What brands are you behind and what year did they launch? We work with some of the electronic music brands that have played a massive part in shaping the culture and sound of a lot of what we hear today in the scene. Balance, Renaissance and Global Underground are the brands we have focussed our attention to over the years. Global Underground formed during the mid ‘90s after the Boxed Tape Series, which was one of my favorite series in electronic music. Renaissance is now celebrating its 20th year of existence with some seriously high profile shows going on around the planet. Although having a bit of a hiatus, the brand and its artists are still hugely respected and will continue to unfold as we move forward. Last and definitely not least is Melbourne’s Balance Series. Tommy P is an inspiration to many people and I’ve learned a lot from the man – a fantastic series for over a decade now that just gets stronger and stronger.
How’d you get into it? Well it all started with my parent’s stacker stereo system. I’d listen to Pete Tong’s essential mix on radio and flick to the phono function and scratch the crap out of Diana Ross whilst recording all onto tape. I’d listen back through the tape I’d made and seriously considered sending it to some big names – thank god I didn’t! This all started when I was about 11, and then from the age of 15 got involved with parties like Sundissential, Godskitchen and Miss Moneypenny’s in Birmingham, UK. I was fascinated about how such big parties were put together so I slowly learned the ropes of the role of promoter and well, I suppose here I am now.
Who are your resident DJs and/or favourite touring talents? We have some serious local talent and in my opinion, of game-changing quality for the future. Lister Cooray and Walter Juan have played some of the top sets I’ve heard this year. We had the opportunity to have some incredible touring artists with us this year already with a lot to announce going forward. Kev Griffiths with Tsuba Records, Desyn Masiello and Tom Morgan for 9 hours, Silicone Soul and Ian Pooley, Tom Middleton and Graeme Park have all blown us away with their performances. There’s always a gig for them at Fluidlife along with all of the touring internationals we’ve hosted. Just one more to add – Pappa. Just a damn right superstar.
Who’s your crowd and what makes your parties great? Disco and Techno. Variety and spontaneity. We don’t believe in division so therefore our crowd is very eclectic. We put a lot of effort into old school promotion – we organize the show and we are the face of our shows. We’re the promoters which means the DJs are DJs. The DJs love that they can focus on music instead of selling tickets to buy themselves into a gig. The music is therefore faultless which then means we can host our crowd to a very high level. We’ve got great support from many different groups which brings an eclectic meeting once people are in party mode and get naked! Jokes. Well, sort of.
What’s been the most epic party you’ve thrown and why? After doing this for 15 years, it’s really hard to pick just one. I worked with Mark James and his team at Future Entertainment for their Summadayze Fesitval 2011 to deliver a Global Underground stage with Nick Warren, Dave Seaman and Darren Emerson, supported by some of the local stars. Festivals aren’t really my thing however it was superbly organized and everything went to plan – I have more of an inclination to attend festivals these days. What a day it was! Spending time with GU legends, Nick, Dave and Darren who are all great inspirations to me, partying and acting like complete children was a very memorable day.
What’s the worst/craziest thing that’s happened at one of your parties? Wow. Where the hell does one start? There have been a few but the one I love the most was waking up at Cardiff Train station (to which I had to ask someone “Where the hell am I?”) after a massive afternoon in Birmingham. I (thought) I was heading to London for a gig but got the wrong train. My wallet, keys and phone were gone so I had to make a reverse charge phone call from a telephone box to explain myself to everyone who was also part of the gig in London. I also had to get my mate to pay for a ticket back to Birmingham with his credit card and a lovely Welsh lady at the ticket desk shouted me a cup of tea. I like Welsh people as a result.
Shameless self-promotion opportunity – what, when, where for your next party? It’s the Fluidlife Lunar 1st Birthday in August and we have a very special show to announce at 161 so keep locked into facebook.com/fluidlifeoz for the imminent announcement!
