Some girls just wanna have fun, and that’s just what you see when DJ Clodagh’s behind the decks!

Whilst taking part in the Joy of Decks tv show in 2003 plucked her from the London underground scene onto the main stage with Carl Cox, it’s been her obvious passion for dance music of all kinds and a great attitude that’s kept the momentum going. From pumping techno to 5,000 people in the Czech Republic to uplifting vocal house in Tunisia, DJ Clodagh consistently impresses and shows why she’s played alongside all the names that matter from Luke Slater in Bulgaria to Sasha and Tiesto in France and was the first ever woman to DJ in Algeria! With Roni Size, Misstress Barbara, Stacey Pullen, Erol Alkan, Audio Bullys, Stanton Warriors, Tom Middleton, Hernan Cantanno and, of course, the ever present Liberators and D.A.V.E. the Drummer, in places as far a-field as Norway, Sweden, Poland, Morocco and Japan, DJ Clodagh has been quietly rocking the globe.

At Republic Artists’ Ladies Night at Hidden on Saturday 7th March. She’s down for playing tech house and techno and when this girl gets the groove there’s no stopping her as those lucky enough to catch her 4 hour set in Marseille would testify. With her first foray into production with Ali Wilson released on his Tekelec label getting support from Carl Cox and Sander Van Dorn you can be assured she has an ear for a good tune and an eye for a good party.

Hi Clodagh, I hope you’re well. It’s always a tricky one deciding how to start an interview so I thought I’d go right back to the beginning…
You saved up and bought decks in 2001, and began your own Spiritualised parties at the Fortress Studios alongside your then boyfriend, Nacho. They seem to have appeared onto the general clubbing radar after you’d taken part in the Joy of Decks and looked like great fun. How important was the party to your career?

Spiritualised was the brain child of Nacho & backed by some really good friends we got the party going, it was such fun times & the parties were really amazing, the atmosphere at Spiritualised was incredible, something really special. I learned so much from playing at & promoting it. We put so much effort into the decoration, we didn’t have much money so we spent hours making decorations, planning different themed nights, planning the music, we knew the vibe we wanted to create & knew what music to play to create that vibe. I had only been DJing a few months when we started making Spiritualised parties & was rocking crowds of up to 300 people. That was very cool. It’s very stressful promoting a party but it’s also very rewarding when you pull off an amazing night & bring a lot of people together & give them a good time & a good memory. It was very important to my DJing as you learn the ins and outs of the club scene, what works & what doesn’t, it’s great experience DJ wise & you really appreciate it when you play for other promoters as you know how much work is involved.

Whilst we know you took part the Joy of Decks competition, how did you get on the show in the first place?

It’s a long story but I only found out about the show 2 days before the closing date. A friend told me the check out this website that was looking for up & coming DJs for a new TV show. It sounded wicked. I had less than 2 days to get a 6min video of myself, (this was back in 2003 when I had just one friend with an old school video camera & had to make an actual video tape!) I also had to make a 60min mix, fill out a 20 page application form & get give some photos of me DJing. I just made the deadline. I made it through to the first castings, then I made it to the final 8 which was the first TV show & then I got selected in the final 4 for the rest of the show by Sister Bliss from Faithless. It was an amazing experience.

You got the massive break warming up for Carl Cox during his Carl Cox and Friends tour back in 2005 after he had spotted you on the show and you followed it up with a couple of demos. How important are demos and now you’ve been in the biz for a while, do you have any advice for those wanting to get a break through?

Demos and mixes are great. Nowadays everything is online. So people all over the world can download your mix and listen & enjoy it, more importantly promoters can download & listen to it. When I was starting out I used to make loads of CD mixes & bring them to gigs everywhere I played. It was really expensive but it was nice to give to people at the parties. These days you should definitely have a website & upload new mixes there. There’s also the point of making a mix CD and putting it into a promoters hand with your contact details on it of course. If you want to play at someone’s party the best thing to do is make a few mixes, maybe a warm up mix & a main set mix or even maybe an end of the night mix. You are more likely to be given a warm up set if you are new on the scene, meet the promoter, tell them you love their party & want to play at it, that way the promoter is more likely to remember you than the millions of emails he or she would get asking them to listen to their mix. If I was still promoting I’d be impressed if the DJ made an effort to come to my night & meet me.

How important has the use of MySpace and your frequent blog updates been to maintaining your profile?

Myspace is really good for networking. More importantly you can upload your tracks, videos & photos very easily. If you have a cool video of you rocking a crowd… well it’s a very good selling point. Promoters can really see how you play, your energy, your skills, your sound, and see how the crowd is reacting to your music. If you don’t have a personal website… definitely set up a myspace account… It’s free so you’ve no excuse. (myspace.com It’s also a great way to contact your favourite DJs with a good chance of them actually replying to you which is really nice. I don’t blog very often on myspace, I blog more on my website djclodagh.com on my “What’s New” page, it’s nice to give updates with what’s going on in your world, how gigs went, what music is rocking your world etc… I think people like to read how certain gigs went if they couldn’t go themselves. If I played at an amazing party to amazing party people I can’t wait to write about it & spread the news. Writing a blog adds that personal touch.

As a DJ you seem to have managed the impossible by playing different styles of music depending on where you are – funky vocal house in Tunisa and harder, faster techno in Eastern Europe where they absolutely love you! Do you feel your diversity in musical styles has helped or hindered your career progression?

Playing different styles has absolutely helped my career. If you just play one style of music well you are really limiting your chances of playing. I love all kinds of music & it’s a real challenge playing different gigs. If I didn’t play different styles of music I wouldn’t have warmed up on tour with Carl Cox. He wanted me to play electronic house. In Algeria, France, Tunisia, Morocco I played Funky Vocal Electro House. I’m playing an electro house set in Belfast next weekend. I would have missed out on all those wicked gigs if I just played techno! Then again every gig I play I play for the crowd & the party, my sound must fit in. Sometimes crowds like it really banging, others want it more funky, others more acid. It also depends on the time of the night I’m playing, and who plays before & after me. If you’re playing before the main headliner you can’t bang it out, you build it up for them. At Republic Artists night I’ll play more tech house / techno… let’s see ?

You really do rub shoulders with the best of them now – What do you think is the difference between a support and a headliner DJ (apart from the fee hehe!)?

Haha, well yes the fee is definitely different… but honestly when you are a support you have to think about what you’ll play, how you’ll play for the time you are playing at & what the Dj after you is playing. You want to create the right vibe and set it up for the next Dj while still giving it 100%, rocking the crowd in your own way, do your job, make people dance, have fun & make sure you enjoy it too. Believe in yourself. To be honest I don’t really get nervous playing with the big “Superstar DJs” I get more nervous about the crowd infront of me as I really want to make them enjoy & have fun & dance like crazy. If the equipment is good I can rock it just as much as any of the other DJs.

You’ve continued your musical development by taking a music production course back in 2006 and began your journey releasing tracks with the well received Mechanized, Scream and Saw with Ali Wilson on Tekelec and Tramyard Vibes with Irish producers Rhythm Technologies on Kick the Drum. Do you have anything planned for 2009?

Every year I say I this is the year I’m going to make more kick ass tracks… I think I need someone to kick my ass. Ali Wilson & Rhythm Technologies are both wicked producers. I’d love to do my solo productions but producing takes so much time & energy which I currently don’t have, but I hope this year I can set aside more time for this.

What set up do you produce on?
Logic 8.

I know you like your festivals having looked at your blog where you were joyfully reminiscing at your Glastonbury experience. Having played at Airport festival in Trencin in Slovakia what was it like to play at one?

Airport festival in Slovakia was really cool, it was in an old airfield, outdoor on a nice warm summer night. I had a complete nightmare getting there after waiting 7 hours in Luton airport & then my flight was delayed another 4 hours coming back but most importantly the gig was great, the sound was great & the people were great! ?

You’ve talked about missing all the sights when you travel abroad because you’re always heading to and from the airport. How many gigs do you play in a weekend? How do you spend your time during the week?

I’ve really cut down my gigs, I made this decision last year, I was killing myself playing every gig I could but I was also working with a lot of unprofessional promoters & it was really draining. Djing sounds like a really cool job and yes the music side is great but the business side of it can be really stressful. So now I play less but I save myself for the best parties. It’s so much better. Like 90% of DJs I work full time during the week Mon-Fri (I used to be a fitness Instructor for 11 years, but now I have an office job, which I really like) then about twice a month at the weekends I DJ.
It’s hard working 2 jobs but that’s reality.

In Ireland all the clubs have to shut at 2am. It must have been a splendid thing to come over and realise you could party almost non stop 7 days a week! Now you’re a working DJ are you ever a crazy clubber yourself or do you just get to see the inside of a club from behind the turntables?

Haha, well I’ve definitely slowed down, I’m not out clubbing every Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. I still love to dance & love to go out & party but I try to catch interesting Djs, that’s why I love festivals because there is so much going on. I also love random nights out with my friends which usually turn into marathon sessions. I love when I play on a big line up & get to hear the others DJs, I’m usually always on the dancefloor after I play. Like I said I love to dance, that’s why I started DJing in the first place.

Are you ever tempted to return to your promoter roots and start up another club night?

Yes maybe… but it’s got to be in the right venue.

Where do you buy your records from – that is, if you still buy records? And where do you have any favourite sites to download from?

Yes, Kinetec Record Shop in Hackney, (kinetec.com still the best one for me. I bought my very first record there (when they were based in Oxford Circus) 7 years ago & ran there every Friday afternoon to buy my new records. I also buy from trackitdown.net and beatport.com .

And if you could give us a peek into your box for Republic Artists’ Ladies Night at Hidden on the 7th March what would we see?!

Not telling, you’ll have to come with open ears, an open mind & your dancing shoes on…

Thank’s Clodagh. Keep Rockin’ !x

No worries, thanks very much, I’m looking forward to it, see you on the dancefloor! ? x


Interviewed by Bugbitten Promotions
zoe@bugbittenpromtions.com