Asking what genres a DJ plays only gets you so far.
The more useful question is what you want the music to do.
A club set might need to build from a warm-up into something full-on, then find its way back down again. A garden party needs music that can sit comfortably in the background before drawing people towards the dancefloor. An ecstatic dance calls for its own pace, arc and atmosphere.
I play across a broad collection, but that doesn’t mean bringing the same set to every event. The music should belong in the room.
House music is where much of my DJing began and it remains at the centre of what I play.
Depending on the night, that can mean classic, deep, acid, tech, melodic or progressive house. Some sets stay warm and groove-led. Others gradually become tougher and more intense.
Where the set goes depends on the venue, the crowd, the time of day and what’s happening before and afterwards.
A good party set needs range without feeling random.
Disco, nu-disco, funk and house might sit alongside modern remixes of 80s pop, 90s dance, old-school rave, indie, soul, rock and familiar party records.
The aim isn’t to force every genre into the night. It’s to find the music that brings that particular group of people together and know when the room is ready for more.
Ecstatic dance gives music a different role.
These sets tend to draw on melodic, progressive, tribal, organic and Balearic sounds. They can move from stillness into rhythm, intensity and release before making space to come back down.
This is an area I’m continuing to explore through DJing, meditation, coaching and my wider work with sound.
Each event has its own purpose, so the music is shaped in conversation with the organiser rather than taken from a fixed ecstatic dance formula.
Not every mix needs a dancefloor.
Some are recorded with a night out in mind. Others work for driving, working, headphones or simply finding some good new music.
My YouTube channel is becoming the main home for new DJ mixes, alongside recordings from past events and selections from different parts of my collection.
The best way to understand what I play is to listen.
From acid house, rave and early dance all the way through to the underground sounds of today. Music shaped by clubs, warehouses and dancefloors.
Disco, funk, pop and dancefloor favourites that people know, love and still want to hear. A feel-good mix made for parties, summer afternoons and rooms ready to loosen up.
Playing across different styles shouldn’t mean losing your musical identity.
The thread running through my sets is a love of rhythm, warmth and records with something human in them. Even when the setting changes, that instinct stays.
I like sets with shape. Not every record needs to be the biggest record of the night. Sometimes the right choice is to hold something back, let a groove settle or change direction before the room knows it needs to.
Reading a crowd matters, but so does bringing enough musical character to give people something they weren’t expecting.
My DJing began in Newcastle’s club culture, playing at nights and venues including Nice and Sunday Trading before running my own night, Spank!
Since then, I’ve played clubs, bars, festivals, private parties and radio shows. I was a regular guest on Gaydar Radio and later closed the Flying Machine Cafe in Glastonbury’s Field of Avalon.
What started with dance music has gradually opened into a much wider relationship with sound: producing records, creating binaural beats, exploring ecstatic dance and paying closer attention to how music affects the way people feel, connect and move.
The settings have changed. The pleasure of finding the right record at the right moment hasn’t.
I’ve released house and electronic music through labels including s77, Freakin909, 33Music, Kitsam, 1980 Recordings, What Happens, Climax and my own push it recordings.
Planning a club night, private party, ecstatic dance, retreat or something else?
Share the date, location and the kind of atmosphere you’d like to create. You can also use the form to ask about a guest mix, radio show or music collaboration.
I usually reply within two working days.
