Superb new ‘Day of Being Wild’ EP as the Dalston disco don continues an amazing 2013
London based Kiwi has created a sound all of his own over the last 12 months, combining influences from disco, funk and house. 2013 has seen Kiwi (Alex Warren) announce a string of releases upon labels such as “Needwant”, “Days Of Being Wild,” “Kitsuné” & Jack Savidge and Edwin Congreaves’ much acclaimed “Deep Shit.” Recieving support from Andrew Weatherall, Daniel Avery and Erol Alkan to name a few. Kiwi has expanded on his already hectic DJing schedule, and as a resident at the Nest in Dalston he has extended his monthly headline slot to sprawling four-hour DJ sets. This summer see’s Kiwi hitting various places across Europe, including his first appearance in Ibiza and a number of festival appearances including the Bugged Out Stage at Field Day and Stop Making Sense festival.
Interview : Dan Prince
Alex welcome to DMCWORLD, where are you in the world are you right now?
“Thanks Dan, I’m at Home in Camberwell, London.”
A massive gig for you last night at the XOYO Birthday in London, how was that?
“Matias Aguayo blew my mind, I’m a massive fan of his label Comeme and it was great to meet him in person and see him DJ. My set was cool, doing my disco thing upstairs. Boogie vibes.”
You are setting dancefloors alight yet again with your music, this time round it’s your brilliant new EP ‘Day Of Being Wild’ business. Talk us through the EP…
“Tough question, I find it really hard to describe the music I make, because journalists always tend to describe it better. I guess there’s a banging one for the club, an ambient one for the morning, and a techno/nice one for the in-between.”
The EP has always received some great press. Here’s one for ya from a magazine…”Kiwi combines elements of techno, disco, and funk in ways reminiscent of Kraftwerk”. Thoughts on that?
“Well obviously being compared to Kraftwerk is very humbling but also a little ridiculous. It would be a dream to make music anywhere near that groundbreaking.”
Your music always gets picked up and supported by some of the scene’s heavyweight players, ‘Day of Being Wild’ has the likes of Weatherall, Alkan and Hawtin giving it the thumbs up. When you release new music and the big names show their support, who are the names that always make you smile when they show you they are digging your records?
“I guess receiving support from anyone who I have been brought up to admire, is amazing. But I think it’s the DJ’s whose taste I respect the most now that really matters to me. Andrew, Erol, Ewan Pearson, Joakim, Jimmy Edgar, Smagghe, Justin Robertson and of course Dan Avery are a few of them.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
“Ha! That would be telling! I’ve just done a beatport chart, all good stuff…”
http://www.beatport.com/charts/september-beatport-chart/212045
You’ve had a busy summer festival wise, Field Day and the Stop Making Sense two of the highlights. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you at a festival?
“I once watched a guy take all his clothes off and piss against the front of the stage, at a bonkers Scottish festival I will choose not to name.”
September 15th sees you joining the likes of James Zabiela, Simian Mobile Disco, Duke Dumont and Special Request at the mighty We Love at Space in Ibiza. What are your thoughts on that little adventure?
“Really excited, I have never been to Ibiza before and We Love is one of the greatest nights going so it’s a dream come true really!”
You are the resident at The Nest in Dalston, why do you love this place so much?
“I played a big part in opening it 3 years ago and I did the bookings for the first year, so a huge portion of my heart will always stay there. Also the sound, people and atmosphere are perfect for the music I play.”
DJ Harvey. Best ever DJ to put the needle on the record…?
“ didn’t get an opportunity to see Larry Levan, but from what I have seen of him, he is the best I have ever seen. A very inspirational man.”
A famous quote from you…”I could list the stuff that influences me but realistically my music sounds nothing like it and the music I’m making is all so different from each other. You may like one and hate the other.” Discuss…
“Well it is what it says really. Not too sure how to expand on that!”
Who were your early DJ heroes?
“Erol, Norman Cook, Etienne De Crecy and Mylo.”
If I hadn’t have become a DJ/producer I would have become a…
“A snowboard Instructor…”
The person from history you would most like to have a beer with and why?
“Larry Levan. MASSIVE LEGEND.”
The one piece of vinyl you would never sell…
“The test pressing of ‘Llama’, my first EP.”
Who are some of the producers out there you are giving high fives to right now?
“Daniel Avery, Nadia Ksaiba, Neville Watson, Funkineven, Inkswell, Ashworth, Dark Circles, Julian Edwardes, Future Four…”
What is coming out next from you release wise?
“I have a collaborative EP in December with Ashworth coming out on Sneaky. Also I have a few fairly high profile remixes that I’m really excited about! Sadly I cant really talk about them right now. I’m also gonna try and give some music away soon.”
And finally, you admit your biggest inspiration is food. You must be made up about your new flatmate Lucy sorting the kitchen out then??!?
“Funny question! Basically I accidentally posted a photo of Lucy’s homemade cookies from my music page but I meant to post it from my profile page, and now people keep asking me about Lucy’s cookies #ooops But yeah, Lucy rocks, as does my kitchen.”
https://www.facebook.com/kiwidj
https://twitter.com/kiwi_ldn
https://soundcloud.com/kiwidj
