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 Halloween night 27th October 2007
Tonight at Lush in Portrush, N.Ireland it’s all about the quality of music and having a good time. As we enter the Classics Halloween Ball we have prepared ourselves for a time warp back to the 90’s when clubs were Superclubs and DJ’s were’nt Superstar DJ’s. With the long standing Dave Seaman in his 20th year in the business headlining with a back to back set with Col Hamilton and Dee McAuley aka Montero we are in for a rollercoaster of musical adventure tonight. As we enter the club there is a strong element of unity amongst the Irish clubbers. Not only is it Halloween but Lush is one of the most renowed clubs in N.Ireland. It boasts a series of top DJ’s ranging from John Digweed to Paul Van Dyk. Tonight is no exception, people are here to party and the atmosphere is buzzing. I’m greeted by a friendly yet stressed Col Hamilton. Not only does he run this club, he is also a master on the decks as he proves tonight. A quick hello and a JD and Coke and he takes off to talk to Scooby, the man in control of the lights and smoke. We walk upstairs to settle ourselves down where it’s half way through the lively and upbeat set of Dee McAuley, he’s thrown in some good favourite classics, which gets me in the mood for dancing. Just as I get up to bust some grooves on the dancefloor I bump into Dave Seaman. Having met him only once I introduce myself when we get outside while he lights his first cigarette of the evening with drink in hand I begin my interview with the legendary Prog/House DJ: Dave Seaman Interview: 1. Out of all your compilations, which was your favorite one to do? My favorite is Back to Mine, I think I prefer a lot of the songs on it. It’s a bit different than doing a Dance compilation, it wasn’t just about beat mixing it’s more about blending the tracks together.
Also the Renaissance Mix Collection Part 4 (the one with the leaves on it) is something I listen to from time to time and I just did that from vinyl with no computers or digital editing. These are the two that stand out for me. 2. The new compilation is an interesting mix of different styles? Where did you get your inspiration? I had 2 CD’s for the first time, it’s easier to do. With one CD I have lots of favourite records that I want to cram in and it doesn’t really flow as well as it could do because you only have a certain amount of time on one CD.
With two CD’s it evolves more naturally at a steady pace rather than jumping from one style to another. With this compilation you’ll see that it goes from Deeper and Tribal to Techie stuff through to Trance-y and Balearic. I play all that kind of stuff. I just want to showcase the different style that I like. 3. You were voted in the top 100 DJ’s poll in DJ Mag recently, and I read that your inspiration came from ‘Ethiopian Biker Tech-Step’. What this a joke? Yes (it was a joke), people talk about different styles and genres and I don’t think styles mean very much anymore. All the lines are blurred, people are saying that Techno is great and Deep House isn’t! There is good and bad Techno and good and bad Deep House, just like there is good and bad everything.
I get asked so many times what ‘style’ I play so I just make something silly up because it has got to the point where we need to stop worrying about style and genres and just worry about good music. 4. What do you think of the Minimal revolution that is happening? I think a lot of it (Minimal) is great, but all of this ‘revolution’ is press and media led. They have to have the ‘new hot thing’ because everything in their world is safer in a box.
If a DJ concentrates on one kind of music, its very tunnel minded. DJ’s shouldn’t really be like that, they should be open to all sorts of good music.
I like some Minimal, just like I like some Tech, I like some Rock & Roll and even some Country and Western. There’s good and bad of everything, to say one style is better than the other is just stupid. 5. Last time I saw you play in Hong Kong was in 2001 at a club called Pink. Since then the number of International DJ's has decreased. Do you plan on going back? Well, I haven’t been to Hong Kong since so I can’t really comment but I have been asked to come back. My friend and fellow DJ/Producer Stel played there and said I should definitely go back so I’ll hopefully make it in 2008. 6. What’s your favorite club to play in Asia? Zouk is definitely up there. Womb in Tokyo and Agiha in Tokyo is pretty amazing. 7. Over the last 20 years, you have seen a lot of producers come and go. What would you say make a great producer? I think consistency is the key, anyone can make a big record at one time and fluke it but having consistency really shows you have something special.
8. So what’s the plan for the future? Are you slowing down? Speeding up?
I’ve got a family now and my priorities have changed. We are 10 months in and I have been away for 4 months of that year with my wife and kids.
People say I’m crazy taking my kids around the world with me, I guess some of the flights are difficult but once you get to the destination and the sun is shining, there’s a great swimming pool at the hotel and they have a fantastic time rather than be stuck in England. I have just finished my newest compilation-Therapy Sessions 4 that has come out this week and have agreed to do the next Renaissance Masters, only signed off on it today and it comes out in March. I'm also in the process of rebuilding my studio outside, at the moment it’s in the cellar and doesn’t really work with the family. I can’t play music at certain times so building my studio outside in my garden is a priority so I can carry on making more music. 9. I heard you used to be a bit of Break Dancer…What was your B-Boy name? ‘Keruaki’ was my B-Boy name. Yes, I used to do a bit when I was younger and I still do it occasionally when I am drunk but the last few times I have done it I have really hurt myself-I am not as agile as I used to be.
If anyone doesn’t believe me I just tell them to watch the Global Underground DVD-it’s on there, trust me!
After the interview with Dave I recognize Dee McAuley AKA Montero. Having met him a couple of times I know he doesn’t like interviews but I ask him to come outside for his break to see if I can pursued him to answer a few questions.
He seems pretty shy at first but once the DJ/producer has a few a shots with me, he’s is definitely much more chatty.
Interview with Dee McAuley AKA Montero 1. Talk us through your DJ career. I started djing as a hobby at 14 while at school spending my free time and money in record stores around Belfast. Then began playing in local clubs around 1994.† In 1997 I won the Northern Ireland Vestax Mixing Championships which led to the UK finals in London where I was up against some amazing freestyle djs. When I returned to Belfast I began my 3 year residency at the legendary Network Club in Belfast playing alongside the likes of Dave Seaman. The club eventually lost it's license in 2000 and I was out of a job, so I packed my record box for a season in Ibiza.†This resulted in me returning for another 5 summers playing at clubs such as Amnesia, Pacha and Space. I became resident dj at Cafe Mambo from 2003 - 2005 playing alongside Pete Tong on the Essential Selection and pre-parties for Renaissance. I was also weekly resident at Space for Steve Lawler's Viva night and at Pacha for Defected. After the success of our single 'Captain Hook' in 2005 I began touring with Renaissance around Europe in countries. Due to this extensive schedule I had to stop working in Ibiza and concentrate more on my production work which is where I am at today. 2. Why are you called Montero? When we began working in the studio together our sound was very percussive and Latin influenced and we found the name Montero, which is a place in South America I think, on a website and we basically thought it sounded right! Our sound has developed and progressed since then but the groove is still key in our productions! 3. Your latest productions are quite different from Captain Hook and Hairy Hits - was that by choice or market led? We didn't want to repeat ourselves by putting out another 'Captain Hook' so we decided to take a different direction and try a new formula. Like all of our work it was more a creative choice rather than market led. 4. I recently read in Mixmag that producers could be penniless. What do you think? I really hope this won't be the case but I think that's quite a bold statement. It is harder for producers now to make a living solely on producing club tracks, which is why a lot of them take up djing to further their career. You need the time to create the music, which is hard if you're trying to hold down a full-time job. There will always be people, like myself, producing music for the love of it and not for financial gain. 5. Have you ever played in Asia, specifically in Hong Kong? No, but I plan to in the near future! In fact I’ll be spending time there in 2008 so watch this space. 6. If you could play anywhere in Asia, what club and why? It would probably be Zouk in Singapore, I've heard so many amazing things about that club. I also know the resident dj Aldrin has been a fan of our music so I know they have good taste! LOL† 7. How is your set going so far tonight? Do you enjoy playing back to back? It’s going down really well, the atmosphere is always great here so I can get away with the more cooler stuff. Playing back to back is about having fun, Col and I seem to feed off each other really well. Although, I’ll need to slow down on the shots! 8. If you weren't a DJ what would you be? I would be a graphic designer. I have a degree in Visual Communication but decided to do Audio Communication instead. 10. Lastly, what's next? Any new productions that we can look forward to? We’ve just released '48K' on Freefall and 'ZX' on Max Graham's Re*brand label. Future releases include 'It's On' and 'Explicit' which will be released early next year, which we're excited about.
Dee finishes his drink and heads back down to the DJ box to swap deck duties with Col Hamilton so I bid him farewell and look forward to busting some moves on the dancefloor.
After about an hour of dancing in the thick of the crowd soaking up the atmosphere, I’m curious to find the mastermind behind all of this and get down to the nitty gritty.
I spot him above the DJ Box in the VIP room and I race up before he has a chance to disappear again. Not surprisingly he’s by the bar and I entice him outside for a quick chat before he gets a little worse for wear. Col Hamilton Interview: 1. What’s been the highlight from the last 20 years? The Millennium gig when Radio 1 did the Live Essential Mix around the world and Lush were the only Irish club to be involved.
I played a 1 hour mix live along with Carl Cox in Hawaii and Sasha in New York! It was a great night and the club sold out well in advance. We have had loads of good nights as we have been running every Saturday for nearly 12 years so it’s hard to pick one out of those. 2. What style do you think works best in this club? We don’t pigeon hole music. Our music is right across the board. One week we will have Paul Van Dyke, the next Eric Morillo and the following week John Digweed. We just like to provide good quality House music. 3. Kelly’s is renowned for being one of the best clubs in the UK, what does the future hold? Just keep on doing what we are doing, we don’t really plan years ahead. We just want to provide a good Saturday night for everyone.
There’s no real plan, I think when we plan things too much everything goes tits up so we just take one week at a time. It’s just a good ole fashion night out! 4. Have you played in Hong Kong before? Yes, have played a couple of times. Once was back in 1997 at Jimmy’s sports bar over-looking the stadium which was really, really good! It was just as the change over was happening so it was an exciting time.
More recently, was last year when Ricky Stone got me over to play in Shenzen just over the border which was crazy fun! 5. So what was your impression of Hong Kong? I love it! As soon as you land there with the skyscrapers and the mountains it’s like a world unto its own! I can’t wait to go back. China is great as well! 6. So what is your biggest tip for budding promoters in Hong Kong? To start off small, just get a small night going with local DJ’s. Build up a crowd first and then if you can do that you can take it from there. Just don’t go too big too soon! 7. Last but not least, why tonight? Why did you choose Dave Seaman? Lush has been running every Saturday for about 11 years and Dave has been playing with us ever since. Its also Halloween and its huge over here everyone dresses up and we are also doing it like a classics party and Dave was one of the most obvious choices and he works really well over and is a lovely guy.
I have to say that tonight was “good craic” as the Irish would say. We’ve had a great line up, in a superb club with a crazy, up-for-it Irish crowd who love to holler. I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside me that dance music might return to the way it used to be…or maybe that’s one too many Jack and Cokes…who knows!
Article by Christiane T.
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