‘One of the most interesting up and coming DJ’s on the international circuit’.
That’s what you’ll here time and time again, describing the talents of DJ Tristan Ingram.

Over the past few years, the House spinner has become firmly established on the magic white island of Ibiza, holding residencies at ‘In Bed with Space’, ‘Immaculate Touch’ , ‘Random’ on top of regularly appearing as a guest at Eden and Es Paradis. Not content with that, he also holds resident status at Kinky Malinki and Immaculate Touch back in London, plus making regular trips to play in Europe, The Far East, Egypt and even the Middle East. You can never expect to hear exactly the same thing from Tristan as he doesn’t just stick to one particular type of music, but goes from the house beats, right down to the deep and progressive with a touch of electro.

Now come Friday the 8th of February, Tristan shows his noble side as he very kindly donates his DJ services for ‘Dance Aid 2008 rave for a reason’ at the Ministry of Sound. The last time Clubtown TV (the people behind ‘Rave Aid’, led by promoter Wayne Eldridge) staged such an event, they managed to raise £42,000 for the British Heart Foundation and received a gold heart. Now they are hoping to go one step further by raising a huge £70,000 for the NCH and NSPCC. No less than 70 DJ’s containing plenty of big names, grace the flyer, they’ll be complimented by 10 live acts and 50 sexy dancers strutting their stuff. Your ear drums are going to get treated to just about every type of House going with even some Hardcore and Techno thrown in for those who like it banging! So to hear how Tristan is going to be playing his part in such a memorable occasion, we sat down and chewed the fat with him…….

Tristan, Dance Aid 2008 is certainly looking like one amazing party; what are you most looking forward to about it?

I’m really looking forward to such a diverse night in Ministry. With so many DJ’s & PA’s from many different music genres its going to rock. Playing at for such a good cause makes it all worth while last week I did the Press release party and that aone raised over £2,000.

This event has set the staggering aim of raising £70,000, with every last penny going to charity; how proud are you to be one of the DJ’s taking part?

It’s just nice to be able to give something back. In 2007 I hosted a festival in Ibiza in association Random & La Vita to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer research. This will be my 2nd charity event I’m involved with and can’t wait.

This of course isn’t the first time that Wayne and co have done their bit for a good cause; what do you think of all the great work that he and everybody else involved in it has done?

After hearing how good their Dance Aid charity event last year at SE1, I just wanted to be a part of such a good event that raises tens of thousands of pounds for charity. The organiser Wayne & Meta do a really good job of putting it on

This night is going to be at the world’s most famous venue – The Ministry of Sound. How much are you looking forward to having your own tracks heard on that awesome sound system?

The Ministry of Sound is with out doubt one of best nightclubs in the world and the only major club in London I have never played at. I have been waiting to play there for years and now the time has finally come. I have been busy in the studio for the last 10 months putting together a show reel for Miami this year. One track I am particularly looking forward to playing on the system in the Bar is my latest production. An official remix of the classic Degrees in Motion – Shine On (Tristan Ingram & Jason Still 2008 Rerub)

A big complaint these days is that promoters don’t put enough emphasis on entertainment, but at Dance Aid, they are going to have around 50 dancers performing on the stages. What sort of difference do you reckon that’s going to make in terms of getting the crowd going?

The bonus of a charity event is that you can really go to town on production, dancers and entertainers. The girls at the press release party were spot on so more of that is a good thing. With every one doing their bit for charity means that the promoter is not constantly looking at their budgets and can put a lot more into event and concentrate on making the event a success instead of if they are going to break even

You’ve played at most of the major clubs in Ibiza; do you think the magic white island will always be the worlds clubbing capital though, or can you see anywhere over taking?

Every year a new hot spot pops up where people say it’s the ‘New Ibiza’ There are loads of other fantastic places I have played across the globe like Thailand, Dubai and Miami which are great places but Ibiza seems to capture you in a different way. The atmosphere is second to none and to me there is no other place in the world that’s ever going to over take it.

You’ve got three seasons of being part of ‘In Bed with Space’ under your belt; can you give us a rundown of what your time there has been like?

It’s like living a dream. To be even asked to play there in the first place was amazing. I met Ceto the promoter in Thailand and the later on that year he asked me to play a few private parties in Ibiza. From there they offered me to come on board with the Wednesday mornings. The event in my eyes is one of the best carry on events at Space as you get such a mix nationalities of people.

Without meaning to sound corny, some people describe Ibiza as being a rather ‘spiritual’ place. Do you reckon they are being a bit too profound, or is there any truth in that?

There is something about Ibiza that just keeps you coming back. I can’t put my finger on what it is but every year is special. I have done the last 9 full seasons out there!

One gig that was particularly memorable for you was when you played at the unusual location of a chemical factory in Germany. What was that gig like for you?

It was mad. The venue was in a business park in Hamburg which still had loads tubes, pipe work, massive containers and science apparatus. The event was rammed and one of the best ‘In Bed with Space Tours’ I have played at.

During the week you’re the marketing manager for Ed Reals Trackitdown.net – ‘The World’s Online Download Store’ for dance music. That means that you’ll be surrounded by the latest tracks. How much do you think that helps your DJ career?

Yeah, working for Ed & Nolan at www.Trackitdown.net is a great job and I love working there. It gives you direct access to so much music it’s unbelievable. As well as being the marketing manager of the company I also look after the ‘House section’ feature tracks and generally recommend to customers what’s hot that week. They have 350,000 tracks online and with over 7500 labels uploading music daily, from Trance to House, Drum & Bass to Hard Dance they have the lot. So it’s fair to say that it is great access to music. The other bonus is that if I am after a certain track that’s not been released as we have daily communication with all the labels so it’s usually possible to get it upfront.

With several large venues in London closing down, that’s left quite a big gap in the clubbing market. If you had the opportunity and the resources, how would you fill that gap?

I was lucky to play at the last ever party at ‘The Cross’. It was gutting to see 3 great venues close and with rumours of Turnmills going this year there is defiantly a gap in the market. I would buy a massive disused cathedral and turn into various rooms but keep the church theme and décor. I would build a terrace like Space, a main room like Amnesia and a VIP like Pacha. With all these being the best factors of each venue you would be on a winner just with the venue. Add some top class talent!

You’ve recently been in the studio, how fruitful was that trip? And what productions can we expect to come courtesy of that?

Just before the summer last year I did my first production as a DJ tool. I’m a massive fan of the Ibiza Anthem ‘Ruff Driverz – Dreaming’ and did an electro remix. I played out a few times and loads of DJ’s were asking what it was. Then in Ibiza last year it was being played at all the major clubs with people like Micky Slim, Vicky Devine and the Dirty Rotten DJs and all of the residents of the island supporting it. I’m currently trying to get an official release for 2008. One other track that you will hearing a lot, is my remix of the classic house anthem Degrees in Motion – Shine On (Tristan Ingram & Jason Still 2008 Rerub)

A big part of a DJ’s job is being able to read the crowd; gauge what type of mood that they’re in, way the atmosphere and the vibe is like etc. When you are behind the DJ booth, what sort of things are you looking out for?

There is nothing in particular I look for. You just go with the flow, read the crowd and go with it. If you think you can push it up a level try and go tougher or more deeper. If the crowd don’t react you have to re-access. I like experimenting and try to play stuff that all the other DJs are not playing. I don’t particularly stick with one style through out my sets I go from House to Deep to Underground to Electro.

This year, what changes would you like to see happening in dance music and what elements would you like to see added that are currently lacking?

I would really like to see Friday night clubbing again. Apart from The Gallery, there are no big nights out anymore in London on a Friday. 10 years ago Friday nights were better than Saturday’s but I doubt this will ever change back. I also think at the moment the quality of music is slightly suffering due to promoters booking DJ’s on how many people they can bring instead of if they can actually DJ. I do understand there is a happy medium and DJs need to go out and promote events they are playing at and pull numbers, but the music is getting slightly over looked sometimes

So in 2008, what new and exciting stuff can we expect to see coming courtesy of Tristan Ingram?

I’m launching my record label in March which is going to be called Random Recordings. The first release will be out in Miami on samplers. As I said before you will also see my remix of Shine on getting an official release on Cayenne Records.

And finally, you don’t stick to one particular style, but often play a mix of Balearic, deep, progressive and dirty House. At ‘Dance Aid 2008’ can we expect that formula from your self?

I’m going to be dropping some of my own productions at Dance Aid combined with some of the most upfront house music on the scene.

Remember to catch Tristan Ingram, ‘one of the most interesting up and coming DJ’s’ doing his bit for charity at ‘Dance Aid 2008, at the Ministry of Sound Friday 8th February!

Feature by Greg Lynn
©Greg Lynn 2008