Where were you born?
Paddington, West London
What was your favourite hobby and/or present as a kid?
One of my favourite things was my My Little Pony collection! I had loads! I remember being especially proud of all the babies I had, including a limited edition baby boy pony that I'd had to save up tokens and send off for. To match the toys I had the quilt cover, the sticker book, a record... My Little Pony was hot!
Hobbies, I really loved drawing, especially portraits and being 'arty'. I was pretty sporty as well when I was younger, used to love netball, rounders, athletics, tennis, football, all sorts.
How did you get into DJing/presenting?
I never set out to be a DJ, it all just sort of happened! I didn't really think of getting involved in the scene until I saw Kemistry & Storm play for the first time. I began buying a couple of records in my second year of college, and started mixing about eight months after. Then got a part-time job in a record shop, started playing on pirate radio, worked for a PR company for a year... doing all these things really helped build contacts and get my name around.
After mixing for a couple of years I was given my first 'big break' and became a part of the Metalheadz roster in 1999, playing alongside many DJs I'd looked up to and been inspired by.
At the beginning of 2000 I became a resident at Swerve, and then 1Xtra launched with me as part of the D&B team (thanks to one of the contacts I'd made). It was a real achievement for me, something I never thought I'd end up doing in a thousand years as I'd always been too scared to touch the mic on the pirates I played on, now I'm loving every minute of it.
Who/what are your biggest influence(s)?
D&B-wise my main inspirations were Kemistry & Storm and Fabio. They inspired and taught me to not be afraid of playing music I love and sticking to my guns.
I remember the first time I saw Kemistry & Storm live, they completely blew me away with their selection and style of play. Also the fact they are women and that Kemi was brown-skinned with dreadlocks had a really big impact on me that led me to think maybe I could be involved in D&B a bit more than being purely a raver.
Another big influence on my life has been my Mum . She's a strong, independent woman with a good heart and high morals.
What have been your biggest achievements to date?
I'm resident DJ for Goldie's Metalheadz camp, resident at Fabio's night Swerve and resident-on-rotation at Grooverider's night Grace.
I have played across the whole UK , across Europe, the U.S.A, Canada and Japan .
I have had two mix CDs out - One for the Reinforced Records compilation Battle of the Breaks, and one for Defunked's Mind, Body and Soul compilation.
I co-produce tracks with Breakage under the name Alias
I set up my own company, a record label, play:musik, and artist booking agency, play:agency
Name one tune that you love or inspired you.
Frankie Knuckles' Your Love on Trax Records.
Think I first heard it in the early 90s on pirate radio. It really moved me and I learnt how music can be charged with so many different emotions at once. It's deep, melancholic, uplifting, dark and takes you away, not just a tune to make you dance. That's what music in general is to me, emotions, feelings and journeys. I've tried to carry that through in my DJ sets to this day.
What is your dream gig or collaboration?
A dream gig would be to play at a beach party in somewhere like the Maldives or similar on a phat sound system. It would have an all-star line-up of my favourite artists from different genres and there'd be a big barbecue or some other sort of food being cooked and served. All my best friends are there, there'd be plenty of cocktail drinking and when people got tired they could retire to the mansion house that would be rented for everyone to stay in. I think this gig would last a week as well for anyone who wanted to stay that long... so in other words a holiday for me, my mates, and favourite artists! :o)
What are your interests/hobbies outside of music?
Good food and good film mainly. I like going to restaurants, the cinema, hanging out with friends, shopping, chilling at home with a DVD (I have quite a big collection). To be honest music does take up a LARGE part of my life at the moment and has done for years. I need a hobby! Any suggestions welcome :o)
Which three rules do you live your life by?
Try to always treat others how I'd like to be treated (i.e with respect and manners).
Be open-minded and try not to judge things I might not understand.
Be happy and fulfilled with whatever I am doing.
What would you do if you were a man for a day?
I wanted to answer this but will leave blank because people of all ages read the site and I don't want to shock anyone... hehe!
What's your weakness?
I have a sweet tooth, can almost never resist having dessert even when I've stuffed myself on dinner.
You're on your way home from a rave and you're starving, there's a kebab shop or a bagel shop, which one do you go to?
Bagel shop! No contest! I don't do kebabs.
When did you last flop as a DJ?
I never flop! Although saying that there was a time (the one and only time) that I didn't get to a gig in Switzerland because I missed the check-in by a few minutes. It was a bit silly because I had about 40mins until the plane actually took off, but the airline staff weren't having it. Was the last flight of the day on said airline as well, so I had no chance of getting there. Screwing!
Favourite piece of clothing and why?
Trainers. I seem to have a slight addiction. Particularly to those of the Adidas variety. I just really love the design of the logo and typeface. The 'Adidas Originals' range has a lot of cool items.
If you weren't a DJ / Presenter, what would you be?
Probably something design or photography related. I did Graphic Design at college and I'd like to go back to it actually and get my creative juices flowing fully! I'm also thinking of trying to get into film & TV production if I ever start to get bored of DJing...
