Amber D

Having just completed an incredible 48 hour live stream fundraiser on her ever-growing Twitch page, Nick Coles catches up with UK Hard Dance legend Amber D to grab a few words…

 

Hi Amber, thanks for the chat. How are you and what’s been happening for you this past week?

Hello mate! I’ve been getting back to normality with everyone else regarding lockdown being lifted and kids going back to school, and I’ve gone back to Uni this week too!  I’m currently studying a degree / masters in Music Production at Leeds Conservatoire.

A massive well done for last weekend, your jaw dropping 48 hour stream has now been watched by over 23,000 people on Twitch alone. How did the initial idea come about?  

Thanks mate, I am really surprised how quickly I recovered from it to be honest!  The idea came from reaching a follower milestone of 5 thousand followers.  I promised viewers a 48 hour set when we got to 5k.  

48 HOUR LIVESTREAM! LETS GO! (Part 2/4)

 

Amber D 48 HOUR LIVESTREAM! LETS GO! (Part 3/4)

 

You are currently fundraising for a specific project, would you like to tell us more?

Yes, the 48 hour livestream more-than covered the project, and I’m hoping to be joining a group going out to Africa later on in the year to do some much needed work.  I’m so pleased!

48 hours non-stop is a huge amount of time to stay focused with a mountain of music required. How did you prepare yourself for such a marathon mix?

It wasn’t easy…  I’d already completed 2 separate 24 hour live streams in the past year.  The first one, I didn’t really prepare for, and felt like death halfway through.   The second one, I prepared for a lot more, eating well and drinking water, and pretty much felt normal a few days after.  Strangely, with my 48 hour one, I recovered 2 days after the whole thing, and was back doing my normal twitch livestreams!  The key for the 48 hour live stream was healthy eating for a few days before, and on the day I drank a LOT of freshly prepared juices and smoothies.  I munched on salad prepared for me by Guy, my other half (Guyver) and I’ve also not drank alcohol for the whole of 2021.  I started to do “dry-tri” where you don’t drink for January, February and March, and I’ve just decided to carry it on.  I also gave up smoking 2 years ago.  Those things combined made it much easier to keep focused… plus 20 years of experience and live-streaming nearly every day throughout all of lockdown!   

I heard a DMC scratch legend also joined the party?

Yeah, QBert is also on Twitch, and likes to pop into people’s streams and scratches over the top of them.  Apparently he popped into mine too which was kind of him!

With live streaming providing an extra revenue stream for many artists in recent times, what progressions do you think we are likely to see moving forwards, in terms of the technology and how online shows are broadcast and paid for?

Well, platforms like Twitch and YouTube, and Mixcloud are paving the way without doubt.  Live streaming is now my main income and I’m very fortunate to be making a decent living from it.  This has allowed me to stay in the job I love and know so well, as well as give back to the community with my mental health talks, and Demo Drops. 

As this is also an interview for Hard Trance Europe, what are your Top 5 favourite Hard Trance tracks right now? 

Anything by Rainer K right now, Lab 4 – CTL ALT Destroy is also a firm fav right now!

Are there any upcoming projects, gigs or productions you would like to shout about?

I’d like to mention the Demo Drop;   The Demo Drop is every Tuesday on my Twitch channel and it is for artists / producers to showcase their music.  It’s become very popular and it is a great way for new and established artists to get their music heard in real time by around 100 viewers (at time of writing this interview but this keeps rising).  If any artists want to get involved, it’s open to any genre;  Send your track to amberdpromo@gmail.com.  Head the email “Demo Drop”.  Label files Artist & Title.  Soundcloud links are also accepted. 

DEMO DROP // Get Your Music Heard! 09-02-21

 

Finally, as a DJ who has toured extensively over the years, can you give us one amusing tale from your travels that no-one has ever heard? 

I once played a gig in Russia with BK.  After the gig, we all went on a pirate ship on a lake in the middle of Moscow.  haha.

*****

Keep up to date with Amber D

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmberDFanPage

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/djamberd 

Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/djamber_d