Jump to content

  • Interview with El Greko

    Lisa

    By Lisa

    image.pngWe at ClubTheWorld got together with Toxik resident El Greko & asked him a few questions.  With a few promotions behind him, this young man is certainly going places.

    Hi El Greko, you have a few residencies under your belt now, Toxik being one of them. Are you looking forward to playing at The Embrace this month & is there any particular dj playing you would like to see?

    Yes I'm really excited about Toxik, the debut event was really something special and had the whole clubbing community talking about it. It won Mixmag Club of the Month, which was fantastic and by all accounts the Embrace is going to be even more spectacular!! So you bet I'm looking forward to it.

    As for DJs, I'm looking forward to Phil Reynolds' set, he never fails to impress me, and of course Ed Real closing the night out as only he can.

    I'm also looking forward to catching JP & Jukesy the latest addition to the Toxik stable of DJs. I think people are gonna be blown away when they see these guys in action, also not forgetting Donna Birt & Zana Mills, playing back to back for the 1st time. Expect the floor to be heaving when the girls get going.

    Hell, the whole line up is pure class, hand picked to bring the very best in music, we've got the trance room headlined by none other than Mr Wildchild himself Reece Elliot and the hardcore room too with Strange Dave.

    It's not a case of which DJ I'm looking forward to seeing it's more how can I manage to see them all.

    What first got you into mixing & why hard dance?

    I first got into mixing back in the late 80s during the original rave era. I've always loved music and I found something spellbinding watching DJs mix records together creating new sounds and music. I bought my first set of decks in 1989 and was instantly hooked.

    The Hard Dance didn't come about until much later. Over the years my musical tastes progressed and I really got into the harder stuff in the late 90s, I loved the energy in the early music and with the emergence of the Hard Trance sound shortly afterwards I was hooked. The combination of hard driving beats and the euphoric uplifting melody lines really has a powerful effect and although I like, and listen to lots of types of music nothing gets my blood pumping like Hard Dance.

    Who would you say has been the biggest influence on you & your style you play?

    Well my DJing goes back a long way and I've had many influences in that time. In terms of Hard Dance it has to be Tony De Vit, he was a true pioneer of the hard sound and I'd say even to this day his music attracts many new people into the scene. You'd be amazed how often I get asked for tune id's of Tony's music even nowadays. He really created some masterpieces which have stood the test of time.

    Following on from Tony I really respect and admire people like Phil Reynolds, Andy Farley, BK and Nick Sentience who took up the baton and pushed forward the hard sound everyone takes for granted these days, the scene would be nothing like it is today without these guys.

    More recently a major influence for me has been scratch DJs like Sy, and of course the God like Q-bert. Since I've been incorporating more and more scratching in my sets I find it's the energy these guys can inject into the music with their scratching skills that never fails to impress me. I've found myself spending more and more time scratching as a consequence.

    image.pngYou played main stage Camden Palace before it closed it's doors to the HH events, how was this experience?

    In a word unforgettable. The palace just had so much history behind it. It's the place where many people had their first experience of clubbing and over the years pretty much every DJ worth his salt had played there, so being on that main stage was a phenomenal experience. Luckily Koko as it's now known, has let a couple of Hard events be put on there recently, so who knows maybe I'll get a chance to play there again some day. Although it will always be the "Camden Palace" for me 😉

    Who would you say is you favourite producer & DJ?

    At the moment Barry Diston and Greg Brookman are my 2 favourite producers. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in with Greg in the studio and I must say the guy is pure genius, his production is faultless and his music is inspiring . Watch out for massive things from him.

    As for Barry his tunes just seem to get better and better, I've been very impressed especially with some of his recent offerings and I have quite a collection of his music building up.

    DJ wise for pure technical ability I've got to say Eddie Halliwell is a joy to watch. It's no fluke the guy has risen to stardom in such a short space of time, Quality

    How would you describe your perfect evening to be in a club? do you prefer it to be full on from word go or are you a believer in a night progressing from a great warm up?

    I think it all depends on the crowd. If it's early but the club is busy and the crowd are up for it I don't see anything wrong with kicking things off there and then, upping the pace and getting things moving. Alternatively I don't see anything wrong with holding things up a bit if the crowd haven't found their dancing feet yet or the club is taking a while to fill.

    It's the DJs job to gauge the mood and energy of the floor and play accordingly. My perfect evening would be one where the music is tailored to the people and the energy on the night.

    When your not out playing the clubs or mixing at home, what do you usually do in your past time/hobbies?

    I have a very demanding day job which keeps me really busy, that coupled with a hectic DJing schedule doesn't really give me much free time unfortunately. I like to get into the gym as often as possible it's a great way to burn off stress, apart from that if I do get any time off I like to chill out at home with a good DVD and rest up.

    What's the most memorable DJing / Clubbing moment you have had so far?

    Now that's a very hard question, I've been lucky enough to play some amazing places over the years. I think I would have to say my recent success has been most memorable though (and no not because it's more recent 🙂 ).

    I stopped DJing in 1997 due to work commitments and was no longer able to handle the pace of my job and my DJing career, so when I started DJing again in 2001 I honestly only expected to play the odd small gig here and there, so when things started to happen for me it was taken aback really. I'd have to say playing the main room at the Ministry of Sound was probably THE moment. It was one club I'd always wanted to play back in the day, and although I played the 2nd room a couple of times I never had a shot on the main rig, so to get that opportunity last year was really special for me.

    Who would you most like to go B2B with?

    I guess that would be Eddie Halliwell. Give us plenty of decks plenty of CDJs, an effects unit and let us rip the floor up 🙂

    Can you tell us about your best & worst dj moments you have had?

    As I mentioned playing Ministry of Sound main room was a great experience. Also my Frantic debut at Camden Palace was an unforgettable night. More recently I have to say the Toxik launch party was something really special. The level of production that went into that night was remarkable, and it's all set to happen again on the 18th of Feb, miss it at your peril.

    As for worst moments, obviously there's the customary dodgy needles - dodgy decks - dodgy mixer - dodgy monitors etc. but one really bizarre incident was when a 1210 deck got stuck in 33rpm. You'd push 45 and it would jump back to 33 on its own, plus it was a 3 hour set. Very weird and not in the least enjoyable.

    greko is an unusual name, is it your & if not where did it come from?

    El Greko comes from the famous Greek painter who lived in Spain. His real name was unpronounceable to the locals so he was dubbed "El Greco" (The Greek) as a nickname. When I first started DJing I had a Spanish friend who always used to call me El Greko so when I was stuck thinking of a DJ name he suggested I use it, I thought it was quite appropriate as my full Greek name is also unpronounceable to most so I used it and it stuck.

    re do you see yourself in later years & what do you hope the future holds for you?

    Well when I unpacked my decks 3 years ago I would have been happy to play a few gigs here and there, but recently things have just gone crazy.

    I was lucky enough to pick up 4 residencies last year and have recently started getting bookings outside of London and from further and further afield, so who knows where things could lead. I definitely want to get more into the production side of things that's for sure, but finding the time can be tough.  Really the way things have been going recently I daren't speculate, all I know is I'm enjoying the ride.

    Beer or spirit? 

    spirit

    Fav food?

    chicken

    Colour?

    blue

    cds or vinyl?

    No Preference. They both have their Pros and Cons

    breast or leg breast man......

    Oh wait are we talking chickens here?? 🙂

    All at ClubTheWorld would like to say thanks very much to El Greko for taking the time out to answer a few questions for us & we would like to wish him luck for Toxik The Embrace & the future.

    Go to records


  • Interview with El Greko

    Lisa

    By Lisa

    image.pngWe at ClubTheWorld got together with Toxik resident El Greko & asked him a few questions.  With a few promotions behind him, this young man is certainly going places.

    Hi El Greko, you have a few residencies under your belt now, Toxik being one of them. Are you looking forward to playing at The Embrace this month & is there any particular dj playing you would like to see?

    Yes I'm really excited about Toxik, the debut event was really something special and had the whole clubbing community talking about it. It won Mixmag Club of the Month, which was fantastic and by all accounts the Embrace is going to be even more spectacular!! So you bet I'm looking forward to it.

    As for DJs, I'm looking forward to Phil Reynolds' set, he never fails to impress me, and of course Ed Real closing the night out as only he can.

    I'm also looking forward to catching JP & Jukesy the latest addition to the Toxik stable of DJs. I think people are gonna be blown away when they see these guys in action, also not forgetting Donna Birt & Zana Mills, playing back to back for the 1st time. Expect the floor to be heaving when the girls get going.

    Hell, the whole line up is pure class, hand picked to bring the very best in music, we've got the trance room headlined by none other than Mr Wildchild himself Reece Elliot and the hardcore room too with Strange Dave.

    It's not a case of which DJ I'm looking forward to seeing it's more how can I manage to see them all.

    What first got you into mixing & why hard dance?

    I first got into mixing back in the late 80s during the original rave era. I've always loved music and I found something spellbinding watching DJs mix records together creating new sounds and music. I bought my first set of decks in 1989 and was instantly hooked.

    The Hard Dance didn't come about until much later. Over the years my musical tastes progressed and I really got into the harder stuff in the late 90s, I loved the energy in the early music and with the emergence of the Hard Trance sound shortly afterwards I was hooked. The combination of hard driving beats and the euphoric uplifting melody lines really has a powerful effect and although I like, and listen to lots of types of music nothing gets my blood pumping like Hard Dance.

    Who would you say has been the biggest influence on you & your style you play?

    Well my DJing goes back a long way and I've had many influences in that time. In terms of Hard Dance it has to be Tony De Vit, he was a true pioneer of the hard sound and I'd say even to this day his music attracts many new people into the scene. You'd be amazed how often I get asked for tune id's of Tony's music even nowadays. He really created some masterpieces which have stood the test of time.

    Following on from Tony I really respect and admire people like Phil Reynolds, Andy Farley, BK and Nick Sentience who took up the baton and pushed forward the hard sound everyone takes for granted these days, the scene would be nothing like it is today without these guys.

    More recently a major influence for me has been scratch DJs like Sy, and of course the God like Q-bert. Since I've been incorporating more and more scratching in my sets I find it's the energy these guys can inject into the music with their scratching skills that never fails to impress me. I've found myself spending more and more time scratching as a consequence.

    image.pngYou played main stage Camden Palace before it closed it's doors to the HH events, how was this experience?

    In a word unforgettable. The palace just had so much history behind it. It's the place where many people had their first experience of clubbing and over the years pretty much every DJ worth his salt had played there, so being on that main stage was a phenomenal experience. Luckily Koko as it's now known, has let a couple of Hard events be put on there recently, so who knows maybe I'll get a chance to play there again some day. Although it will always be the "Camden Palace" for me 😉

    Who would you say is you favourite producer & DJ?

    At the moment Barry Diston and Greg Brookman are my 2 favourite producers. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in with Greg in the studio and I must say the guy is pure genius, his production is faultless and his music is inspiring . Watch out for massive things from him.

    As for Barry his tunes just seem to get better and better, I've been very impressed especially with some of his recent offerings and I have quite a collection of his music building up.

    DJ wise for pure technical ability I've got to say Eddie Halliwell is a joy to watch. It's no fluke the guy has risen to stardom in such a short space of time, Quality

    How would you describe your perfect evening to be in a club? do you prefer it to be full on from word go or are you a believer in a night progressing from a great warm up?

    I think it all depends on the crowd. If it's early but the club is busy and the crowd are up for it I don't see anything wrong with kicking things off there and then, upping the pace and getting things moving. Alternatively I don't see anything wrong with holding things up a bit if the crowd haven't found their dancing feet yet or the club is taking a while to fill.

    It's the DJs job to gauge the mood and energy of the floor and play accordingly. My perfect evening would be one where the music is tailored to the people and the energy on the night.

    When your not out playing the clubs or mixing at home, what do you usually do in your past time/hobbies?

    I have a very demanding day job which keeps me really busy, that coupled with a hectic DJing schedule doesn't really give me much free time unfortunately. I like to get into the gym as often as possible it's a great way to burn off stress, apart from that if I do get any time off I like to chill out at home with a good DVD and rest up.

    What's the most memorable DJing / Clubbing moment you have had so far?

    Now that's a very hard question, I've been lucky enough to play some amazing places over the years. I think I would have to say my recent success has been most memorable though (and no not because it's more recent 🙂 ).

    I stopped DJing in 1997 due to work commitments and was no longer able to handle the pace of my job and my DJing career, so when I started DJing again in 2001 I honestly only expected to play the odd small gig here and there, so when things started to happen for me it was taken aback really. I'd have to say playing the main room at the Ministry of Sound was probably THE moment. It was one club I'd always wanted to play back in the day, and although I played the 2nd room a couple of times I never had a shot on the main rig, so to get that opportunity last year was really special for me.

    Who would you most like to go B2B with?

    I guess that would be Eddie Halliwell. Give us plenty of decks plenty of CDJs, an effects unit and let us rip the floor up 🙂

    Can you tell us about your best & worst dj moments you have had?

    As I mentioned playing Ministry of Sound main room was a great experience. Also my Frantic debut at Camden Palace was an unforgettable night. More recently I have to say the Toxik launch party was something really special. The level of production that went into that night was remarkable, and it's all set to happen again on the 18th of Feb, miss it at your peril.

    As for worst moments, obviously there's the customary dodgy needles - dodgy decks - dodgy mixer - dodgy monitors etc. but one really bizarre incident was when a 1210 deck got stuck in 33rpm. You'd push 45 and it would jump back to 33 on its own, plus it was a 3 hour set. Very weird and not in the least enjoyable.

    greko is an unusual name, is it your & if not where did it come from?

    El Greko comes from the famous Greek painter who lived in Spain. His real name was unpronounceable to the locals so he was dubbed "El Greco" (The Greek) as a nickname. When I first started DJing I had a Spanish friend who always used to call me El Greko so when I was stuck thinking of a DJ name he suggested I use it, I thought it was quite appropriate as my full Greek name is also unpronounceable to most so I used it and it stuck.

    re do you see yourself in later years & what do you hope the future holds for you?

    Well when I unpacked my decks 3 years ago I would have been happy to play a few gigs here and there, but recently things have just gone crazy.

    I was lucky enough to pick up 4 residencies last year and have recently started getting bookings outside of London and from further and further afield, so who knows where things could lead. I definitely want to get more into the production side of things that's for sure, but finding the time can be tough.  Really the way things have been going recently I daren't speculate, all I know is I'm enjoying the ride.

    Beer or spirit? 

    spirit

    Fav food?

    chicken

    Colour?

    blue

    cds or vinyl?

    No Preference. They both have their Pros and Cons

    breast or leg breast man......

    Oh wait are we talking chickens here?? 🙂

    All at ClubTheWorld would like to say thanks very much to El Greko for taking the time out to answer a few questions for us & we would like to wish him luck for Toxik The Embrace & the future.

    Go to records


×
×
  • Create New...