So how did it all begin with MAJEFA?

Antonio: When we lived in Fallowfield, Manchester we joked about running a night. But when we started to look at certain factors, such as the size of the city we had on our door step, the inconsistency of regular trance events, and the lack of variety within the genres of trance we began to take the idea of running the night a little more serious.

Tom: We used to go for a pint in Sofa in Fallowfield all the time. And all we'd do once we got there would be to talk about creating a mint trance night in Manchester. And it just went from there.

Where did the name MAJEFA come from its not a usual name is?

Tom: You don't wanna know.

Antonio: Me & Tom have been mates since we were kids, and when we were about 12 we made this character up Mr Majefa, he was a very bizarre fellow. When we were thinking of names for the night, everything we came up with sounded cheesy or just plain shit. So we thought, fuck it, call it Majefa. It means nothing, the name sticks out, and at the end of the day, we're not arsed about a brand image. We just want to put on quality events every month, bringing DJs that you would otherwise wait a lifetime to see in Manchester.

What gave you that initial push?

Antonio: I've lived in Manchester all my life and there have been some great trance events on in the past, but they were never followed up in my opinion, we were always having to travel further afield to go to a decent trance event. So we thought if we could change it, how mint would it actually be!? I reckon we're on our way to creating something pretty special with MAJEFA. It's not been easy, previous trance events in Manchester were associated with scallies, and no structure (musically) to the night, so we had to try and prevent the scallies from getting wind of it, and bring in DJs that would create a natural musical journey, instead of peak time fodder as soon as you walk in, which I can say in my opinion we have successfully done. There was also people's general lack of faith for Manchester trance nights combined with a city full of shit dance music venues. We only had a few quid to start out with, now we have some of the biggest DJs on the scene gracing the decks, and Jon O'Bir as a resident, so I reckon were doing something right.

Tom: The fact that I'd always been into the scene and have listened to trance music since I was 12, meant that not taking the opportunity to give it a bash would've been one of the biggest regrets of my life. I know it sounds naff, "If I fail, at least I gave it a shot", but it's true.

Who’s throwing the best parties in Manchester at the moment?

Antonio: The promoters at The Warehouse Project have got to get a mention, because lets face it they have put Manchester on the clubbing map, bringing the best DJs in the world each week for 3 months of the year. I'm also liking what the lads at Squelch (Joshua brooks) are doing. And although they don't do them as regularly as they used to, Locked always do the business when they put on events.

Tom: The Techno Experiment is always a good shout and it keeps getting better with each event. They've accomplished a lot in a really short space of time, good work. Agenda @ The Attic, one which might have slipped under the radar for a lot of people is definitely worth checking out.

What’s the best event you’ve played at/put on?

Antonio: One of my favourite MAJEFA events was the 12 hour BBQ, even though the music stopped for 45 minutes, due to the amps blowing, nice one to everyone that waited patiently outside. Though my favourite has to be either the Euphonic label party, or the Solarstone album tour we did in May. Every event we seem to get the DJs playing mint sets, touch wood we've not had a shite one yet. A lot of the DJs that play comment on the interaction level with the crowd, as they're only a foot above everyone else, its easy to read the crowd reactions as they're right in your face.

Tom: My personal fave was the Euphonic event. Had a bit of an impromptu b2b with Ronski Speed when he came on and we discovered that one of the CDJs wasn't working about a min before his track ran out. I was looking forward to this one in particular for months and it went even better than I could have imagined.

What was your first record you bought?

Antonio: The first tunes I bought were on cassette and consisted of a Wet Wet Wet album, Prodigy - Fat of the Land and Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory. The first vinyl I bought was Dejure - Sanctuary.

Tom: A Freddie Mercury album, oooh right! Can't actually remember the first vinyl I bought, I'm guessing a Guyver release on Tidy Two back in the day. I couldn't get enough of it at the time, but also bought trance tunes.

Out of all the tunes you have, which one ‘never fails?’

Antonio: Stoneface & Terminal 'Super Nature' always goes down a treat

Tom: That's a tough question to answer. Nic Chagall 'Monday Bar' gets the room going every time. It's a proper club tune, hearing it on a dance floor gives it a new meaning. In fact, I'll play it at MAJEFA's 1st Birthday now you've made me think of it.

You have you first birthday coming up soon. how excited are you about that?

Antonio: If you had told us this time last year that for our 1st birthday we would have M.I.K.E., Jon O'Bir, Mark Norman and Activa headlining, I would have snorted DJ Mike Allen's nob cheese. But yeah, it's mint, well excited, getting a good response for it. Gonna be good to see all the new students that have started this year coming down as well.

Tom: Sweet as a moose. I can't wait for it. It's taken a lot of effort to finally get it set up, but will be worth the stress/hours put into it come the night. Also really excited about Jon O'Bir making his debut for his residency at MAJEFA. Onwards and upwards.

When all the partying is over how do you like to chill out?

Antonio: Watching shite TV, can't beat a bit of diagnosis murder, Eastenders omnibus on a Sunday. Crap 80's films with the dodgy synth music in the background, Shotgun, the beast must die, Phantasm, Wish master etc etc. I'm also partial to a bit of badger baiting and taxidermy.

Tom: Absolutely well shit TV/films. You can't beat it, the shittier the better. A dash of Harry Hill's TV Burp and a wine glass of whiskey, or two.

So how is the Manchester scene in your eyes at the moment?

Antonio: In my opinion we're starting to see the creation of some good quality nights, that are going to establish themselves for some time to come. I think the new generation of clubbing brands have arrived and are beginning to cement their future within the scene. The likes of MAJEFA, Digital Society & Off The Rails are re-capturing the enthusiasm for trance clubbers, with more diverse line ups. People are starting to realise that it's not all about the big names anymore.

Tom: I don't think it's ever been in a healthier condition. The quality of productions across the board has been raised so much in the past few years, it's been getting stronger since around 2004. Every genre has something interesting going on - what's doing it for me at the moment is trance and progressive, which have seen a real resurgence. You still get a lot of shit, but you get that with anything. When you start getting in-tune with what's actually decent you find there's really strong releases coming through from everywhere. Trance is making its way back too. Listen to a lot of the deep/tech/prog-house and techno tunes nowadays, including even the minimal ones - they're incorporating trance elements. A positive sign in my opinion.

How big is your vinyl collection? What do you think of CDJs?

Antonio: CDJs are the way forward, there is so much more options available on digital format than there is on vinyl. Nowadays there simply isn''t enough choice for tunes to buy on vinyl. Personally though, I prefer the sound of vinyl over Cds.

Tom: Around 700 vinyl. I've conceded recently that I'm gonna have to transfer formats, but can't decide if I want to go down the Final Scratch/Traktor or CDJ route. Once I've had a good bash on 'em and made my decision I'll unfortunately have to leave vinyl behind, though it's something I've never really wanted to do. I never want to lose the ability to mix on my 1210's and I'll still be using them for some months, but as a trance DJ, if you don't want to buy any records because you think they're weak, or just plain shit, then there's no other option really. It's been a struggle this year to keep the tunes fresh without compromising on quality, so some thing's gotta give.

In the past year and from all the experience you have gained, what advice would you give to up and coming promoters/DJs?

Antonio: If you're going to send a mix in, my advice would be to keep it to a warm up style set, as this is what the majority of promoters are looking for. The more versatile a DJ is, the better he/she is. A full-on, peak time mix will not get you a slot at a night where the promoter has several headline acts costing hundreds/thousands of pounds. Check the prog/house/techno pages out in Mixmag/DJ Mag, you'll be surprised at how many have a trance feel to them.

Tom: Be prepared to put a serious amount of time into whatever you decide to do. It's a steep learning curve and you realise you can't be half-hearted/arsed at any time. Sometimes it feels like MAJEFA is more a full-time job than my actual full-time job. Days can be long and stress levels (especially the day of an event) high, but when it all comes together you'll be hard pushed to find a better feeling. DJ wise, hearing the same style tunes all the way through a mix should be avoided at all costs. If I get a CD through which is non-stop vocal trance, it won't even get put on. As Antonio said, the more versatile you are the better. Also, avoid using obvious, banging tunes that every one's rinsing. If I've heard the tunes a hundred times before on other CDs, I'll put on the one that's most likely to surprise me.

If you could stage a rave anywhere, where would you choose?

Antonio: Off the top of my head I can't think, but one of my ambitions is to do a Majefa weekender at Centre Parcs, hire the whole place out, how fucking mint would that be?! Watch this space!

Tom: Off the top of my head, something like the balcony of Buckingham Palace as the DJ booth, using The Mall as a dance floor. Now that would be mint.

How do you see the scene 5 years from now?

Antonio: I think we are slowly seeing the demise of the superstar DJs, and that promoters will not have to spend shit loads of money on one DJ to get a full house. Trance has come a long way in the past 5 years, so if it improves as much as it has since 2003, then were in for a beast of a time.

Tom can't think of an answer, due to his concentration on You've Been Framed (true).

Knight Rider or A-team?

Antonio: Out of the two I'd have to choose the A-Team, because it would be better driving around in a mint van with a bunch of misfits, than being a lone ponce with a camp car for company.

Tom: It's all about the Hoff! Any man who's scaled the dizzy heights of the German pop charts is a God! Camp car!?! This from the man who still can't drive at the age of 23 - only 40 years or so til you get your Mega Rider for free!

Anything else you want to say? Any shouts?

Antonio: To the people that come down to MAJEFA each month that allow us to keep putting on these events, without you lot, we couldn't function. Seriously, the buzz we get from seeing the same faces at every event, easily makes up for the work that goes into organising MAJEFA. To all the people that have allowed us to use their houses as after parties! Also, two fat licks out to Snake Arms, Pony, Terrance, Autoboosy, Rob Thorton, Ezwardo, Gaz, Stuart, Sponge, Frantic Baz for doing the photos, Scotty, Ginge, Penguin, Percy, Rib-Eye, Shabaz, P-Jar, Ilona, Simon , James Wylie, Lee and the rest of the Illuminaughty staff for doing a great job with the decor, and all the DJs that have played for us over the year. There's too many too mention, basically anyone that's come down and supported the night.

Tom: Another big thanks to Lee and all the Illuminaughty team, who transform the Music Box from the working mans club-esque dive into what it is. Thanks to anyone who's been before and especially to those we see each event. And to all those who should have got a personal mention above, you know who you are!