James Medina has been involved with Tangled, the longest running club night in Manchester (14 years this July!) since 2005 and has pioneered
the deeper, techy, groovy side of the Tangled main room sound since the departure of founder, Phil Morse. James officially became a Tangled resident in January 2007 and in recent months has played alongside Justin Roberston, Paolo Mojo, Audiofly and the Trophy Twins championing his HeavyFeet productions and his unique DJ sound, much to the delight of the Northern crowds and the likes of credible US house producers like Justin Martin and Tanner Ross. With forthcoming slots alongside the likes of Nick Warren and Lee Burridge, watch out for this budding DJ and producer making his London debut this weekend at Get Maximal alongside Jim Rivers and Maximal with Rene Amesz and Peter Gelderblom at The Key!

MAXIMAL ‘VERY BIG AND VERY CLEVER’ stay tuned!

1. So, tell us what you have been up to this year. Has it been a good one?

With the announcement of the new Tangled residents being brought in January, which included myself, 2007 has so far been my busiest year for DJing, which is great for me - there's no better way to spend a Friday or Saturday night than spinning a few tunes then getting on the dancefloor and having a few beers with some mates and meeting new people, so the more often I get to do it the better as far as I'm concerned!

This year I have also spent a lot of time in the studio with Mike and Will, my production partners, tightening up the sound we've all been experimenting with over the last year or so. The first tasters are out there now and the feedback has been extremely promising so we're expecting big things over the next few months.

2. What is hot in you record box at the moment, both new and classic tracks, and which producers are tickling your fancy on the dance floor?

There's loads of hot stuff around at the moment, 2007 has been an excellent year for tunes so far! I'd struggle to pick out just a few of my favourite records as I love each and every one of them, but producers and labels that are definitely doing good things right now are Justin Martin and Claude Von Stroke, Mastiksoul, Robsoul, Freerange, Dennis Ferrer, Micky Slim, Chris Lake and Dave Spoon, Trevor Loveys, Herve, Jesse Rose and the wobbly house crew, and any others putting out similar sounds.
As for classic tracks, I'm always dropping the odd one and constantly re-jigging those that do have a place in the box - it's always nice to hear a few surprises. Something classic may appear in a wobbly form at the weekend! You never know.

3. Have you got any production projects that you're working on at the moment. What can we expect?

The productions I'm working on at present are done in collaboration with Mike Burgess and Will Threlfall under the HeavyFeet guise (see myspace.com/heavyfeet for more info). They're our unique take on the wobbly house sound that's been rocking the underground hard for good 18 months now. We're also working on a couple of cheeky bootlegs that we intend to put up for free download in the not too distant future, so keep your eyes peeled!

4. What do you like to do away from the music scene?

To be honest after studio time, DJing and searching for new tracks there doesn't seem to be that many hours left in the day, but I love chilling out with my cat and dog, heading down the boozer for the football or a few arrows and just kicking back in general.

5. What is the strangest thing you have seen in a club?

There isn't one main thing that springs to mind, but you see weird things every time you go out don't you? People asleep in clubs always cracks me up, as do people with strange requests, like, ‘Have you got any Pendulum?’ (when you're playing a deep/tech house warm-up slot for a well established house night), or ‘Have you got anything with a massive drum roll in!?’

6. What does the future hold for yourself & Tangled?

HeavyFeet will hopefully be doing big things in the next few months. Some great offers from labels already! For Tangled, after a few changes at the end of last year, we have well and truly put ourselves back on top in Manchester with appearances from a diverse selection of the hottest underground acts around.

7. Memorable Times

a) Best moment?
Regarding music it would be hard to describe how I felt after being offered my first live gig. Outside of music there's been far too many to pick just one!

b) Most memorable set?
I felt extremely privileged to be given the opportunity to play for Mick and Freddy Be at Monday Night Social in Hollywood, LA last September. It was an amazing experience to take the UK sound over there and give the clubbers something a bit different.
Playing before Audiofly in March was great; there was something about my set and the crowd - everything just went perfectly! And of course, I'll never forget the first time I played in front of a large up-for-it crowd at Tangled either.

c) Biggest fuck up?
I tend to stay pretty level-headed when playing so, touch wood, there's been none so far!

8. Will you be attending any festivals this year?

I've not got any plans to at the moment, but we all know how quickly plans can change! Wouldn't mind going to Renaissance W.I.T.C. now Underworld have been added to the lineup though.

9. Favourite type of cheese?

You can't go wrong with a good slice of funky house. Or failing that something nice and strong and blue with a decent bottle of red wine goes down well.

10. And finally James, what are you loving at the moment?

The American comedy Entourage is amusing me week by week and the fact that summer is well on the way pleases me greatly! Oh, and the fact that I have my London debut this weekend with three fantastic dates…