NICK RAFFERTY SPEAKS TO US ABOUT CREAM AND MORE!

What tunes do we expect from you at the cream event on 1st March?

I am really looking forward to playing the last set at this event I think the music is going to progress and be fab all night long – the great thing with Cream Ibiza is you have the house vibes on the terrace and the tougher sounds in the club most often, we want to give you a flavour of the lot in the one night! I will take it from the house sounds into the slightly tougher dutch sounds keeping it rocking right the way through! I have one special track to finish with so make sure you are there right until the lights go on!!!

Are you looking forward to playing at the cream event?

I am really looking forward to playing this event – the venue looks awesome – such a change from playing a standard club venue, and great to see so much effort going into the event!

Who were your influences in the music scene?

Over the years I have had many influences – Tony De Vit & Tall Paul in my early days with both DJing and production and Mauro Piccotto with production he has never ceased to amaze me with his creativity and direction! These days there are so many good artists from BK - John OCallaghan – Sander Van Doorn – Marco V through the more House sounds of Dave Spoon, Axwell, Steve Angello etc the list is endless to be honest!

What is your most treasured possession?

My most treasured possession would be my family – Sara, Brooke and Bailee - May

Do you have any productions in the pipeline?

Yes I have a few productions on the go – we have done a cover of Bedrock ‘For what you Dream of’ which features a harder mix and a ‘Bricks & Mortar’ house mix the vocals are re sung by Gemma James and we are really pleased with this direction – I have been doing things with my good friend Dan (Future Disciple) we have also done some tougher mixes of KKlass ‘Let me Show you’ which is getting some nice feedback! We have some new stuff we are just about to get started on!

When and how did you start DJing?

I guess I started DJing about 12 + years ago – it all came about as we used to go regularly to Crunch in Birmingham and Bakers in Birmingham, the old Stress records parties, Decadence and first Gatecrashers – I loved been on the dance floor as the music was out of this world at that point but I was always intrigued to see how it all worked behind the decks. My Intrigue got the better of me and I picked up from a friend a set of Belt driven decks! He always said if you can mix on them you can mix on anything! After playing in an after hours bar called the West End Bar and various other Birmingham Parties I Joined Sundissential and it went off from there!

What are your favourite clubs and where?

My favourite Clubs were Wobble and Bakers in Birmingham when we used to go out – Pulse in Birmingham when we started Sundissential – the QClub in Birmingham is an outstanding venue – Now a club in Shangai called Bon Bon is amazing – Plato 68 in Estepona is simply stunning and of course the newest one will be Leas Hall right after March 1st!! To be fair though there are so many great venues around the world – to be honest though if the sound is good and the people are up for it it really doesn’t matter at all where you are the are the most important ingredients!!!

When did you first get into dance music?

I first got into dance music well I guess when Imagination and Jean Michel Jarre were at it through my parents; when it started to rule my life would be through the Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, New Order and so on as I was heavily into the Sub Pop music era going to Reading Festival and Glastonbury at that time and this was the first cross over – I feel with the new generation we are right back at where I started from!

How would you describe your DJ set?

I have always played pumping dance music whether it be from more house sounds through to trance – there is so much great music out there if a track is good and it fits then why not play it – I think Jeremy Heally was always the best at this he used to drop allsorts into his sets keeping it interesting and you never knew what was around the corner! This way you can really build and take the music in different directions especially last set you can really take right up there!! I have loads of great stuff I will be playing and can’t wait!

Do you use CD’s or vinyl or PC?

I tend to use CD’s – they are great to mix with just a bloody pain to find them in the wallet! I love vinyl but to be quite honest apart from the odd classic I don’t use it any more – it makes me realise how much of an art DJing with vinyl really was – as CD mixing is so much more accurate but modern technology has made it more exciting to play music now I think!

What tune do you like to end your dj set with?

This really depends on where I am playing to be honest – I think it is always important to send people away on a high so it does tend to be a classic whether new or old – It really depends on the crowd and how the night has gone but I have a couple in mind for this event!

Great thanks to HD Promotions – I look forward to seeing you all on March 1st – Nick Rafferty