Addiction

Cally on Olly CG: So youre a bit of a young-gun at 22. How long have you been DJing and producing? Describe your sound to us. OP: Ive been DJing now since I was 15 years old. I got into it from listening to Judge Jules classic Clubbers Guide CDs in 1998/1999, and wanted to know exactly how he was mixing the tunes together. I got into mixing MP3s, which was of course impossible back then, but I got my decks when I was 16 years old and picked up the trade properly from there. I started producing when I was 16, as I had a few creative ideas which I wanted to try to get down to play in my sets. I guess the sound Im best known for is no-nonsense, uplifting hard trance with a distinct UK edge to it. CG: Have you always played/produced hard dance ? OP: Hehehe, heres my first embarrassing revelation. Ive always produced hard house (with the exclusion of several dismal attempts at techno!) but as for DJing well, at university I actually worked as an R&B DJ for 3 years, and I did weekly cheese nights at our student union nightclub, hosting stage games and playing Britney Spears records to pissed-up students! I actually love cheese music / cheese clubbing so it was a great thing for me to do. As far as serious DJing goes though, its always been hard dance. CG: What was the first tune that you ever made ? What was it like ? OP: Good Lord, this takes me back. The first ever tune I did was called Hausmuzik and was, I thought at the time anyway, a 150bpm rip-roaring, innovative, incredible slice of futuristic hard house. That was until I went to sleep that night and awoke the next morning to listen to it again, where I realised it was utter, complete, horrible noise! CG: What have been the highlights of your career so far ? OP: DJing, I toured Australia in 2005 which was incredible! I played three awesome gigs in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney and met some of the nicest clubbers on earth! I was also out there for my 21st birthday, which was wicked. Producing, in 2003 mine & Ashley Sinclairs remix of VG & The Red Hed Move Your Body featured on the CD single of Nukleuz DJ Nation EP 2 which hit the UK Top 40 chart at number 36, which was wicked. Later in 2003, our original track Atmosphere did 10,000 copies in its first week of release and charted at number 48, which was also wicked. CG: So are you looking forward to our b2b then? Have you got anything up your sleeve that youre going to pull out for the evening ? OP: Oh Cally, I cant wait to play with you In all seriousness, it is going to be rather good isnt it? I think we have really similar styles of playing so we should work well together. As for tracks up my sleeve, I do have several of my own re-edits with me including a very special one of one of my favourite rock songs of all time... I wont say much, but lets just say I hope it doesnt kill the crowd with its brightness (Dear me, thats a lame clue!) CG: What have been the most embarrassing/cringe worth moments ? OP: Plenty in real life but DJing wise, I think Ive been fairly cringe-free up until now, apart from the usual taking-the-wrong-record-off saga. I hope that continues, as I really dont like embarrassment at all! CG: What are your plans for the future ? Where do you see yourself in 5 years time ? OP: Im really not too sure to be honest. If youd have asked me 5 years ago whether I would have gone to University in Southampton to study History, I would have laughed at you, but now that seems like such a real and natural thing. Id love to see myself on a beach somewhere surrounded by supple young virgins, but in all reality, probably still in London. Unfortunately. CG: There have been a lot of changes in the hard house scene over the last few years, what do you think of this scene at the moment and where do you think it will go ? OP: I love the way that psy-trance has worked itself into the scene as its so innovative and fresh. At the huge risk of being called a dirty name dropper, I was actually talking about this with Nick Sentience the other day, and we both agree that the awesome production quality of psy-trance should and needs to rub off onto the production quality of UK hard trance. Its a tough time for innovation at the moment but there are plenty of influences and styles still out there waiting to be untapped, it just needs someone to take the plunge and go for it. CG: So what do you get up to in your spare time ? A typical day in the life of Olly Perris ! OP: I do the whole boring 9-5 thing unfortunately, but Im lucky that my 9-5 is also an industry job! I work as Label Manager for mp3 store Trackitdown.net. I get into work, and am instantly ordered to make the tea by my partner in crime Ed Real, with whom I share a sweaty, concrete block in Bermondsey with no windows or air conditioning! After Ive made the tea, I get to work. I have to look after over 3,000 labels and need to be constantly hunting down the hottest tunes to get onto the site, which is a lot of work but also a lot of fun! At the weekends, you can either find me DJing at great events such as Addiction or slumped in a drunken stupor in some desolate cheese club. CG: So what other exciting things have you got coming up ? Any studio time booked ? What have we got to look forward to from you ? OP: Lots of cool stuff to come! Im doing some solo work for the Addiction Digital label, which I manage, and also some collaborations with some well-known producers more on that to come soon! Generally though Im just looking forward to whatever tests life throws at me bring it on baby! Olly on Cally OP: Lets not beat about the bush here with the first question. Youre just a little bit stunning. Naturally, with me there too, there could be some fiery chemistry between us. How do you think you will cope with such a strapping lad in the DJ booth with you ? CG: Oh no, now youve got me all embarrassed before we even start! Thanks for the compliment though babe, thats dead nice of you to say so. Although, it might be a good idea to warn the clubbers of the potential chemistry they may experience watching us - just so theyre all prepared, lol ! OP: On a serious note (!), it has always been difficult for female DJs to waive off the pretty but cant mix tag, however youve proven yourself time and time again as a scene-leading female DJ with skills comparable to the best of the best. Does it anger or empower you when people stupidly label pretty female DJs as talentless ? CG: I think nowadays you have to have the whole package really - a bit like you and me, lol! So many people can mix now, as pretty much everyone has a set of decks at home. Because of this you have to make yourself a little bit different and stand out to make it in this industry. As a clubber, I would always love to watch a DJ that could mix really well, but they also had to have a bit of personality behind the decks, as watching them have a good time makes you enjoy it that little bit more on the dance floor. I love jumping around behind the decks going crazy while Im playing, as I love what I do and the tunes that I play - I dont think I could stay still anyway, even if you paid me to!CG: Wow, you really are being nice to me today, haha! Seriously though, I think female DJs will always have that tag, as its such a male dominated industry and its still a bit of a novelty to see a female behind the decks. Im not sure that it angers me as such, but it is a bit annoying that when some people talk about female DJs, their technical ability is the last thing they mention! Since the beginning of my career, I have always tried to push myself on what and how I play - not the fact that Im female. After reading your question, I presume that this is working and people do talk about my skills before they mention anything else. Female DJs are just as good as the boys anyway - Im sure well give them all a run for their money ! OP: Youve come a long way so quickly in the hard dance scene, and have headlined pretty much every major event and played every major arena. What has been the standout moment from your career so far ? CG: Looking back on what Ive achieved still really shocks me, as its only been 2 years since my first ever gig! I just get on with what I do and love every single minute of it. When I do get chance to look back on everything that Ive done, I still cant quite believe that Im here! Im not sure that there has been one single moment that has stood out for me, but a couple that Id like to mention would be winning the Tidy Summer Camp Competition in 2004 - this really kick started it all for me and I was totally oblivious as to what could come from this! Secondly, it would have to be getting signed to the mighty Frantic agency, which is now known as UDJs. Will Patterson is such a highly respected person within our scene and definitely someone I now look up to, so to have him take me on right from the beginning was such an honour and something that I hope will continue long into the future. OP: What do you think makes a good DJ? Track selection, crowd interaction or technical ability ? Or all three ? CG: I think nowadays you have to have the whole package really - a bit like you and me, lol! So many people can mix now, as pretty much everyone has a set of decks at home. Because of this you have to make yourself a little bit different and stand out to make it in this industry. As a clubber, I would always love to watch a DJ that could mix really well, but they also had to have a bit of personality behind the decks, as watching them have a good time makes you enjoy it that little bit more on the dance floor. I love jumping around behind the decks going crazy while I'm playing, as I love what I do and the tunes that I play - I don't think I could stay still anyway, even if you paid me to! OP: Youve been on a few trips to the studio lately. What kind of tracks should the record buying public expect from you ? What kind of style have you gone for on your productions ? CG: I have only been in the studio once and that was sometime last summer, with a certain DJ called Ben Bennett. As this was my first time, it was a really new experience for me, but I loved every minute of it. Since then I havent ventured back down this route as I was concentrating more on my DJ career, but now I feel the time is right for me to look into production again. I have booked some studio time in with Greg Brookman and have a few ideas of what were going to come up with - but youll just have to wait and see on this Im afraid. Other producers that Id love to work with are yourself (of course), Technikal, Lee Pasch and MDA & Spherical - but youll just have to watch this space, as good things come to those who wait (apparently)! OP: You're known for your no-nonsense, straight up hard dance style which has won you fans across the country and beyond. What do you make of the current electro/psy influences to the traditional hard dance sound ? Does it spoil it ? CG: Well, I recently went to Ibiza and was told that I would come back loving electro and house music. Well I proved everyone wrong, as I probably hate these genres of music more than before I even went ! I dont really know what to make of psy-trance music either, as I havent really listened to it enough to form an opinion. I dont think any other particular style of music can spoil hard house - everything needs to evolve, so to have new influences can only be a good thing, right? I just love hard house to be honest - so Ill play anything that has a nice, heavy, rolling bassline and euphoric breakdown, as this is sure to get me and a dance floor going! OP: What has been your favourite back to back set to date and why ? CG: I have played quite a few back to backs in the past and most of them have worked out pretty well. One that does stand out though, is my back to back set with Mr Whitby last October - this was for Timeless and held of the legendary KoKo Club. Firstly, the whole night was classics only - so this means that youre definately in for a good night anyway. Secondly, I think me and Andy work really well together and it was a back to back set that people had been waiting a while to see. The KoKo Club is my favourite ever venue to play at and I remember the view from that stage when we were on - you just had to be there, but it was an incredible sight and something that Ill never forget. OP: You've mixed the upcoming Frantic Residents album for Nukleuz Records alongside your other half Andy Whitby. Be honest, were there squabbles over who played what track and who did the better mixes ? CG: I am really looking forward to Addiction, its going to be such a good night and one gig that Ive been looking forward to for absolutely ages. I think that we are going to work really well together - as long as you have underwear on, lol! Ive got quite a lot coming up over the remainder of the year with at least 1 gig a weekend, which is great. Just to mention a few things for you though, the Frantic Residents 06 Album will be in all good record stores from 25th September (not sure if Id already mentioned this)!, I will be looking to get into production more so youll hopefully be seeing some tracks from myself sand my website should be up and running sometime soon as well - so please keep looking at www.callygage.co.uk for this.CG: I know - how exciting is that?! I was soooo excited to be asked to mix this compilation and cant wait to see it in the shops - I mean, my face is going to be in HMV! There werent many squabbles though to be honest, as we do play quite different tracks in our sets and we dont swap anything either (nobody comes near my cds)! We mixed half each and I really feel that it shows each of us as a DJ and the sound that we play. It is out in the shops on Monday 25th September, so make sure you all go and buy a copy - it will definitely be worth it, I promise! OP: What do you make of Addiction as a party/record label ? CG: Unfortunately I havent had the pleasure of attending an Addiction party yet, but have heard loads of great things about it. Im really chuffed to have been asked to play as well, especially as its the 2nd birthday and Im playing b2b with you Olly - that just tops it all off for me really! Moving on to the label, I have been fortunate enough to have received most of the releases and have liked pretty much everyone. I feel that the label is very strong and has produced some high quality tracks, right from the beginning. Addiction was one of the first labels to make the bold move and only produce mp3s - so you could say that it set the standard for all other labels to follow, it definately sets it apart from everyone else in that fact anyway. OP: Finally, apart from Addiction of course, what are you most looking forward to throughout 2006 ? CG: I am really looking forward to Addiction, it's going to be such a good night and one gig that I've been looking forward to for absolutely ages. I think that we are going to work really well together - as long as you have underwear on, lol! I've got quite a lot coming up over the remainder of the year with at least 1 gig a weekend, which is great. Just to mention a few things for you though, the Frantic Residents 06 Album will be in all good record stores from 25th September (not sure if I'd already mentioned this)!, I will be looking to get into production more so you'll hopefully be seeing some tracks from myself sand my website should be up and running sometime soon as well - so please keep looking at www.callygage.co.uk for this. Random/Quick Fire If you were to throw a dinner party, which 5 people (dead or alive) would you invite along and why ? OP: Kurt Cobain - The worlds most prominent musical genius of all time. Karl Marx - Because I had to study him for my History degree and I want revenge. Ricky Gervais The funniest comedian of all time bar none. Karl Pilkington If youve heard Ricky Gervais podcasts, youll know why. Imogen from Big Brother obvious reasons! CG: To be honest, I dont think there is anyone that Id really like to invite along to a dinner party, apart from 5 of my closest friends! That would be much more fun I think. What 3 things can you not leave home without ? OP: My iPod Im such a music whore My phone Everyone feels lost without theirs, but I actually begin to panic The latest Ricky Gervais podcast! CG: My bag, as this has everything in it that I need - its a bit like a Mary Poppins bag! As I have everything in there, I wouldnt really need anything else, apart from my clothes and shoes! Where would your dream holiday destination be and who would you take with you ? OP: Id love to visit Mexico again. I went there when I was 15, and it was the most amazing place Ive ever been to. It was so serene, but full of life too. As for who Id take hmm, I honestly couldnt say!! I know my parents loved it there, so probably them. How boring is that!? CG: Im not sure about this really, as there are quite a few places that Id like to go in the world. If I had to pick one though, it would probably be a really expensive trip to Thailand with my gorgeous boyfriend Andy. Id like to do the trip 5* style - not that I could afford to, but thats why its a dream right? Whats your favourite venue and why ? OP: Jesters in Southampton. Its infamous as it is officially the UKs number one worst nightclub, but on Monday nights all pints/shots are 50p. It is, quite simply, the best place ever. CG: My favourite venue has to be The KoKo Club. The place is just amazing and I havent found anywhere else yet that quite has the view this venue does from the main stage. Looking up at all the tiers full of crazy clubbers dancing away to what you play, like theres no tomorrow - well, theres just nothing that compares to it really. Whats your favourite tune of all time ? OP: Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit. On a dance tip, Chicane Offshore 97. CG: It has to be Tony De Vit - I Dont Care. This tune still gives me tingles every time I hear it - I can tell the tune coming in from a mile off and always used to leg it to the dance floor like a loon when it was played ! Whats your favourite colour ? OP: Red baby! Its too sexy for words. CG: It has to be pink - I have so many pink things its untrue. Although I am starting to like yellow and green quite a lot, but would never betray the colour pink, I dont think ! Whats your favourite food ? OP: Knorrs Honey & Mustard Chicken Tonight sauce. Many a sexual meal has been made with this beast. CG: Im not really sure what my favourite food is really, as I pretty much eat anything. If I did say one thing though - I think it would be a massive salad with loads of dressing! Weird I know, but Ask restaurant do the best Chefs Salad in the world - you should go try it, its beautiful, honest ! Whats your dream car ? OP: That Koenigsegg one that The Stig crashed on Top Gear the other week. HOW cool was it!? CG: Well my dream car has to be a shiny black, top of the range, Nissan 350Z Roadstar! These cars are just beautiful and I really think that I would suit one down to the ground ! Can you tell us a secret please ? OP: I dont wear any underwear when I'm DJing CG: Well I could, but it wouldnt be a secret then would it ? !!!! To see exactly what the huge fuss about these fine two DJs is, then you really have to be at Addictions 2nd Birthday @ The Fridge on the 30th September, 2006. With Greg Brookman (A.L.I.V.E. PA), MDA & Spherical (LIVE), Adam White b2b Anthony Dean ft. STACE (LIVE), Technikal, Ali Wilson b2b Matt Smallwood and John Bentley also on the line-up, this is going to be one of the biggest birthday celebrations in the capital this autumn. Check out the E Flyer ! for full line up, ticket info, the massive Addiction VIP all the way limousine competition, samples of the immense remix EPs and more !!

Having burst onto the scene just under two years ago, MDA & Spherical are now well on their way to becoming modern Hard Dance household names. With their immense productions and remixes featuring on almost every major label including Tidy Trax, Masif, Tranzlation & Oblivion Recordings and having just debuted their exciting new LIVE PA, featuring a live bass guitar, a live vocalist and other on stage shenanigans, Addiction promoter Andy T caught up with his new residents to talk about the past, present, future and all things MDA & Spherical. AT: Afternoon lads! First of all allow me to take this opportunity to welcome you as the latest addition to the Addiction stables. You've featured at plenty of our events in the past and have rocked Addiction dance floors to their very foundations more often than most. What's your favourite memory from any Addiction event? Well thanks for giving us the opportunity! Having both been to many of the Thursday night Addictions there have been loads of great memories from most of them. Aside from the Thursdays, one thing that particularly stands out is the first boat party. All the DJs played great sets and the sun was shining making it a fantastic day all round. The green shirt brigade made us chuckle. AT: You've known each other for over 5 years now, and also live together whilst studying at University. Tell us a bit about each other. Who's the worst to live with? Which one of you wears the trousers in the studio? And what makes you such a good partnership? Yeah we live together. We're in the lucky position to have a big house with two other guys from our Uni course. This means we're all into music and can all have a laugh. As for worst to live with - Mark has a suspect aversion to washing up; stuff tends to stay dirty for ages. Matt on the other hand, has a horrid habit of munching dry pasta - the crunching drives you mad! We'd have to say one of the things that make us a good partnership is that neither of us really wears the trousers. We both have different opinions on things a lot of the time, but are good at compromising creating the best outcome. AT: Do either of you have any secret Addiction's of your own? No, but one of our housemates is addicted to a real-time computer game. Often having 30 hour playing stints, he only stops to order take-away or power-nap ready for the next 20 hour stint. Quite sad really. AT: You've gone from remixing tracks in your bedrooms for your own pleasure to being dubbed as one the brightest new production duo's in Hard Dance history, all in less than 2 years!! What do you think has been the main contributing factor to your success? Is it simply just about making good music? Or is there more to it? Well, thanks for your compliments. We do think the music is the key, and we are in the fortunate position that people like what we do. Although it's also about having fun, not taking anything too seriously - can't stand arrogant DJs. AT: Where or who do you think your main musical influences and inspiration have come from? Our influences come from all over, not just hard dance. Obviously there are people we look up to in the scene such as Nick Sentience, The Edison Factor and Greg Brookman but a lot of inspiration for our tracks come from other genres - house, breaks, electro, tech-trance and hardcore alongside dance artists such as Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and Daft Punk - all things that we've been listening to recently between us. AT: I think it would be fair to say that no modern Hard Dance event would be complete without hearing at least several MDA & Spherical anthems unleashed on the Dance Floor throughout the night. With such an immense back catalogue now behind you, which tracks or remixes of your own are your personal favourites and why? Matt: I think my favourite of all the tracks that we've produced together is probably one of our new ones, Dutch Courage. It's quite different and innovative and has seen some great reactions on the dance-floor already. It's due out very soon on Tranzlation. Mark: I'd have to say out of everything we've ever done, it's got to be our remix of Phil York's Drop The Beatz Out on Tranzlation Whites. Funky, chunky and always goes off when played. Simply a feel-good party tune. AT: Having spent the last year wetting ourselves over tracks like Illusion, and the massive remixes of Back to the Program and Drop The Beatz Out what new awesome productions of yours can we look forward to hearing in the near future? There's quite a lot of exciting stuff coming up actually. On the remixes front we have a couple of bits in the pipeline with Phil York's various labels. There's Crank it Up by Technikal & JK on Tranzlation Whites, along with a remix of Nick Rowland's huge trancer Communicate on Nukearpuppy. We're also still waiting for the release of our debut remix on Masif records Weekend by the legends Steve Hill & Technikal. Soon we'll be doing a huge remix of the current anthem U Got 2 Be There by new boys Adrenaline Dept. amongst many other projects. As for original productions there's the aforementioned Dutch Courage on Tranzlation, Infiltrate Your Mind on Nu Religion and our Collaborations EP on Oblivion Recordings, featuring Tekamine and Phantasm done with Chrysus & Technikal. AT: As well as the more serious production you've also been known to have a bit of fun, bootlegging house tracks like Call on Me and Out of Touch under your Beastie Snax alias. Have you any other production guises or pseudonyms? And do either of you produce music that falls into other genres? It's always good fun knocking out the odd bootleg, and doing them under the Beastie Snax guise means it doesn't matter how shamelessly cheesy they are, just plain good fun! That's it for aliases at the moment, although we are both producing tracks in different genres separately. Matt's started to do a few hardcore tracks, with a debut release due on Relentless Vinyl shortly. Mark's delving into the tech-trance/tech-house/electro side of things with a couple of debut remixes on Magnetic records shortly. AT: More and more artist's such as The Edison Factor and Technikal have been working on their own artist albums featuring both mixed and DJ friendly material. Have you any plans to work on something like this in the future? Maybe in the distant future you never know, although at the moment we haven't physically got the time. Trying to fit in production along with the PA and DJing around Uni is quite a challenge as it is. It is definitely something we would like to do, and we're currently considering releasing a live album of the PA show at some point. AT: You've just debuted your new LIVE PA, Welcome 2 The Future for Logic's 7th Birthday @ The Fridge and of course will be showcasing yet again at Addiction's 2nd Birthday in Sept. Featuring a live bass guitar & Jennie Rix on vocals this is no ordinary performance and must have taken a lot of planning and practise. How did things go on the night, and what new tricks will you have up your sleeve for the next instalment? We're both over the moon with how it went and the reactions we received! Being the first time we've done it we didn't quite know what to expect. Luckily everything worked and Jennie did a fantastic job on vocals to polish it all off - the crowd loved her! It's basically given us a great platform to work from. The PA is all about evolution - we kept the first one quite simple but the possibilities are endless, only being limited by our imagination and our wallets. No two PA's will ever be the same and with more elements added it's just going to get bigger and better each performance. AT: How does the PA differ to a normal DJ set? i.e. what are the pro's and con's ? And will you now feel restricted by the standard set up of CDJs, turntables and a mixer? I think to a certain extent we will yes. There's just not as much you can do with them. The main downside to the PA is it takes a lot longer to set up, both at home and arriving at the club. However Logic proved that it's defiantly all worth it once you get up there on stage. AT: You've been studying music degrees at University for the last two years. Now about to start your 3rd and final years have you given any thought to what the future may bring when you both finish next summer? Hopefully lots more making music, more DJing and more PA's. Basically lots more of everything! Hopefully we will get the chance to get more involved with the industry and really push things forward. AT: Apart from your beloved new residency what do you feel your biggest accomplishment to date has been ? I think the biggest achievement to date (not forgetting the residency of course heh) has been organising and pulling off the PA, it was a lot of hard work so really meant something when it came together. Other than that having a release on Tidy was quite a big achievement for us. AT: Who are you both tipping for the top? Be it Producers, DJs, Promotions or labels? On the production front Michael Dow is making some splendid tech-trance, consistently impressed by his material. Edwin Van Cleef is another name that's soon to be on everyone's lips. The Dutch-ninja-pirate's productions have improved ten-fold in the last 12 months. Labels-wise we'd have to say Oblivion Recordings; even though we may be slightly biased their release schedule is looking rather impressive. AT: And finally guys what do you have to say to people that think Hard Dance and UK Hard Trance are on their way out? Everything has its ups 'n' downs and at the end of the day it all goes round in circles (no pun intended). Even if Hard Dance does see a downturn in popularity in a couple of years it will be the new big thing again. It's going through resurgence. Some of the big names will leave or retire, and the artists that stay committed to the scene will end up being at the top. Take a look at the Hardcore genre for example 5 years ago hardcore was a dirty word and the scene practically died. Now it's huge! AT: Thanks very much for taking the time to answer these questions guys ! On behalf of the other residents and myself welcome to Addiction and we'll see you on Stage in September for the mother of all birthday parties! Watch this space for more info on Addiction's 2nd Birthday coming very soon !!