We catch up with Hard dance legend Anne Savage ahead of her night at PaSSion Hard on February 4th to get her thoughts on this different concept night!

So Anne, most people know you for you Hard House but what will you be surprising people with at PaSSion Hard??

Well I've been busy in the studio working on some new tracks that Ill be spinning on the night.  They are still pumping, but not quite up to the 155bpm mark!

Is it refreshing for you as an artist to be put on a night that doesn't pigeon hole you as a Hard House DJ??

Absolutely.  Its very hard to shake a label, even if you have been djing as long as I have but slowly people are seeing past the hard house label. Its bizarre cos Hard House as we used to know it doesn't really exist in clubs any more, most of the olriginal hard house dj's play anything from UK techno and hard trance.  Anyway I've been selecting tunes from all over the world that I'm dying to play on the night!

Do you think these kind of night that bridge between hard dance and Trance are a good idea? Do you think it could be a trend for more clubs to follow suit?

Yeah because like I said, labels are a bad thing.  It restricts dj's to what they can play and the crowd become very narrow minded. Also a cross genre night like this enables the trance jocks to inject a bit of energy into what can be one long euphoric riff in a pure trance set.

So whats happening away from the Decks for Anne savage right now?? As we know you're one of the busiest Ladies in Dance Music so what keeps you occupied when not DJing?

Well I've just finished doing the voiceovers for the DJ Mag top 100 party which is being televised on ITV 2 on April 3rd.  It was a great night, I did all the interviews which meant getting cosy with some of the best talent in the world.  Also I'm hosting the Hard Dance awards with Ed Real on Feb 11th at The Fridge in London for the 3rd Year running and I've got my first release ready for my label (Anne Savage The Do with Pedro Delgardo mixes) which will be digital only, I'll be announcing more on my site www.annesavage.net  I love Pedro's work - he's done loads for Cox's Intec, and this remix is already getting support from the techno scene.

Do you have any new and exciting goals for 2006?? Stuff that you think this year I really wanna do this??

I want to get  my Dumb Blonde thing going.  I've a Dumb Blonde mix for Carl Cox's Global show and I'm playing at The Gallery, Hum (Rennie Pilgrem's night).  There's much more to go into the project but I'm keeping my cards to the chest for now on that one.

What was your personal highlight of 2005. In retrospect was it a good year, average year or one to forget!?

Its been an interesting year.  With so much uncertainty in clubland its been like, come on Savage you've got to pull something out the bag! So the groundwork has been done and 2006 is shaping up to be a better year

How was NYE 2005 for you?? Were you out chilling somewhere or running up and down motorways DJing??

Oh yes, clocking up those miles! I was doing a club in Swansea and Scot Project was on after me and due to bring the New Year in, but you know what he's like, so laid back he didn't have a countdown ready and didn't want to use the mic so I ended up doing it with him which was nice as I hate being in the car like a saddo with a couple of party poppers at midnight rushing to my next gig. I also did Slinky, Tidy, and Polys.

How did 2005 compare to previous years in a musical sense? Do you feel music is still moving forward. Can 2006 bring something new and exciting to the table??

Its really exciting now and it absolutely is moving forward. The fact that you're putting these nights on is healthy.

Who is floating your boat musically at mo. Any new DJ's / Producers we should keep an eye on?? Will you be helping said people at all in this difficult industry??

My other half manages some amazing young talent  Sander Van Doorn, Gleave, Chris Davies, Gavyn Mitchel, all with their own twist and interpretation of sounds that have filled dancefloors for years.

You also work under the guise of Dumb Blonde. Is this something that is being pushed more for 2006 or just a side project when ya fancy something different??

The two releases I have done were co produced with Coburn and were hammered by  by my peers (Sasha, Digweed, Timo Maas, Lee Coombs, Rennie, Elite Force) which is brilliant.  I'm just plugging away and it's a great creative outlet because there really is no strict sound of Dumb Blonde (that's the whole idea) so in turn there is no pressure.  I'm remixing one of the biggest breaks tunes of the past 5 years next week, which is really exciting.  I can't decide whether it's a good idea or I'm setting myself up to be slated but I'll just have to wait and see!!

Finally, for future reference, Passion or Storm @ The Emporium and why??

Good God that's easy! Passion.  Passion was always my favourite place to play and I was a favourite there up til about 2001, when the musical divide happened between hard house and trance so didn't get to play that often.  That's why it's so good to be back.  Bring it on!!!!

Thanks a lot for you time Anne. take care and we look forward to seeing and hearing you at PaSSIon Hard @ The Emporium on Feb 4th!