Zone Magazine Issue 037 Spring 2023

Digital / Vinyl or CD's and why?
TH: For me, it’s digital…….you can just be so much
more creative in the mix. I use a lot of loops and I like a 3 or
4 deck setup. With digital, you can set the loops and the key
points for them loops with precision, come back to them
again later…. or use them as a precursor to the next mix,
allowing the crowd to spot what’s coming and building up
that anticipation.
SP: I would have said digital for ease for storage
and transportation but played a vinyl only set last weekend
in London as most of that music (house originals from 90s
and 00’s) was only available on vinyl. Without wanting to
sound like a pretentious ass there really is something more
tactile (and satisfying) about playing on vinyl.
Sunny Spain or Lovely London?
TH: If I had the choice, I would probably do what
Stuart does and do both! Haha I miss the scene back in
London, there is a lot more choice for house music back
there but I am also proud of the little scene we are creating
over here also
SP: Ha, yeah I’m lucky enough to spend plenty of
time in both, I love London in the summer but hate it in the
winter (I think the weather exaberates all that’s bad about
the place and makes it rough in those long winter months). I
stay up in Alhaurin El Grande when I'm here so feels like
going back in time a bit in a good way and so much more
peaceful that London, and of course the weather is always
better! But I'm firmly sitting on the fence on this one.
Festivals, super clubs, small clubs or
house parties, and why?
TH: I would love to play more festivals, but for me
the best parties are always a little more intimate, where you
can see the whites of the eyes of the crowd at the
front….and see their smiles light up when you get the next
track “just right” or when they are losing themselves in a
mix that you are creating. That’s where the special stuff
happens. My favourites gigs are a little bigger though……. I
like a room sizable enough to hold a decent crowd and a big,
bad, banging sound system where you can hear every note
of every track! Not so big that you can’t see the back of the
room but big enough to get a real vibe going!!
SP: Been lucky enough to play them all and they
all have their merits and are all very different. Probably
enjoy the superclub the least and the small venue the most
as you are close to the crowd and the sound.
If you were left on an island for the
rest of your life alone, with a deck
and some vinyl, what 5 tracks would
you pick?
Where do you see the future of
Electronic music?
TH: The festival scene is where everyone
seems to be going these days and with that comes
more of a tech vibe. The new melodic house/tech stuff
is where the future seems to be right now and theres
a lot of great stuff in that scene and I do play it, but
I’m still soulful DJ at heart.
Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of
allskool?
SP: Totally a mix of old and new and probably more
genre blending at parties.
TH: Yeah, a Mix of everything. The reality is that
music is always going to keep evolving from old school
roots and genres……the most famous, biggest selling
tracks today, generally still have a nod to the past in
them. I’m always excited to see what comes out week
by week to be honest….. it all still excites me, as much
as it did when I was I kid. The new melodic house/tech
stuff for me is where the future seems to be right now.
Theres a lot of great stuff in that scene, but I’m still soulful
at heart, in what I look for.
TH: Ohhhh, that’s tricky, something like 1. Les
Nuits – Nightmares on Wax 2. Jill Scott – A Long Walk 3.
Optimistic – Ann Nesby 4. Barely Breaking Even (Louis Vega
remix) 5. Brahms – Requiem
SP: Oooff .. 5 of 100 really. I’m gonna go with
albums as I’d smash that deck having only 5 tracxks to listen
to!
TH: Yh, me too tbh!
SP: Steve Wonder – Songs In The Key Of Life, Jill
Scott – Who Is Jill Scott ?, Bob Marley and The Wailers-
Catch A Fire, actually I better ad a couple of house 12’s for a
late night dance round the campfire. Hercules and Love
Affair – Blind ( Frankie Knuckles remix) and another classic
from the godfather, Frankie Knuckles- Tears.
TH: Shit. Stevie & Bob.......oh and De La Soul!
Actually, I want to take albums. hahaha I’m taking Stakes is
High for sure! And the James L’Estraunge Orchestra Album –
Eventual Reality.