Hi gang.
I first asked Skream if I could interview him the other night because he comes across as a sound geezer. He didn't respond because shortly after I asked him, he got dragged into a MASSIVE Twitter beef with someone in Manchester who, by all accounts, once CONTENT REMOVED BY BEST PROMOS LAWYERS for sniffing Charlie Chalk at a party in the 00s. It was all, quite frankly, a bit unbecoming and extremely embarrassing for all parties, but my big worry is that the world of dance music and international clubbing is in danger of being seen to be losing its dignity in moments like this. LOL
So yeah, interviews with major dance music stars on Best Promos. If it takes off, it takes off, if it doesn't, well, it doesn't really matter, does it? No skin off my nose. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't really matter!
Q. You are approached by Syco Entertainment and offered £250,000 to produce MP Matt Hancock's Christmas single, Santa's Jungle Boogie. It is not a 'ghost producer' role; your name will be all over the press and the cover art: Matt Hancock feat. Man Power - Santa's Jungle Boogie. You will appear in the music video with him. It is not a charity single, all proceeds go to Matt, with a small percentage to you. All artistic credibility you have built up over the years will vanish immediately and you will be a laughing stock on Twitter amongst your cool friends, albeit only for a short while, tomorrow's chip paper and all that. Do you accept? (I would)
A. How small is a small percentage? (I'll take that as a yes)
Q. Speaking of chip paper, when I go to the chip shop, I always order chips, two saveloy and curry sauce with a can of Dr Pepper. When you go to the chip shop, what do you always order?
A. Chips, battered sausage, curry sauce and a Dandelion and Burdock (Barrs ideally).
~ At this point during the interview, I was struck by how handsome Man Power is and was kicking myself for never noticing this before. "Wow. He's almost as hunky as me", I thought to myself as I began to swoon. His big, gorgeous eyes pierced my big, gorgeous eyes as we got onto the matter of promo lists. He smelled fab, too, and all the strippers fancied him ~
Regardless of that though I'm not sure I can face a touring NYE this year so I've not accepted any offers yet and I'm trying to put together something private for me and friends in a local spot which is stumbling distance from my front door.
Q. Which Spice Girl would you most like to have it off with?
A. Scary then. Sporty now.
Q. Best Promos has a weekly global reach of almost 100 people, per week. What upcoming music or events would you like to plug on here, to almost a whopping 100 people?
A. We're doing a party at a social club on December 3rd with me and Prosumer and you should buy a ticket and come to it, if only for the 1980s bar prices.
So yeah, interviews with major dance music stars on Best Promos. If it takes off, it takes off, if it doesn't, well, it doesn't really matter, does it? No skin off my nose. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't really matter!
I said that bit in a Reeves and Mortimer voice.
As I said, Skream didn't respond to my interview request, but somebody did...he said yes, so I jumped on the first bus out of Ruislip and set off for Newcastle Town Centre where none other than DJ Mag Underground Hero of the Year nominee Man Power met me off the bus and took me to his favourite gentlemen's club, Blue Velvet on Dean Street, for a chat about his life and his deepest desires. He really opened up to me.
As I said, Skream didn't respond to my interview request, but somebody did...he said yes, so I jumped on the first bus out of Ruislip and set off for Newcastle Town Centre where none other than DJ Mag Underground Hero of the Year nominee Man Power met me off the bus and took me to his favourite gentlemen's club, Blue Velvet on Dean Street, for a chat about his life and his deepest desires. He really opened up to me.
We sat down in a snug to talk. I necked pint after pint of Stella Artois throughout and Man Power nursed a big jug of ice cold Vimto, on the rocks. There were strippers everywhere. After a number of high fives, loads of giggling and some nudging, I began to ask some questions...
Q. What's your name, where do you come from and what do you do?
A. My name's Geoff, I'm from Wallsend near Newcastle and I make music and DJ. I was also a composer for a bit, and I also worked in some cultural stuff for a while, but it looks like I'm back to being a DJ again for the time being.
Q. Have you always liked dance music?
A. Kind of. My mam is young and she was in to the first wave of house stuff, so I liked that a lot when I was little. Then I thought it got pretty shit around about the millennium, then I thought it got good again around about 2004 when DFA started doing stuff that fit at the indie discos I was going to at the time, and then eventually I figured out I could play my old records that I did like alongside new stuff that I liked so it was all good.
A. My name's Geoff, I'm from Wallsend near Newcastle and I make music and DJ. I was also a composer for a bit, and I also worked in some cultural stuff for a while, but it looks like I'm back to being a DJ again for the time being.
Q. Have you always liked dance music?
A. Kind of. My mam is young and she was in to the first wave of house stuff, so I liked that a lot when I was little. Then I thought it got pretty shit around about the millennium, then I thought it got good again around about 2004 when DFA started doing stuff that fit at the indie discos I was going to at the time, and then eventually I figured out I could play my old records that I did like alongside new stuff that I liked so it was all good.
Now everyone knows about everything thanks to the internet, so it's a bit of a full time job pretending I've already heard everything other people like, and that I liked it first before it was cool.
Q. What's your favourite colour?
A. Green because someone asked me at school and I said that and I don't want to contradict myself.
A. Green because someone asked me at school and I said that and I don't want to contradict myself.
Q. You are approached by Syco Entertainment and offered £250,000 to produce MP Matt Hancock's Christmas single, Santa's Jungle Boogie. It is not a 'ghost producer' role; your name will be all over the press and the cover art: Matt Hancock feat. Man Power - Santa's Jungle Boogie. You will appear in the music video with him. It is not a charity single, all proceeds go to Matt, with a small percentage to you. All artistic credibility you have built up over the years will vanish immediately and you will be a laughing stock on Twitter amongst your cool friends, albeit only for a short while, tomorrow's chip paper and all that. Do you accept? (I would)
A. How small is a small percentage? (I'll take that as a yes)
Q. Speaking of chip paper, when I go to the chip shop, I always order chips, two saveloy and curry sauce with a can of Dr Pepper. When you go to the chip shop, what do you always order?
A. Chips, battered sausage, curry sauce and a Dandelion and Burdock (Barrs ideally).
 |
| Friends forever, 'til the end of time |
Q. Who is your best friend in dance music?
A. Juan MacLean I guess. I have other good mates who I've had sleepovers with at each others houses, like Rex The Dog, or people I text a lot like DJ Tennis or Sean Johnston, but Juan and I have a whole project together so I'll pick him. He's the most fun person to DJ and make music with, and he also is great company to travel with plus the Bostonite sense of humour gels with the Geordie sense of humour I think.
A. Juan MacLean I guess. I have other good mates who I've had sleepovers with at each others houses, like Rex The Dog, or people I text a lot like DJ Tennis or Sean Johnston, but Juan and I have a whole project together so I'll pick him. He's the most fun person to DJ and make music with, and he also is great company to travel with plus the Bostonite sense of humour gels with the Geordie sense of humour I think.
~ At this point during the interview, I was struck by how handsome Man Power is and was kicking myself for never noticing this before. "Wow. He's almost as hunky as me", I thought to myself as I began to swoon. His big, gorgeous eyes pierced my big, gorgeous eyes as we got onto the matter of promo lists. He smelled fab, too, and all the strippers fancied him ~
Q. What's the best dance music promo list to be on, and who do I need to brown-nose to get on it?
A. Mine. Me.
Q. How do you manage your digital music as a working DJ? Do you have all of your tunes in genre specific folders, on a massive hard drive? Do you then copy what you think you'll be playing that night onto a smaller USB stick? Do you back up your music often?
A. I've filled one 500gb hard drive and I'm working on a second one. I back up my sticks and work off the playlists on there until I inevitably lose everything, and / or break my computer and have to reinstall and start from scratch. (that was a boring question. Sorry readers)
A. Mine. Me.
Q. How do you manage your digital music as a working DJ? Do you have all of your tunes in genre specific folders, on a massive hard drive? Do you then copy what you think you'll be playing that night onto a smaller USB stick? Do you back up your music often?
A. I've filled one 500gb hard drive and I'm working on a second one. I back up my sticks and work off the playlists on there until I inevitably lose everything, and / or break my computer and have to reinstall and start from scratch. (that was a boring question. Sorry readers)
Q. You wrote a symphony recently (LOL) that got played by some proper musicians for an orchestra (HAHAHAHAHAHA) in Newcastle. Do you reckon you'll do something like that again or was it, deep down, a bit too serious? It's a nice thing to have on your CV, but it's better being in a nightclub with a belly full of pingers, surely? Also, how badly did the lads down the pub take the piss out of you for doing a symphony? Pottsy once killed me ten nil in the Hogshead because I had a book in my pocket. It's all about the banter at the end of the day.
A. I don't go to pubs anymore. I only go for "drinkies" with people who have names like Toby, or Jocasta and, to be honest, I can't handle pingers since the IBS really made itself known. I'll probably make something like the symphony again if anyone lets me, but that remains to be seen.
Q. You used to live in Mexico. What was that like?
A. Middlesboro with sunshine and Tacos. (Before I upset the whole place.. It's amazing and I was made to feel right at home by almost everybody I met during my time there).
Q. You used to live in Mexico. What was that like?
A. Middlesboro with sunshine and Tacos. (Before I upset the whole place.. It's amazing and I was made to feel right at home by almost everybody I met during my time there).
(Mexico that is, not Boro).
Q. When you're DJing, do you start off in any particular key? I've found with having the key of the track SMACK BANG in your face with digital DJing, it's hard to mentally ignore it, so I pick the next track with the same key or a key either side of it, do you know what I mean? It makes my style of DJing quite boring, which is ok because I'm just in the house.
A. I don't. I'm not actually great with CDJs beyond making them do what they used to do 15 years ago, to be honest. (that was a boring question. Sorry readers)
Q. Do you use the Sync button on CDJs? Crap question, but there's no point in using pitch faders any more, is there? It's all there on the screen anyway if you're too embarrassed to press Sync.
A. You answered your own question. (I'll go back to 2014 then) (Also, that was a boring question. Sorry readers)
Q. What does a Christmas and New Year look like for you outside of working?
A. I have my wife and daughter here from Mexico finally, and my grandparents are in their 90s, so a dinner with them and my Mam while I can still do it with everyone in the same place.
Q. Do you use the Sync button on CDJs? Crap question, but there's no point in using pitch faders any more, is there? It's all there on the screen anyway if you're too embarrassed to press Sync.
A. You answered your own question. (I'll go back to 2014 then) (Also, that was a boring question. Sorry readers)
Q. What does a Christmas and New Year look like for you outside of working?
A. I have my wife and daughter here from Mexico finally, and my grandparents are in their 90s, so a dinner with them and my Mam while I can still do it with everyone in the same place.
I've just got back in to DJing heavily again after taking some time off from the previously mad schedule I had, but I'm back in full bore again.
Regardless of that though I'm not sure I can face a touring NYE this year so I've not accepted any offers yet and I'm trying to put together something private for me and friends in a local spot which is stumbling distance from my front door.
 |
| Hoochie mama!!! |
A. Scary then. Sporty now.
 |
| Buy tickets for this or I will crawl through your screen and murder you |
Q. Best Promos has a weekly global reach of almost 100 people, per week. What upcoming music or events would you like to plug on here, to almost a whopping 100 people?
A. We're doing a party at a social club on December 3rd with me and Prosumer and you should buy a ticket and come to it, if only for the 1980s bar prices.
Tickets are here, mate: Me Me Me Are you Affiliated 2: "The Committee Strikes Back"
"Kevin. Kevin! Wake up! There's water everywhere and the mirror is all steamed up! Kevin! Are you ok?! Kev?!?!"
When I woke up, I was in the shower and the interview was all a dream! But as I was drying myself, I looked in the mirror and said, "Man Power. What a thoroughly, jolly, bloody nice bloke."
Great ending.
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If you're a superstar DJ who wants some more exposure, get in touch on the means below and I'll ask you some REALLY BIG QUESTIONS as soon as I can.
Next week, I'm reviewing the new Daniel Avery album and drawing a picture of him for good measure.
Email me: BestPromos4Eva@gmail.com
Tweet me: @BestPromos4Eva
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