you want to make. Don’t follow trends, by the time you have anything done the trend will have been and gone. I spent years making music that was ‘cool’ at the time, until I just decided to give up and do what I love. After a few years (these things take time) people started to notice.”
You are well known for your energetic DJ sets, who are your DJ heroes?
“Erol Alkan is the reason I re-discovered dance music and DJ culture. I have a lot of respect for DJs that have stuck to what they love but updated as time goes on.”
Not many people know this, but Lee Dunn is really good at?
“Beatboxing.”
Favourite club around the world that you have rocked?
“Tough choice. Supperclub in Amsterdam, 12th & Porter in Nashville or Axis in Ohio.”
What is the finest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“Together – ‘Together’.”
It may not be cool for my image, but I really like…
“Baking bread.”
And finally, what have you in store for us all musically in 2012?
“I’m working on a full length album which hopefully will be finished soon. Also a live show and a lot more touring.”
