Hi Hoopz, thanks for joining me today for this interview in preview of what is shaping up to be a fantastic night at Incendiary 4BY4 @ Havana on Sat 24th November in Portsmouth.
Hi Geoff, Its good to see you.

So have you ever played in Portsmouth before???
No I havnt its been on my list of places to play and having rocked Brighton many times in the past, which is only just up the road im sure the crowd will be well up for this one too!!

Which is your favourite venue and why?
That would have to be either the Honey Club in Brighton or Brixton Academy. They both hold fond memories for me though ive not had the pleasure of DJing at both!! The Honey Club is like my 2nd home and I love playing and clubbing there at Hardsouth.

What is the funniest or craziest thing you have ever seen clubbing?
Ooohhhh there have been so many… Seeing my mate Hoover wearing a head covering at an afterparty!! He looked like mother Theresa and has since had his name changed to Mother Hoover!!

Who or what was your biggest influence in wanting to become DJ?
My favourite DJ’s have to be Rob Tissera and Paul Glazby… they are awesome DJ’s and producers. They are perfect professionals in what they do. Though more recently I have found influence from Kevin Energy, K-Komplex and Technikal especially since I started producing my own tracks.

I know you love your hard dance and hard trance but are there any other genres you would like to play, or combine into your sets?
Your right there… but I do also love hardcore but don’t really play it at the moment but its something im considering so keep your ears open

Do you sit down and plan mixes, or do you hear something random and it just comes to you?The only thing I plan are my mix CDs and demo’s… my sets when I play out are purely off the cuff and no two sets are the same!! I like to stay original with what I do but keep it flowing and euphoric!! Im very selective about what I play and tailor it to the time and place im playing

Lots of clubbers aspire to become a top DJ. Most try, then realise how hard it is and quit. What motivations and goals keep you going?
Just the love of playing and producing, to see people’s faces when you drop a track and when someone comes up and says that they really enjoyed the set!! I love the music and that’s motivation in itself!!!

Do you ever dream about playing? …if so do these dreams turn out great or do they end up as nightmares lol
I do occasionally but cause of the long hours a DJ has to do its very rare to sleep well enough to dream!! Haha but when I do its always a nice ending for sure!!!

They say practice makes perfect. So how often do you practice?
Well to be honest ive moved in the last 6 months and been re-building my set up at home!! Also been decorating so not had time or space to practice but that’s all finished and my studio is done too. Now im on there everyday which is how its meant to be!!!

We hear you have been very busy in the recording studio working on new material??
Yeah ive done a few, Definitions which was on the Elevate – The next level album and Live for the moment which I did with K-Komplex, both are signed to Kevin Energy’s label Nu Energy Recordings. Live for the moment was the first track of the NEC Live PA at Global Gathering which was an awesome moment. Ive also done a bootleg of one of my favourite trance tracks; Blank & Jones – Cream. Ive also done a remix of the new Lost Witness release Dreams on the Slinky Label, which im hoping for a release. Its been a good year and im working on a few more now.

If you won the lottery and could buy your dream set-up, what would you buy?
Well im just in the process of re-building mine but when its complete ill have 2 x Numark TTX1’s these decks are awesome, also going with that will be a DJM 800, 2 x CDJ1000’s… pretty standard I know but id like to eventually do live sets so will also have my laptop.

What do you think separates a good DJ from a great DJ?
I think originality plays a big part… being your own DJ not trying to copy someone else, though using them as influences is a big part of it!! Being able to play the crowd too, you need excellent technical ability on the ones and twos and also a keen eye for a good track too…

If you could B2B headline at any dance event, who would you want to play with, why and which event would you choose?
It would have to be Kevin Energy, Matt Lee or Technikal, they are all real entertainers and have excellent reputations for both DJing and producing. It would be a great pleasure to play with them. Kev and the guys at the NEC have been a massive help and influence since even before I signed to their agency!!! It would have to be at Freeformation cause the crowd are fantastic but if not there then main room at Polys @ Air in Brum would be amazing too!!!

If you could wave a wand and become the world’s best DJ or the world’s best producer, which would you choose?
It would have to be producer… its really quite difficult to come up with a truly great track but talented producers like technical do it with every track!! You can work at being a DJ more quickly than a producer.

If you could change one thing about the hard dance scene, what would it be?
Let people smoke in clubs again its really killed the scene from my point of view and its disappointing to see!! Maybe one day…

Thank you for your time Hoopz, we are looking forward to you rocking Incendiary on the 24th… if you want to check Hoopz’s productions then check out www.myspace.com/hoopzdj.