Before you go scoffing all those hot cross buns on Good Friday, just remember that the night before sees Random’s very special first birthday party and label launch going down at the Loft nightclub on Thursday 20th March! It’s certainly been quite a year for Random with their achievements including making a big dent in Ibiza and hosting the last ever event at one of London’s most iconic venue’s The Cross on NYD. This looks to be their biggest UK event so far and that’s why they’ve brought the Judge to lay down the law.

Judge Jules (BBC Radio1)

Right from his days of playing at the infamous ‘Rare Groove’ parties and on Kiss FM back when it was a fledgling underground station, Judge Jules has been one of the most influential men in dance music. Rising to ‘superstar DJ’ status in the nineties, mixing numerous high profile compilation albums, touring all over the world and reaching millions with his Radio One show, he certainly is a DJ that entertains the masses. Oh, and not forgetting the fact that he’s spoken out as a journalist and answers every single one of his 500 plus e-mails from fans every week. So with that in mind, we sat down and heard how the ‘people’s DJ’ is preparing for the night…….

Jules, club birthday parties are always special nights and Random's first birthday party and label launch is looking like it's following the trend; what are you most looking forward to about headlining on the night?

I'm always in the mood, and special occasions up the ante even further.

The Loft nightclub is quite an interesting venue as it was once a Victorian seed grain warehouse and now comes with low ceilings which give it a very intimate feel. It’s also a very dark, dirty underground venue. Will that make a nice change compared to playing at your standard purpose built club?

I'm lucky enough to play lots of bespoke privately owned venues, as opposed to purpose-built monolithic leisure-chain owned nightclubs, and The Loft is definitely one of the best.

You in fact played for Random's opening night last year and you are quoted as saying that you 'really enjoyed the gig; it had a real underground vibe' What else did you particularly enjoy about that occasion?

The crowd were very much up-close. I prefer to be right in the face of clubbers, as opposed to in a distantly-perched dj booth away from the thick of the atmosphere.

Radio Ones ' Big Weekend' is due to touch down in Kent in May and Random's birthday party is your first gig in the County that year; so would you agree that this gig is an ideal way to give people a sneak preview about what's in store?

Sounds like a good connection....’

Despite recent media scare mongering, the Ibiza scene is still very strong. As you're a man who spends a lot of time out in the 'magic white isle', what's your current take on the clubbing market out there?

Very strong. Last summer was one of its busiest seasons ever, and advance bookings would seem to suggest that 2008 will be even better.

Your Radio One show every Saturday 01.00 - 03.00 is still attracting a huge amount of listeners. After ten years of being on the station, do you think that your type of audience has changed that much or not?

Not really- Radio 1 attracts a broad cross-section of 18-35 year olds from across the geographical and social spectrum (says he quoting from the station's wealth of market research on the subject.)

You play up to 16 gigs a month, in the UK and abroad (the average for a DJ is around six). What do you feel the main advantages are of playing so many sets? And how do you manage to accommodate such a hectic work schedule?

It allows me to road test the tracks I'm going to play more thoroughly than other dj’s and fine tune my sets accordingly

Tristan Ingram (In Bed With Space Ibiza/Random)

And if that wasn’t enough we’ve even bagged an interview with In Bed With Space Ibiza and Random resident DJ Tristan Ingram!

The name Tristan Ingram is one that is cropping up more and more around the dance music campfire: being sited as “one of the most interesting up and coming DJ’s on the international circuit”, holding residencies at ‘In Bed with Space’ and ‘Immaculate Touch’ in Ibiza, whilst holding ressi status at ‘Kinky Malinki’ and ‘Immaculate Touch’ back in London. Not only that, but Tristan is a prolific player behind the scenes, being a key figure at Trackitdown.net and a big part of Judgement Sunday’s. So to find out if that’s the case, we sat down and put Mr. Ingram in the hot seat………

Tristan, Random’s first birthday party seems to have all the key ingredients for one great night out, such as a wide variety of music, a great line-up and a good choice of venue; what else do you think makes the night stand out from the pack?

The 1st event was such a success and it will be great for all the people that came to the 1st Random event in Kent to get together again for one massive reunion 1 year on. I’m especially looking forward to seeing all my mates that don’t always get to come out regularly due to having families now. The fact that it’s on the Thursday night before Good Friday means there are no excuses for people not to make it down. They have four days to recover!

The Random brand is now firmly established, what as been the main concept behind it all?

It’s simple. It’s all about having a party. Random events, Random locations, Random dates. You never know when the next party is going to be or where or when.

Random’s opening night managed to attract a near sell-out crowd; why do you think it managed to achieve this, particularly in the very tough market in recent years?

The launch was put on in Medway which is not known for Big DJs especially from Radio 1 so it was a massive event. Since then Random has been to Maidstone, London and Ibiza. We thought putting the Birthday on in Medway/Maidstone area was only right as it was the birth place and with Maidstone being a big partying town in Kent it made it more central for people coming from further a field.

Last summer, a Random event in Ibiza managed to raise over seven thousand pounds for Breast Cancer Research as part of a fund raising festival; how much satisfaction did that give you?

Yeah the idea came up at an after party, to put on massive charity event in Ibiza at the Zoo. A family member had breast cancer around 3 years ago so what better charity to donate too than a breast cancer charity. When you’re putting on a charity event you find that so many people are prepared to get involved to make it a success. We would have been happy if 500 people turned up but on the day there was over 1,100 people in attendance. We got all the Ibiza residents plus a few headliners flew over. Once again a massive thank you to everyone involved.

You’re a man who’s got fingers in many music industry pies such being an International DJ / Producer as well as being a big part of Judgement Sundays and being the marketing manager for Trackitdown.net How do you feel your wide industry knowledge and experience contributes to putting on Random events?

Music is my passion. I prefer DJ'ing most of all, but being involved with many credible companies definitely gets you very connected. At Trackitdown.net I run the house section on the site and do the marketing for the promotion. Judgement Sundays and Random have been the promoting side of it. So experience has helped a lot.

So what does the future hold for you and Random?

For me as a DJ I'm busy in March playing for Kinky Malinki's last ever event at the legendary club Turnmills. Hitting Egg for Immaculate Touch's huge one off event with Abstract. Then it’s Random's Birthday bash and a few days later off to Miami to play at the Miami Winter Music conference for the baldelox all access pool party and Kinky Malinki Miami event.

You’re the resident DJ for Random and you’ll be playing a main room set on the night. Can we expect your usual complete cross section of House with a touch of Electro?

I'm playing the 1 - 2.30 set so it will be a main room set; starting with house going into the progressive electro style. I’m warming up for the Judge to take full control at 2 30- Close. He is doing the last set so it seems all roads lead to the loft Kent!

What does the future hold for Random?

After Random's massive birthday event with Jules, Random will be doing a special 'one off' event at Pacha London in the next few months which will be fantastic. Random try to only put on quality events and with Ibiza, Kent and The Cross under their belt it seemed only a natural progression to hit a club in London once again at the leading venue 'Pacha' before it closes for months for a big refurb.

Remember to catch special guest headliner Judge Jules and resident spinner Tristan Ingram @ Random’s 1st birthday party and record label launch @ The Loft nightclub, Maidstone, Thursday 20th March! No work Friday its Easter Weekend :-)

Feature by Greg Lynn
©Greg Lynn 2008

Click here for a taste of things to come youtube.com

To guarantee your ticket and jump the queue, grab your tickets at:

Random's 1st Birthday & Label Launch Party with Judge Jules(BBC Radio1) & Tristan Ingram or phone 0870 2462050