World watch out, the UK has a new super hero getting us moving
Interview : Dan Prince
Josh welcome to DMCWORLD, another stunning release from you booming into the world famous Buzz Chart this week. Talk us through your ‘Closer’ / ‘Get Movin’ double header…
“Thank you very much, I was delighted when I heard you had charted it! So, ‘Closer’ features vocals from the talented singer Charlotte Haining, who contracted me through facebook earlier in the year. I love working with vocalists so after hearing some of her previous work, it was a winner. The track its self I think is quite deep and laid back but retains the driving bass line to work the dance floor. ‘Keep Movin’ on the other hand is a more peak time track and been getting a wicked reaction in my sets.”
Where were you when Danny Howard gave ‘Closer’ the big exclusive on Radio 1?
“I was actually on my way home from a gig in Vienna, I landed to a load of messages saying Danny had played it so listen back on iplayer after.“
Okay lets rewind a little before we talk about 2013. You are a kid who has just heard Pink Floyd’s ‘Welcome to the Machine’ for the first time. A life changing moment?
“’Welcome to the Machine’ was probably the first piece of music that really submersed me. Seriously took a grip of me and dragged me on a journey though the twisted electronic parts of ‘the manchine’. To this day it sends shivers through me, can’t explain it. Anyway when I found out it was synthesizers that made these weird noises, that was the start of my love for electronic music.I must have been like 7 or something?”
Just like every DJ, you started collecting music early doors. What were the genres and artists that first grabbed your attention back then?
“To be fair I collected quite a broard range of styles. I mean when I was learning to DJ it was mainly Trance, but I had (and still have) a huge collection of music, from chill-out, Nightmares on Wax type stuff to UK Hard House, artists like Ingo and Stimulant DJs.”
Early DJ heroes?
“The first real ‘hero’ type DJs where Andy Whitby and probably Andy C, purely for the fact they don’t just play records, the way they mix is so much more technical, especially for a standard set up. Don’t know if you have heard of or ever seen an Andy Whitby set (2000-2005 kind of time) but my god he can work a DJM800 like no one I’ve ever seen since.”
Can you remember the first club you ever played in and how much you got paid?
“The first proper club I played was in my hometown Warrington called Casi. It was mainly a rock and indie club that we went to because they would let anyone in no matter what age haha. Eventually as a result they got busted and closed. It then reopened under a new name but no one really went anymore. They ended up asking me and a friend if we would like to do an event there to try and boost numbers. I obviously jumped at the chance because even if it was dead, we would get to play music LOUD haha! One of the first ones we did it was a friend’s birthday so there was a right crew that came down!! This was our first real taste of playing to a decent sized crowd. We didn’t get paid though and I had to take my own decks which meant trekking my CDjs and mixer down in a holdall bag on a train. All good fun.”
We love the way you “sort of stumbled into house music” via a phone call from your pal DJ Guy Richards…
“Haha yer this is what I see as my first ‘serious’ gig. It got me out of Warrington and a gig in Manchester playing back to back with Guy. Excellent.”
Tell us about another phone call from Darius Syrossian concerning ‘Can You See’ and a certain club in Berlin…
“Now this was a very exciting call!! I had sent Darius this new track of mine and a couple of days later he tells me it went off in Watergate and had the label manager of Definition Music running up to him shouting, ‘what the fuck is this!?’ And that was that, I ended up releasing it with those guys and was the start of a great relationship. If all goes to plan I have more music coming on Definition next year.”
Thoughts on the possibility that ‘Got A Feeling’ may end up being Beatport’s biggest seller of the year?
“Oh shit I hadn’t even thought about that haha. THE biggest seller is maybe asking a lot, but the fact it has done so well already is truly mind blowing for me.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning…
“In no particular order:
Dene Antony – Peace & Harmony
Darius Syrossin – Days Without You
The Bassment – Please Don’t Stop (Original Mix)
Freeman & Farrelly – Itaca At Sundown
Sonny Fodera – How Quick (Josh Butler Remix)
Camiel Daamen – How Does It Feel
Rekreation – Raw
Josh Butler – Get Up
Josh Butler – Closer
Josh Butler – Keep Movin
What is coming out next from you release wise?
“Obviously the MTA release is out in September (‘Closer’ & ‘Keep Movin’). Then I have a couple of remixes. One for Sonny Fodera on Cajual Recrods and a remix for Mile End Records. As I mentioned before, next year there will be more coming on Definition Music and also in talks with two very exciting labels, but maybe too early to say much more.”
Away from the house sound, if we all came back to yours after the club, what are some of the Back To Mine tunes you’d spin us to mellow it down a little?
“Haha like this!! It would have to be some dub reggae, King Tubby, Mad Professor, Mikey Dread etc.”
Not many people know this but Josh Butler is really great at…
“Wouldn’t say I was really great at it, but I used to race dirt bikes when I lived in New Zealand. My baby was a YZ125. Miss that bike a lot!!”
Your home city of Leeds is rocking at the moment after a few years in the wilderness. Where are some of the places we should check out right now?
“Yeah Leeds is a mecca at the moment for clubbing. Mint Club is a must, The Garage is always a laugh. I’m a big fan of Stinkys peep house though too, grubby sweat pit with a whopping Funkion 1 in the main room.”
Who are some of the producers rocking your world at the moment?
“I mentioned this guy all the time because I love his music so much!! Camiel Daamen. Also Dene Antony is making some big beats at the moment.”
Tell us about this weird train obsession shit?
“HAHAHA I wouldn’t call it an obsession, I mean I don’t sit in train stations with a video camera and a note book but I do have a strange attraction to them. Not just any crappy Northern Rail trains mind! You cant tell me the high speed railways and massive old locomotive aren’t cool!?”
Where have been some of the stand out gigs of the summer?
“A couple of my favorite gigs so far have been Rukus in Middleburgh, Secret Garden Party and Ministry of Sound.”
A massive date coming up for you on September 5th with The Ministry of Sound at Eden in Ibiza playing alongside Sandy Rivera. How you feeling about this little beauty?
“And yeah back to Ministry in September, really excited for this. Since Eden’s refurb earlier this years it’s stepped up the game big time. Brand new Void sound system is a monster!!!”
Where do you find yourself writing new tunes? Does all the recent travel help or hinder your process?
“Travel can sometimes help as I’ve usually got my laptop with me so enjoy sketching little grooves and ideas. A lot of them won’t get saved but that’s part of the fun. I mainly find when I have a few days off from music I’m itching to get back in the studio! My problem is I very rarely have days off…”
What is your critique process like, and how do you know when it’s done? Do you like to bounce bits and pieces off of people at labels, or refine it yourself and share a finished product?
“I will try and get it as finished as I think it can be before sending it to anyone! If it’s a project I think has potential I’ll sit on it for a week or so, coming back to it each day and tweaking if needs be. Then send out to close producer friends.”
How have you dealt with expectations and pressure that your newfound stardom has generated? Is there a balance between work and fun you still try to enforce?
“Errrmmmm tough question. I wouldn’t call it stardom as in my eyes I’m still doing what I have been for the last 10 years or whatever. I guess there has been some added pressure with tighter deadlines than what I have been used to in the past but I enjoy it all. That’s why I do it!”
And finally Josh, has the friggin’ puppy Clive stopped chewing stuff yet?
“Hahaha love it. He is getting there now yeah. Still has a chomp on our fingers now and then but he’s not been on my headphones for a while so that’s a plus innit!?”
