One of the rising stars of the Bristol scene and another headliner at the hugely anticipated Scream re-opening party at Lost Horizon in May. Inspired by the sound of the underground, Alpha has had music in her blood from the moment she could tap a beat. DMCWORLD grabs a world exclusive with another star of the SWU.FM airwaves…
Abby a huge welcome to DMCWORLD, where on planet earth are you right now?
I am in the big bad Bristol!
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after springing out of bed?
I’m sorting some tunes for a gig tonight that I downloaded yesterday, and the first one was a wicked dark garage tune by Y U QT, that dropped on Shall Not Fade! Track is called ‘Look Good’
There are two types of DJ. One that is in it for the fame and the money…and the other that has music running through their veins. You thankfully fall into the latter category, a real music nut who has influences stretching waaaaaaaaay back. What though is your earliest memory of music from childhood?
From childhood I can just always remember being obsessed with music! Begging my mum to let me spend my savings on CDs in Fopp and HMV! I remember getting a CD Walkman for a birthday or Christmas and just listening to my CDs constantly. I have to say a lot of my memory of music as a child revolves around that CD Walkman! I had lots of NOW! CDs and also R&B and Hip Hop albums such as Kelis and Outkast, as that was what was very big during the early 00s. But I would get bored of my own and venture into my mum’s collections of CDs which was Ministry Of Sound, Cream, Gatecrasher etc! I think that’s where the love of dance music began…
What did your family think of your decision to enter the murky world of music? Was music always your first choice or was there another career you could have ended up doing?
I have to say, I don’t think they were best pleased about it at first as I’m sure you can imagine, it can be a very hard industry to break and you are not always guaranteed success, so I think they were worried about me a bit and just had my best interests at heart! But as I’ve been doing it now for 8 years and couldn’t imagine my life in another way and have had some success, I think they are happy and supportive of my decision! Prior to getting into music I actually really wanted to get into acting or being a chef. I was going to go to uni to study drama, but decided against it. I’ve had a short stint of working as a chef in a kitchen and also am quite certain that that isn’t for me!
Before making and spinning music under you’re A For Alpha guise, you were known as A-Bee when you cut your dancefloor teeth in the Garage scene. Who were your early musical inspirations, DJs that made you want to follow in their footsteps?
Back then I was super inspired by Flava D, Disclosure, B.Traits, Annie Mac and Eats Everything!
One tune from your early Garage days that you still play religiously…
Got to be – DJ Bigga G – Mind Body & Soul (4×4 Mix)
What was your first real break into clubland?
My first set was at Timbuk2 – the legendary club in Bristol with the slippiest floor and smelt of incense and grimy club! That was with Take Off – I had recently recorded a mix with a Royal T track in, had put it on Twitter, he had retweeted it, Take Off had booked him for something else, they looked into my mixes and booked me! Was a nerve racking experience but fun and a great place to start.
My first big moment was probably playing for 24hr Garage Girls at Boomtown in 2016! I had been raving at their stage for like the whole time at the previous Boomtown and absolutely loved it. I got in touch with them on Facebook and managed to secure a set there for the following year (2016), I was playing one of the opening sets so hadn’t expected it to be that busy, next thing I know there was like a 1000 people there! It was crazy, such a high and still one of the best i’ve ever felt from a set. Saw so many people there I knew and it just felt like a real achievement, you know?
What made you not only switch DJ names, but also your sound? How important is the early 90s underground to the sound of A For Alpha in 2022?
With my previous DJ name, I had this from when I started out as an 18 year old and it was one I came up with quite quickly and hadn’t really put much thought into it! I didn’t actually really like the name that much to be honest! It was awkward to spell and also pronounce. My best friend decided to rebrand herself during lockdown and one day we were sat in the park chatting about it and I thought, why don’t I do the same? It was the perfect opportunity considering I didn’t have any gigs on or anything! I was also keen to move away from JUST playing Garage. I still love Garage and still play it, however there were other things I really wanted to embrace like House and Techno! The rebrand gave me the perfect opportunity and space to just become a DJ that plays the mood, rather than being booked for a specific genre.
The 90s underground sound is veryyyyy important! It always has been for me and always has been what I’ve been most drawn to! I’ve just now learnt new ways of embracing it and working it into my sets, such as creating edits of those tracks to give them more momentum and energy – much inspired by the legend Eats Everything and his course he did on Virtuoso of how to do this!
You host a monthly show on the mighty SWU.FM – the station on everyone’s lips at the moment. Tell us about your show (and why you love it)…
So my show features a big variety of tunes! I basically switch between loads of genres as I like a lot of music and have collected so much different stuff over the years, the show is a perfect opportunity to showcase all of my collection! I play House, Hip Hop, Garage, Jungle, Hardcore, Speed Garage, Breaks, Trance, the lot! I play quite a lot of 90s stuff on there of course, but also new releases, it’s all centred in the underground and I try and showcase music from all across the world. I also have a guest feature on there where guests come on and talk about themselves, play their favourite tune at the moment and their favourite tune of all time! There are some great selections on this feature. I also have a feature called ‘A For Alpha’s – B For Boost’ – this is where I play one of my edits that I have done of an old 90s track.
Then to round off the show, I do a 30 minute mix of the kind of music that I play in clubs! I absolutely love doing the show as I feel like it’s a place where I can play so much of the music I love and I can also connect with people! I can have a laugh, jump around the studio and just be myself to be honest. I think SWU FM has been a really crucial part to the success of my rebrand as A For Alpha. Big up to the SWU family and Ollie, so blessed to be part of such a sick radio station!
Best guest you have ever had on?
The original UK Garage legend – Jeremy Sylvester! One of my biggest inspirations and has done so much for House and Garage over the years! An incredibly talented Producer and DJ – no one does it like J Sly!
Which brings us to Sunday May 1st and your appearance at the grand relaunch of Scream at Lost Horizon in Bristol. Scream was one of the UK’s biggest events of the zeroes and is now returning with a doowutchyalike music policy starring yourself with Dan Pearce, Felix Joy, Paul Conroy, Robots With Soul and Roland & Emma Gregory. Let’s kick off with Lost Horizon – amazing venue right?
Yeah I’ve gotta say I’m over the moon to be involved with this to be honest – I’ve heard so much about Scream over the years and been told how much I would have loved it, so yeah I’m absolutely buzzing! Lots of my mates have already got tickets – gonna be a proper big knees up with sick music all night! Lost Horizon is great, I’ve played there a couple of times – once as a sit down venue and once as a normal venue. Enjoyed it lots both times, super cool space and amazing to have another venue in Bristol! Everyone on the bill is wicked! It’ll be an amazing night for Bristol – it’s a real honour for me to be part of it!
Biggest 3 records in your box this weekend?
This weekend it’s gotta be:
The Mudmen – Too Cool (One of my boosts of it)
Nathan Pinder – Good Times Ahead
Alan Nieves – Hot Flip
And finally a question we always ask. What was the best piece of advice someone gave you in the early days of your career in the music industry?
Top advice from Paul Conroy who is also on the bill for Scream and advice that he still gives me to this day – be yourself and don’t try and copy anyone else. Your authentic self and the music you truly love will always shine through and take you where you need to be!
