But, having recently been named the world’s 24th best DJ, global domination beckons. He’s about to hit Sydney with the Godskitchen crew, so we gave him a call…
How did you first get into DJing?
When I was 16 or 17 I just got into the music when I went on holidays to Spain. Dance music was really popular over there in the summertime. I bought myself a set of decks and then got into production just out of curiosity. It was just a natural kind of teenage thing.
Why do you think you’ve risen up the top 100 so quick?
I think it was just a combination of a couple of big tracks I had, like “Big Sky” and “Find Yourself”. Instrumental trance goes great for your career but to really break through you need tracks that can be played on radio as well. And that happened here in Ireland, the tracks were played a lot.
Did making the top 25 make a big differencee?
Well yeah it definitely helps, it gives you a lot more ability to go to new areas, because in certain countries, the Top 100 is really looked at. They check out the poll and probably book them one by one.
What’s best, producing or DJing?
It’s a mixture, but DJing in places like Ibiza and going to Australia, that’s one of the best parts of this job. At the moment I’m definitely enjoying my DJing because I’m doing some massive gigs and festivals like Global Gathering and Creamfields. When things quiet down in the fall, that’s when the production gets serious.
Any stand-out gigs?
In South America there are always quality places. It’s really going off in Ukraine at the moment. Russia’s got some great gigs. But I would say the highlights would be my own Subculture gigs in Ireland. We’ve managed to sell out a few gigs and that’s really good at the moment, with the recession.
In what direction do you see trance moving next?
I don’t think I know. I just make whatever I feel is in my mind and I don’t really follow styles – I try to make something new that I haven’t made before. Try and break some of my own rules. But house music seems to be getting bigger and bigger, and you can see it creeping into trance music. Some of the trance DJs who would have been playing really uplifting trance are now creeping toward house music. So the popularity seems to be crossing over, I mean everybody can see David Guetta’s basically a pop star now.
If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?
Dead or alive? Well I suppose Jim Morrison, because he was just a cool person, and it would be funny to see what he has to say. What would I cook? Probably a Thai chicken curry. Yeah, that’s the only thing I can make.
What’s your coolest possession?
Probably my studio. But that’s all full of gadgets and stuff. Actually we just got the new iPad here as well, so my son is loving that at the moment.
What makes you happy?
Music. Food. Travelling. I’m kind of a simple pleasures sort of person. I’m not one to go rock-climbing and stuff like that. I just enjoy being at home and chilling out, because when you’re travelling so much, when you get home, those four days seem like a holiday in themselves. When I’m flying all the time and going to hotels, you really don’t get time to actually see the places that I visit.
What can we expect at Godskitchen?
I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m going to have lots of new tracks. I’m going to be right in the middle of producing my new album so I could have some exclusive stuff in there. You’re going to have to come along to see.
John plays Godskitchen in Adelaide (1 Oct), Brisbane (2 Oct), Sydney (3 Oct), Perth (8 Oct) and Melbourne (9 Oct). www.godskitchen.com
September 27th, 2010
