Ajay is a DJ who has been making quite a name for himself in the South of England. Formerly a resident at Cyberkitten, his regular gigs for the likes of Wildchild and Frantic alongside appearences for many of the country's best new events have helped him to gain quite a reputation. Formerly only a Hard Dance DJ, Ajay is now playing House beats too - and will be showcasing some at Nu Religion vs Summit at Hidden in London on July 21st...

You are from Milton Keynes, not exactly a hive of dance music culture. How did you first catch the dance music bug?

I first caught it way way way back in about ‘92 when I was 14. I grew up in Luton, so spent many an illicit night at the infamous Exodus raves, with DJs like Tek, Tease, Jungle Ricky and many others who are sadly no longer playing. Then I graduated to proper nights – my first was High Spirit, run by Rhythm Masters, back in ‘95. So I guess you could call me an old timer!

And where did you start clubbing proper?

Well the first “proper” club was High Spirit at Caesar’s Palace, Luton, about ‘95/’96. Rhythm Masters ran the night, and it was just around the time of their massive remix of Todd Terry’s “Jumpin” and all their collabs with DJ Supreme. I guess that’s what instilled my love for all things high energy! They were proper mental nights back then, usually ending with a 4 mile walk home at 3 in the morning after spending all our money!

You used to be part of the DJ duo The Duke ‘n’ The Devil. How did you find the experience of having to work in a pair?

Working as a pair was a hell of a lot of fun – it allows a lot of interaction with the crowd and pushes you technically and musically. I feel that the 2 years we worked together really set me up well for my solo career, while also making me more versatile and able to work well in B2B sets – which we see a lot of in the scene in at the mo.

Why did it end?

All good things come to an end as they say – myself and Brad had different ideas and approaches both musically and in what we wanted to achieve, so it was better that we both pursued our individual goals. It seems to have worked out well for both of us too – I’m realising my dreams of playing for big events like Wildchild etc and playing internationally, Brad’s picking up the gigs he wants and getting releases out too, so all’s good in both our worlds. I still catch up and support him when I can, and it was great to have Brad there in the booth with me when I was playing in Ibiza last month – kind of a human comfort blanket…….!

What do you think makes a successful, long-running DJ partnership?

I reckon you have to be in the same place not just musically but mentally too with shared goals and ideas. Additionally you need to both have a bit of a showman streak too – otherwise one of you is always there standing around like a lemon! Look at the Organ Donors or Cally & Juice – pure entertainers on top of their undisputed technical ability.

You are best known for playing Hard Dance, but have been making good progresss with your house gigs recently. What kind of stuff do you play when you are doing things on the house/electro tip?

Hahaha! Can’t believe you asked me this! It’s been a tough one trying to pigeonhole my house sound as it draws from so many influences – but I reckon the best way of describing my house sound is a fusion between tough Chicago house and synth driven electro. With perhaps a bit of my legendary Country&Bass thrown in too………..

Haha! You will be playing in the house/electro room at Nu Religion vs Summit at Hidden in London on July 21st. What do you know of these two bright young parties?

I’ve seen Summit rise through the ranks over recent months, and have always enjoyed hearing resident Jason Blayde’s sets so it’s good to be a part of things at last. I’ve known Damo and CJ from Nu Religion for a fair while now and really enjoyed playing for them last time round. For me, both parties represent the new wave of clubnights – a perfect combination of the professionalism gained from spending time at the likes of Frantic, Wildchild etc, combined with the intimacy and sheer enthusiasm that can only come from fresh new promoters.

The last couple of years have seen quite a lot of hot new Hard Dance clubs come into existence...which have really impressed you?

Well asides from Summit and Nu Religion, I’d have to say CyberKitten (my former residency before spreading my wings further afield) seems to be consistently delivering the goods. Blessed in Kettering is hammering it at the mo and I’m also hearing really good things about Kubik up in Liverpool. I reckon the scene is going through a rebirth with lots of exciting and new places to check out – hopefully I’ll be getting to play at some of them soon!

Your track “Hooked On You” with K Complex and Dave Mac faired pretty well...what plans do you have to build on your first release?

Yeah – the response to “Hooked On You” was great, doing really well in terms of sales, club play and the number of CDs we heard featuring the track. The new tune “Reintegrate” with K-Complex (under our Nelson & Hammonds guise) is due out in the next few weeks on Nu Religion – we’re really chuffed with it as it crosses the line between trance and hard trance and has had some top support so far on the promo run. I’m also going to be working on several remixes for Nu Religion over the next few months, as well as an official remix of a very big tune from a couple of years back, plus perhaps a few little bootleg specials too! I’m loving the production thing at the mo – working with K-Complex has been a real education to say the least and it’s opened up a whole new area for me.

Who do you think doesn’t get the success they deserve in dance music?

Hmmmm that’s a toughie! I guess I’m a believer in making your own success and if you work hard enough at it, you’ll get it, so I think that you get out what you put in. Saying that, I reckon there's a lot of the new breed London DJ's who maybe aren't getting the breaks they should, just down to sheer numbers. I'd love to see my good mate Dave Mac make a real push this year - he's an incredibly talented DJ with a versatile range of sounds and is also a top boy.