When you have been a DJ for as long as I have, you soon realize that some fads and trends in music and popular culture in general will burst onto the scene and disappear just as quickly, leaving just a trace of their time, whilst others will burst onto the scene and stick around for a long time, defining the new way of things. This is ever present in the dance music industry, where the amount of different genres of dance music has increased tenfold in the last decade.

When choosing which styles to incorporate into my sets and which to leave out, I tend to rely solely on my own intuition about what I like, and this has served me well. I am aware of a number of other DJs on the circuit, who play sets derived from trending patterns on the internet music download sites. If a particular tune is popular one week, they will be playing at the weekend. This does make them very popular among the mainstream crowd on a night out, but for me, I think it is a bit of an easy method and one where the true spirit of performing live sets is lost. They might as well play a duke box set of the most downloaded tunes, simply to please those who have been downloading all week.

The master craft of a DJ comes down to searching out true gems amongst the thousands of new tunes being made, unearthing them, and playing them to a new audience. This is how you make your mark on the industry. Anyone could do it the other way, as there is no musical skill necessary. You could sell office furniture London by day, download the music and then DJ by night, but for me this is not in the true spirit of the music scene.

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If there’s one guy that’s always guaranteed to get the dance floor packed at any club, it’s David Guetta. I admit that I have been a huge fan of his work, but judging by the number of requests I’ve been getting for his latest single, with Nicki Minaj, it seems I’m not alone! The guy is pure music gold; a talented writer and producer who seems to be able to get the best out of all the vocalists and performers he works with. Not bad for someone who freely admits that he can’t sing a note!

I just wish he would take some dancing lessons. That weird bouncing thing he does behind the decks in his videos is getting very old and very strange. Either that or he could hide himself away behind a set of roller banners and let the singer have the spotlight!

What I really love about Guetta’s music is that he doesn’t pick obvious people to collaborate with. And he obviously likes to mix it up a bit too! Sure he worked with Kelly Rowland on a few tracks when he was just getting noticed in the mainstream – quite a controversial choice in itself considering her solo hits had all been warbling ballads – but since them I don’t remember him working with the same performer twice. He’s the US version of Calvin Harris in that respect (or is Calvin the British version of him?). Everyone in the music industry wants to work with him because they know they have a guaranteed hit on their hands so he can choose to work with whoever he wants. Not bad going for a self-confessed geek who only got into DJ-ing to meet girls. Well, David, not only have you got to meet some of the world’s most beautiful women thanks to your musical skills, he is also happily married to a girl he met while DJ-ing as a teenager!

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The Rolling Stones started as a typical British Invasion group with more learned R & B and Chicago blues basis than the hit maker Kinks. However, in the mid 60’s the group chased the all-time favorite the Beatles with their far-out instrumentation. They became strongly competitive for the most experimental and hip rock group race when they released “Time Is On My Side.” This was their first single that hit the air waves and was written, produced and arranged by Jerry Ragovoy.

During the 1960’s, when the world was in a state of transition with human rights on everyone’s lips, emergency fuel suppliers running short on supplies, and the Vietnam war waging on, Ragovoy showed the world his capacity to write songs as he wrote “Cry Baby,” for Garnet Mimms and “Piece of My Heart,” for Janis Joplin. Ragovoy’s attention was called by arranger Garry Sherman in 1963 to ask for a song for trombonist Kai Winding, who was at that time looking to branch out from jazz with her sister Dee Dee, along with Cissy Houston and Dionne Warwick to be his rhythm and blue back ground singers.

Ragovoy then came up with the tune after one hour and got a couple of lines for the singers and those are “You’ll come runnin back to me” and “Time is on my side.” In October 1963, the “Time Is On My Side” of Winding was released by Verve Records. This was the start of the song’s fame and in 1964 Imperial Records'Bob Skaff reached Ragovoy to record “Time on My Side” with singer Irma Thomas. Other versions were made out of the song that passed the throats of Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin and finally the Rolling Stones in September 1964. The group’s version nearly copied Thomas'version.

Now “Time is on my side” is one of those classics that will live on forever and a new generation will surely love it.

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A lovely girl by the name of Amy (no relation or connection to that Amy) recently came up to me following a gig and asked me how she could get noticed. Turns out she’s a DJ as well but had been having trouble getting herself booked because she’s that thing we all are at some point in our careers ‘unknown’. Her question got me thinking hard (no small feat for me) and several answers presented themselves which I am happy to share on my blog.

Mobile phones are tools that pretty much everyone has in their pocket or bag these days. They are such a cool part of our life that I don’t think I’ve left home without mine in at least five years. Now that we have iPhones and internet available on demand, there has never been a better time to promote yourself or your work. I’m not just talking about Djing either – this advice applies to any business or person. Think about it, people are so plugged into their phones, laptops, iPods, iPhones, i-everything that it’s hard not to use the tech to reach them and promote yourself.

This promotion begins at home, but you have to be online and ready to connect everywhere you go. I recently got back from a holiday in Hungary where not only did I spend time chilling and enjoying myself, but I also used the time to keep connected with my followers on Facebook, Twitter and my blog. I did this by taking my iPhone with me and thanks to a company called abroadband I was able to share, talk and chat online for a minimum of cost. Your phone is your closest ally on the long road to success so make sure you have it with you at all times and that you have a good broadband connection.

The next question Amy asked me after I’d given her all those diamond tips was how to get noticed when you’re actually at a venue? If it’s your first booking at that venue then you have to make sure that you’ll be remembered in the right way. Some DJs think that shock choices and track tactics are the best way to get a repeat booking – they’re not! The only thing that will happen is you alienating the audience and the manager. Best thing to do is visit beforehand and study the styles of music that are being played. That way you can mix up your own selection beforehand whilst still adding in choices that make you unique without being arrogant.

Ever since I read a report earlier this year on The Guardian website about Activision cancelling their DJ series of games, I’ve been a little worried about the public’s interest in the art. That is why as a new DJ you have to be determined, patient and willing to sense a venue’s vibe. As I said to Amy, whatever happens don’t give up!

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Standing out from the crowd in a busy and packed out club isn’t always easy, but when you are the DJ you have to make sure people know about it. You can’t go unnoticed or you will end up blending in with everyone else and then you won’t get the respect you deserve. I have always been a little bit crafty and artistic and I had a big gig coming up so I decided to get myself down to my nearest hobby craft and buy myself some Crafts Fabric for using to make myself some new clothes or accessories. I brought a whole load of cheap fabrics all different crazy colours and patterns as I was really feeling the wild and wacky look. When I got home I went online and started looking for some quick and easy ideas I could use to make myself some amazing stuff. I found some great designs on how to make these twisted headbands, all I needed was a sewing machine and some thread. I knew my next door neighbour who was also really cute was into sewing as I could always hear the machine going most nights. I gave her a knock and explained the situation, she was so nice she offered to make it for me! She also made me some matching arm cuffs that looked wicked. As a thank you I invited her along to my next gig and from there we have been hanging out all the time, so not only have I got myself some unique stand out accessories I have a cool new girlfriend too!

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Other music acts supporting Kings of Leon in this gig will be the Zack Brown Band, White Lies and Paul Weller. This promises to be one exciting gig! Fans would be advised to book tickets well in advance, as ticket availability cannot be guaranteed close to the day of the gig.

If you have not heard about the Kings of Leon, then here is some information about them. This Grammy-Award winning American brand is made up of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. Their music is a mix of alternative and Southern rock, and has elements of Garage Rock revival in it.

Fans will be excited to hear tracks from their chart topping albums such as Come Around Sunrise, Only by the Night and Because of the Times. Kings of Leon have had a loyal fan base in the UK and this concert in London promises to be one of their best gigs.

The other acts in this gig are also impressive. Paul Weller is a famous 1970s-80s rocker, Zack Brown Band, a Grammy Award winning group, and White Lies, a British indie group from Ealing. A power packed list of top music groups indeed!

Tickets are available from around £10-£50. You can purchase them online through websites such as Ticketmaster, Ticketweb, See and Gigantic. Remember to tell your friends and go to the gig as one group, you are sure to enjoy yourselves!

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The days are getting longer, the temperatures are creeping up a little higher and the cricket season has started up again. All this can only mean one thing; it’s nearly time for the first festival of 2011! I love the summer for many reasons (I definitely should have been born in a hot country, rather than shivering away in the worst selection of lofts north London has to offer) but festivals is probably my favourite thing about the June-September period of any year.
I’m really spreading my wings when it comes to my choice of festivals this year, too. Usually, because of financial constraints and work issues, I have to stick to those within a couple of hundred miles of the Home Counties. But my DJ-ing has taken off in the last few months, I’ve picked up loads more gigs and can afford to splash out a little on my travel plans. I’m even heading to a European festival for the first time, Sonar in Barcelona, which is very exciting. Anything that combines my twin love of sunbathing and good music has got to be a good thing.
At the other end of the spectrum is the festival that, so far, has the best announced line-up; T in the Park, in the wild highlands of Scotland. I have no idea what to expect weather-wide, although the pictures from last year on their website show lots of pasty Scots in shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses, so I’m hopeful I won’t need to take my hot water bottle for the tent! The best thing about that line-up is that they have the amazing Belgian act 2ManyDJs playing. These are the guys that create the most imaginative mash-ups and every gig they play has a real party atmosphere. Perfect for a boozed-up festival crowd!

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David Guetta is definitely one of my all-time DJ-ing, perhaps even musical, heroes. And he sums up perfectly what I find so intriguing and inspiring about dance music; the collaboration. Dance has produced some inspired “duets” over the years, some unexpected and some that have launched, or perhaps relaunched, careers.
Collaborating means working pretty closely together, even if you are actually both recording your separate parts in studios hundreds of miles away! Kind of like working with the national headquarters of your red diesel supplier, to make sure the local branch delivers on time… It must be hard for some of the divas who make appearances on these dance tracks to follow orders, but they have to remember whose work it is. After all, these records are always “David Guetta featuring….”. There’s no doubt in my mind who’s in charge.
One of my favourite ever collaborations doesn’t actually involve David Guetta – although his track “When Love Takes Over” with the vastly under-rated Kelly Rowland definitely makes my top five! The number one has to be the genius “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” by Spiller and the Blue Peter progeny Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Genius for so many things; the summer vibe, the typical Ibiza beat, the hilarious video and the bravery of recording with a girl who was more known as an unsuccessful indie singer than someone who could “do” dance. I would never have picked that as a winning combination; maybe I don’t know as much about dance music as I like to think…

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Even though it is decades since his untimely death, you will still find it difficult to walk past a shop display without catching a glimpse of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. He has been transformed from a revolutionary singer who brought music right up to speed to an icon in his own right. The white suit, the gold shades, the quiff, the sideburns, the snarling top lip and the killer smile, every aspect of him is completely unique and utterly embedded into the public psyche. Women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him, plus everything in between, Elvis captivated generation after generation and manages to continue doing so long after his death. Lesser known facts about Elvis, such as that he was naturally fair-haired and dyed it to look more like Roy Orbison, allow us to remember that he wasn’t a God, but actually a human. Apparently his greatest fear was that after he died he would be forgotten. How wrong could he be. His individuality is pervading throughout space and time. The sound of his deep, melancholy voice is instantly recognisable and associated with all that is decadent, indulgent and beautiful. His sex appeal was obvious, from the swinging hips and shaking limbs to the sparkles of sweat glistening on his brow as he threw himself into performance like nobody before or after him ever could. He cannot be compared to Michael Jackson, or The Beatles, because he is a phenomenon unlike any other and continues to be untouchable and yet ever-present to this very day. Will he remain as precious to the public as he is now for the rest of time? Or will his star one day burn out and confirm his fears of eventual anonymity? Only time will tell.

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Christmas is well and truly over and we are slap bang into the start of a new year. Or hadn’t you noticed? Cruising around the shops, look at the nearest retail display and you’ll see that there are no more elves or reindeers, only vulgar 30% Off signs. There is something so cold and commercial about January and its notorious sales that makes me think that we should have a bubbly soundtrack to help us through it. No wonder it’s called the January Blues, the Post-Christmas Blues – we’ve gone from having the loveliest, jingliest tunes pumped into our ears non-stop to having the bleak, cold reality of silence. There are no such things as January carols. But maybe there should be. Perhaps we should turn January into a wonderful month of parties and celebration – it does contain my birthday after all! Street parties and barn dances to celebrate the arrival of a brand new month in a brand new year – now doesn’t that sound nice? The only thing is, what would happen to February? Would it become the new come-down month of doom and gloom after the jollity and frivolity of the January shindigs? Possibly. But then again maybe not, because we have that wonderful commercial festivity that is Valentines Day! Hearts, flowers, chocolates and love songs galore are circulated in Feb so no need to fear the glum-factor sneaking in. We could stretch out the Valentines Day itself to be a Valentines Month! A whole month of love, affection, flirtation and downright stalking! What could be better? But then there’s March to content with. I’m not quite sure what we could do with that. And as for April, maybe that could be a whole month of April Fool’s Days? No, no, that would be very dangerous. Answers on a postcard please?

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