1. How long have you been DJ-ing for?

I´ve been djing for about 12 years of which 10 have been here in ibiza.

2. Were you DJ-ing in the UK before you moved out to Ibiza? If so where were you DJ-ing?

I started djing in the uk in 94 i was doing some small parties, in places like Toots in Birmingham, and around the midlands area of the UK and then i decided to come over to ibiza to see what it was like.

3. Do you come from a musical background?

My family are musical, my mother loves singing and acting and my sister and brother play various musical instruments, and so i learnt the trumpet and the piano and so now it really helps when making tracks

4. What attracted you to House music?

I don´t know really, I listened to a house mix tape in a friends car and thought its was really good. Then i started going to house clubs around Birmingham and then wanted to try and mix  myself.

5. Who were your inspirations at an early age?

My inspirations have to be Graeme Park,  Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling. The tape i first heard was mixed by Graeme Park so you could say he was my biggest influence as he got my started on house music in the first place.

6. Is Graham Sahara your real name? If not, what is your real name and why did you your chose this alias?

No, my real name is Graham Bates and i chose this alias as its to do with my hair colour. I have ginger hair and so everyone used to call me ginger so i used to say "its not ginger its sahara coloured". and so thats where it comes from. Anyone who has ginger hair and went to school will understand !!!! :-)

7. With so many gigs out in Ibiza and countless party promoters about, why did you choose to sign up with Seamless?

I chose to sign up with seamless because of their style of music. Its very similar to the style i like personally, and they are really positive,  good people to work with.

8. Have you previously done work with Femi B and Oliver Lang? If so where? 

I played with Femi B and Oliver a few weeks ago for the first time, in Middlesborough in the UK. Femi is a really cool guy and a lot of fun. I knew Oliver because he plays here in Ibiza aswell, but it was the first time we had played together as a team.

9. You are known to DJ at clubs across the world, what is your view on a place like “The Whitehouse” which is a bar but attracts club-esque people?

I really like it there. I has a really good vibe, gets very busy and the crowd are really up for it. Its a bit more of intimate and so i think you can feel the good feeling coming from the crowd. As in a big club when you dj in the dj box up and away from everyone you dont feel the vibe from the crowd as much.

10. Do you think it’s difficult to make music for bar clubbers as opposed to your more conventional clubbing crowd?

Not really, its the sounds and the style of the music, i think the sound that say Tiesto plays, in a bar would sound a bit silly to be honest. For me it needs to be and intimate sexy sound for a bar. People want to go have a drink, listen to good music that suits the surroundings their in.

11. I understand that you have recently produced an album with Steve Austin, tell us a little about this project.

Well Steve an I have been friends for years, he´s been working on making music for a while so when i´m back in England we like to work together as we have very similiar style tastes in music. We are at the moment making  an EP and are just putting some finishing touches on some of the tracks. Then hopefully next winter we will try do some more tracks and put together an album

12. Why did you not get into production earlier?

I´ve wanted to make tracks for a while but it has took time to buy all the equipment need to make them and then time to learn how to use it, but now i´ve reached the point where i know what i´m doing and have everything needed so i´m spending more and more time in the studio as the results get better and better.

13. You started Konga, which is reputed to be one of the best small clubs in Ibiza. Why did you decide to concentrate on Pacha?

I started out in Konga when i first came to Ibiza. It was an like an infamous after hours club but it finished a few years ago. It wasn´t so well known to the tourists, more known just to the people who live here. So when the opportunity to be Pacha resident came along I took it, as its a world renowned club that everyone knows and goes to.

14. You were recently up in Shanghai. How did that gig go? What are your views on DJ-ing in Asia? Do you think the crowd understands the music?

Yeah I was in Shanghai and Beijing and I really enjoyed it. The crowd were up for it and I felt they really appreciated the music. For me I think the crowds in asia understand the music and the house scene will continue to grow there as more and more people get in to the music.

15. Apart from Ibiza, what is your favourite country to DJ at? Why?

phewf thats a tough question. I don´t know really, the UK is really good fun to play as House is very well known and popular there so the crowd are really get in to it, but also Brazil is really an excellent crowd and as we all know from their carnival, they like to party and have a good time, samba samba!! For a dj theres nothing better than having a crowd of good people who want to dance, have fun and smile all night!

Interview By Nilly C.

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