Thankfully he’s permitted a day of rest before grabbing hold of the decks to scratch through a ‘90s hip hop extravaganza on a two-week Australian stint. “I’m meeting my agent dude today, going to do a bit of the tourist thing, have a bit of a chilled one today so it’s all good,” says Woody with a tone of relief.
This is the first time DJ Woody has made the trip to Australia and his multi-sensory dancefloor experience is set to inspire revelry on the Groovin’ The Moo festival tour and at a string of club shows around the country. Woody admits that his inaugural journey to southern shores been a long time coming.
“I’ve had the carrot dangled a few times for Australian tours but this is the first time it’s actually happened. Pretty stoked to be here.”
Despite the delayed Australian visit, DJ Woody is no stranger to world travel. Over the past 15 years (and particularly since claiming the title of International Turntablist Federation World Champion in 2001) DJing has taken him to many illustrious locations across multiple continents. In fact, reflecting on the extent of his global roaming, he exclaims, “I’ve been everywhere apart from Australia!”
DJ Woody hails from Lancashire in northern England and started DJing there, as well as neighbouring Manchester, in the early ‘90s. He explains that when he begun DJing it was no more than a minor hobby, so the fact that it’s become a full-time occupation is a perpetual thrill.
“To be honest with you DJing was never supposed to be a career full-stop, so at every single hurdle it’s been a surprise.” Understandably, the sense of delight is magnified when his vocational exploits transport him to the other side of the world.
“I remember the first big one that was pretty awesome and really a surprise location was when I went to South Africa. I ended up doing a bunch of gigs in Capetown and Johannesburg and Durban and ended up doing DJ workshops in the middle of Soweto, teaching kids to scratch down there. “It was a big eye opener,” he reveals.
Being educationally interactive with locals suggests that Woody’s touring workspace isn’t restricted to the depths of dance clubs. He elaborates that the aforementioned South African trip was one segment of a cultural exchange program facilitated by the British council.
“They work out cultural programs and exchange programs for ex-colonial places. On the same tour we ended up in Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago and India doing a similar sort of thing – performances and workshops. Obviously, being a scratch nerd I can do all that stuff as well. Really enriching experience, definitely.”
Woody believes that his occupation offers remarkable opportunities to travel around the world and become immersed in settings that surpass the general tourist experience.
“I love different types of food and I love trying to soak up whatever the culture is. I think as a DJ it’s a good way to experience a place really, even though you have very limited time. Sometimes you might have just a day or two or something but at least you meet the right heads. If you go as a tourist you’re just seeing the tourist stuff really.”
Rather than holding him back, his DJ work requirements generally fast-track him towards where he’d most like to be.
“The promoter is usually a local guy and knows everybody on the music scene. Generally speaking, as soon as you get there you’ve got the perfect hook-up because he knows all the people who are into a similar thing in that city. It’s kind of ‘power-tourism’ sometimes. They’ll take you to the record shops or if you’re interested in the local food usually they can hook you up with the good stuff straight away.”
DJ Woody’s Australian tour is focused around the Groovin’ The Moo tour and the extensive lineups and unpredictability of scheduling means that festivals can sometimes be a hit or miss gig environment. However, Woody discusses how his relish for festivals has grown since augmenting his live show with his own visual animations (which also allows him to implement the skills he learned studying graphic design at university).
“Since I started giving a visual aspect to the DJing, pretty much I find the bigger the crowd the better really. With the visual element it really helps when you’re on a good size stage. It’s a balance between having people dancing, keeping people interested in what you’re presenting visually. In a band kind of set-up where everybody is already facing the stage, I think it really works with the visual stuff because they’re not just in a club talking to their mates, they’re kind of focused on what’s going on onstage. For me, with the visual stuff, the festivals are kind of a perfect outlet for those really. As much as I enjoy small sweaty clubs, it’s definitely a different experience. I defy anybody to not vibe off a good sized crowd.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
