Richy Ahmed

…EDC, Ibiza, remixes on Suara and Circus plus a massive new tune on Strictly Rhythm. Boom

Interview by Dan Prince


Richy welcome to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you right now?

Hey Dan, I’m at my house in East London.

You are one of the most exciting talents from the UK who are currently spearheading this wonderful house music renaissance with the likes of Hot Since 82, Duke Dumont, Denney, Jamie Jones, Maya Jane Jones and Eats Everything smashing it right now. It must be feel incredible to be part of this elite premiership crew?

Elite is not really a word I would use, especially when talking about myself. But it is really nice to be doing what we love, and being a part of something that I think is really special. So it’s been really cool to come through at this time and be a part of it all.

You are one of the headliners at the 3rd annual Electric Daisy Carnival at Milton Keynes Bowl on July 11th. This has to be one of the finest venues for a festival we have, you must be chomping at the bit for this one?

Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. The line up is next level and the venue, like you said, is amazing. So I’m nervous and excited in equal measure to play. It’s going to be massive, so it’s going to be well scary for someone like me.

Three essential items you will not go to a festival without?

A SoundDock, a battery pack and some wellies.

A quote on your Facebook page. “Trust the vibes you get, energy doesn’t lie”. Discuss…

Basically, I’m quite a spiritual kind of guy. I believe in energy, frequency, vibrations. Words are quite easy to spit out, people can lie, but you can always tell from someone’s vibe if they’re a good person. If you’re in tune with that, you can always tell. Energy doesn’t lie.

A DJ you love spinning back to back with…

Jamie Jones, Eats Everything and Waff.

You are a bit of a trainer freak…what is the most you have ever spent on a pair?

About 500 quid. On some really old school Jordan 4’s. I got ripped off as well because they were the original 4’s, then not long after they re-released them all at decent prices and they even looked better.

Three bucket list adventures you wanna do in your lifetime…

Visit the parts of the world that I haven’t yet. I’d really like to go to Japan and experience the culture.

I’d like to go to space.

And I’d like to learn how to astral project.

You once said in an interview…“The crazy thing is that most of this awful ego-fuelled pop music which is getting rammed down the kids’ throats now, is popular by design. It is the record companies pushing this theme as they think that’s what the public wants and is going to make the most money.” Artist wise…who are you giving props to right now from the chart world?

I mean I thought about this the other day…let’s look at the Top 40 now. There’s no one I’m really giving props to. I would say I like Rudimental, they’re in the charts now and they’re really cool. Out of all the major pop artists, the only one I could really say I’m into is Pharrell. I don’t really listen to the music in the charts; it’s not something I would spend my time on if I’m being honest. Too much crap.

A celebrity you would not want to get stuck in a lift with?

Kanye West

When was the last time you pressed rewind and listened to a track over again because it was so damned good?

The Stylistics – You Make Me Feel Brand New. I often sit in the house and listen to a lot of old soul records. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mum used to be play Motown stuff. Those types of records you can just hear again and again.

A tune nestling in your set that just won’t go away from last year?

John Swing – Don’t Want It

What are your plans for Ibiza this summer?

I’m actually not going to live out there this year, I’m going to live here and fly back and forth. I think it’s going to be much more productive, there’s too many distractions in Ibiza. I’ve got a really good gig schedule – I’m doing eight gigs for Paradise, three gigs for Circoloco, Amnesia opening party, three Music On’s and one gig at Space. That’s what I’ve got planned so far. It’s going to be a really big summer.

An album we’d be surprised to find in your collection?

All the Rocky Soundtracks, I’ve got them all. It gets me proper hyped up; if I need to get something done I stick them on.

BPM in Mexico must seem like a distant memory now! What were some of the highlights?

I know I’m bias but the highlight for me really was the Paradise party, it was incredible. It’s my favourite party that we’ve ever thrown. The atmosphere, the setting, everybody played spectacular sets. It really was incredible. Also, I played a wicked closing party and I really enjoyed this small party at Fusion. It was a Joseph Capriati party – it went off.

You are Mr. Summer in Eats Everything’ Edible Sessions in Bristol this year. We were all over this guy way back in 2002…it’s brilliant he is at the top of his game today. What makes Dan such a great DJ and producer?

I think a lot of it is experience with Dan. He’s been doing it a long time, and he’s learnt his trade. I think he must have taught himself because he does his own thing, he makes tunes by his own rules not by the set rules to make house music. And his DJing is just practice because he’s an absolutely wicked DJ. Also I think the fact that he is the way he is – he’s sound as fuck. He puts 100% into everything he does; he’s just this big ball of energy. I think people can sense that. People can relate to us, we’re a bit common, a bit daft and we’ve achieved all this. So if we can do it they can do it.

And finally…what is coming out next from you studio wise?

I’ve got a lot of stuff coming; I’ve really been working hard. The studio is one of the main reasons I’m not staying in Ibiza this summer. I’m trying to get my head down and crack on whilst still gigging. I’ve got a new EP coming soon on Strictly Rhythm, a load of remixes coming out on labels like Suara, Circus and some others I can’t disclose just yet. I’m really really busy – by the end of the year there’s going to be lots of new music.

 

Richy Ahmed will be appearing at the 3rd annual Electric Daisy Carnival at Milton Keynes Bowl on July11th joining the likes of Art Department, Carnage, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, High Contrast, Jamie Jones, Markus Schulz, Miguel Campbell, Paul Van DYk, Pendulum, Claude Vonstroke, Sigma, Sub Focus, Tiesto, Steve Aoki and Shy FX.

Tickets at http://www.cream.co.uk/go/edcuk2015

Further information : www.electricdaisycarnival.co.uk