You’re a pretty busy person at the moment as not only do you regularly produce and DJ all over the country, you also run Tidy Management (alongside Hannah Willis) review for DJ Mag and run your own Recharge label. How do you manage it? Do you ever get time to sleep?
How do I manage it? Just… Do I ever get time to sleep? No, not really! It can be a punishing work schedule most of the time, but at the end of the day, I love the jobs that I do, so I'd rather put in the extra hours than let go on one or two projects and have an easy life.

You’re track Timeline is doing pretty well at the moment, with the critics loving it. Do you have any more in the pipeline?
Yes, Timeline is doing well thanks - it's been getting good responses everywhere which is pleasing. But I'm a firm believer that you're only as good as your next tune, so I've recently made 'Psychout' as one side of a two tracker, with the other side due to be completed in the next week or so and released on Recharge in February. I've also recently completed a remix of Captain Tinrib 'Ride Me Baby', and I've got new collaborations lined up with DMF and Scott Mac in the next few months or so.

Although you’ve DJ’d everywhere from Dance Valley to alongside DJs ranging from John 00 Fleming to Tony De Vit, you’re probably more famous for your production skills. What do you enjoy doing most and how did you manage to get into it?
I'd have to say I prefer to DJ at a good event over slogging it out in the studio for 2 days solid. Don't get me wrong, it's very rewarding to finish a tune and hear it out in the clubs, but a hell of a lot of work goes into making that 7 minutes of music! Nothing beats the buzz of getting on the decks in front of a massive crowd like Dance Valley or Impulz in Holland and winging it with a DJ set of upfront tunes that you've never played out before.

As part of Tidy Management you spend a lot of time organizing travel plans and diaries for DJs such as Tidy Boys, Rob Tissera and of course Vicious Circle’s own Paul Glazby and Ben Stevens. Do you have anyone to organize your life, and do you wish you had?
I have Sam Findlay from Mainline Music looking after a lot of my DJ work, but I definitely need more organisation in my own personal life. Often it gets to Friday afternoon when we've set all the Tidy DJs on their way for the weekend with all the details they need, and somebody will ask me what I'm up to this weekend… and sometimes I really have to rack my brains to remember what gigs I'm doing! I know the Tidy DJs diaries inside out, but not my own!

You’re playing at the second ‘I Love VC’ at The Fridge on 26th November which is also Vicious Circle’s Fifth Birthday as you’re very much thought of as DJ that embodies the VC sound, but you don’t just play hard and dirty do you?
I like to think I can mix it up a bit to suit the crowd and occasion. My preference is to build up a set and play the harder Vicious sounds towards the end, but then again you'll arrive at some clubs and have to nail it right from the off depending on who's on before you, so I always have a stack of Vicious releases in my record bag. At the other end of the scale, I'm really into a lot of the tech trance stuff around right now - really good production quality and better ideas than a lot of the hard house stuff doing the rounds at present.

What’s your take on new Djing technology. How long do you think it will be till lots of DJs are DJing from their laptops?
I think there's a lot of good technology at our disposal - how much of it transfers over into DJ sets depends on how much of it adds to the clubbing experience of Joe Public. For example, I've been using Ableton Live in a non-hard dance project I work on, and it's an amazing program that allows you to do so much more creatively than two turntables. But does watching a DJ click a mouse on a laptop give as much of a thrill to an audience watching someone like Carl Cox doing 4 deck mixing? I'd liken one to an audience watching a man walking across a bridge, and the other like watching a performer to tricks while walking a tightrope. At the end of the day, any studio boffin can make Ableton Live sound good (the program does 99% of the tricky stuff for you), but how many people can DJ like Carl Cox? Now that's a special talent.

You’re released over 30 singles and remixes. Do you have a personal favourite?
With original tunes, I'm pleased with the recent 'Timeline' on Recharge, and for remixes, the reworks of Antic 'The Ultimate' Paul Glazby's 'Want Some' are still in the box months on.

You’re played at some pretty legendary parties such as Pete Wardman’s Sherbet, Freedom at Bagley’s etc. How did you get into DJing at these places? What was your big break?
I was DJing at a few venues around London with some friends at UCL Uni, but it was Sherbet at The Soundshaft that was my first proper break into clubland - from that followed residencies at Bagleys and Heaven, and it all went from there really.

I heard a rumour that you once had quite a full on job which wasn’t in the music industry and had a full diary of Djing gigs are the weekend. How did you manage to keep it a secret from your work colleagues. What did you tell them you were doing at the weekend?
A. I once worked doing IT work for a legal company which worked OK for a while as it was a 9 to 5 job and the people who worked there were very far removed from the dance music scene. However, I knew it was time to reconsider what I was doing for a career when I couldn't get time off work for my first tour to South Africa. Work didn't know why I needed the time off, so I just thought "f*** it" and went anyway. I ended up having to phone up work on Monday and Tuesday morning pretending to be sick - from the poolside in Johannesburg! To make matters worse it was summer down there and winter back here, so I arrived back at work Wednesday morning with a sun tan…

What do you like to do when you’re not kneedeep in discos and DJs?
My life does seem like one big discotheque at times… I've been spending a fair bit of time moving house and decorating these past few months, so I'm quite looking forward to spending a few quiet nights in once I actually have a finished living room to sit in!

To find out more on Simon please go to www.simoneve.com

Vicious Circle's Fifth Birthday, I Love VC takes place at The Fridge on 26th November. Paul Glazby, Ian M, Captain Tinrib, Justin Bourne, Paul Maddox and Ben Stevens. Hit www.ilovevc.com for more info or www.ticketweb.co.uk for tickets.

Thanks Simon for your time and supplying photography.