Unless you’ve had your head under a rock for the last decade, you’ll be well aquatinted with the The Dirty Disco, which has quite rightly earned its place in the heart of the Leeds clubbing scene since its establishment in 2005.
With Disrikt/MiNT legend Foz at the wheel alongside Stuart Darwin and the 11th anniversary upon us, a top shelf line up has been delivered to ensure it goes down right and proper. Among the likes of Apollonia and Djebali, Leeds-based Irish maestro Gavin Herlihy has been added to the line up under his new alias, Karousel. After initially gaining world wide recognition for the genre defying ‘Machine Ate My Homework’ in 2006, Karousel has been flaunting his production skills with recent releases, amalgamating his dedication to timeless music as well as endeavouring fresh inspiration.
Chartering Laura Jones’ new label, Sensoramic, with ‘Planetary Rebirth’ and ‘Arrakis’ which comes with a sterling reshape from S.A.M., his quality and consistency lead to his recent contribution to the #savefabric compilation; cementing his global status.
Interview by Sophie Roberts
Gavin! You first played for the Dirty Disco way back in the early days, how are you feeling about coming back for the 11th birthday?
Playing Dirty Disco was one of the reasons I probably ended up moving to Leeds. I met quite a few people on the night I would go on to be friends with to this day and afterwards ended up back at a party at a flat where my future girlfriend lived at the time so it wasn’t your average gig that’s for sure. I missed last year’s return party sadly as I had to finish a release for mastering that Monday. It was already late and I couldn’t hold the mastering session any longer and as the hours crept towards the party I realised I was nowhere near finished. I was fuming as it turned out to be a legendary night but the track ended up being signed and became the B side on my Karousel release for Sensoramic.
Your recent releases have been turning quite a few heads, What can we expect from Karousel musically?
Dance music for me has always been about the future so I like old records that still sound futuristic and new records that keep the sound fresh. Karousel productions are influenced by the late 90s and early 00s era of underground house. Producers like Swag, Herbert or Minimal Man are a big influence on my productions and in my DJ sets I try incorporate a mix of the old and the new.
It must be a very familiar experience when you’re playing back in Leeds, are you more experimental with your mixing when you’re in your comfort zone?
It’s great to play in Leeds as people are open minded but I wouldn’t say I’m any more experimental than normal. I used to massively overthink DJ’ing and worry too much about what people wanted from club to club. Or think this city is open minded and that city is a bit more obvious. Now I’ve come to realise that it’s more important to just get on with the job. The flow is the most important thing. Keeping the energy moving from one track to another. Gauging when to apply the tension and when to apply a release. For DJs who are really good at doing that, it doesn’t make a difference if the music goes experimental because the flow of the music is still creating an effect on the dance floor and that’s something I try and achieve with my sets.
What have you got coming up release wise and which labels/ artists have been inspiring you recently?
Next up is an EP on the Fuse sister label IN:Fuse. After that I’ll be releasing on Sensoramic again later in the year.
Lastly, if you could pick anyone to go back to back with who would it be and where?!
Back to backs are the most fun when they’re with friends. You can go back to back with other DJs you might not know and some times it works and other times the energy is all wrong. ONe person is pulling one way and the other is going another. WHen it’s a friend you know what the other person is like so there’s a better chance of a situation clicking. So I’d pick any of my friends, anywhere, anytime, doesn’t really matter where as long as it’s good craic and there’s a nice vibe.
Catch Karousel at The Dirty Disco’s 11th Anniversary alongside Apollonia (5 Hour set), Djebali, Red Rack’em, Robert James, Death on the Balcony.
Buy tickets here:- https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Leeds/Mint-Warehouse/The-Dirty-Disco-11th-Anniversary-/12855336/
