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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! |
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Interview with Dave Pearce
Reported by Sharon B
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Submitted 18-05-04 20:56
When it comes to the end of a weekend and all you want to do is kick back, chill out and relax there is always one show on the radio that delivers the goods week in and week out: Dance Anthems on BBC Radio 1 hosted by Dave Pearce. This is one DJ that can’t seem to keep still, with a number of awards under his belt he is acknowledged as the brain child behind many of the BBC’s more innovative and experimental programmes and getting behind major projects and new artists Dave Pearce has managed to persuade the “Establishment” that the club scene has an air of respectability and that dance music is not just credible, but very much alive and well. Not just satisfied with having a very healthy and diverse radio career, Dave Pearce is also a well respected club DJ who manages to find the time to play out at events and venues all across the UK on a regular basis. Sharon B managed to catch up with Dave Pearce as he prepares for his forth-coming set for Knowwhere at The Fridge this Friday 21st May, to find out more about his career, his thoughts on the club scene and plans for the future.
Most people associate you with your radio programmes Dance Anthems and Late Drive, but you have in fact been involved in radio in one way or another since your college days, even setting up a pirate radio station with your friends whilst your tutors were under the guise you were doing a student radio project! Why has radio been so important to you?
Radio is a unique form of instant mass communication. You can touch people in quite an intimate way even though you are addressing, in Radio 1’s case, millions of people at the same time. People listening to the radio build up their own mental picture of what is going on. I think it is much more stimulating than TV.
Have you always been interested in media? If you were not a DJ, would you have still followed the media avenue? Does your media career take precedence over your DJing career?
I’ve always been interested in the media and keep very much up to date with current and world affairs. However, music has always been my passion, from DJing to working in a record shop to running a record label. The DJing side of it has been more of a hobby that has turned into part of my career.
You once did a documentary on Marvin Gaye for the BBC which was so popular it led to the creation of the show The Funk Fantasy – is this a reflection of the broad spectrum of musical taste you possess? Does it matter to you what genre you listen to or do you get inspiration from various styles and genres?
I get inspiration from all musical styles and genres. However, to understand the history of dance music and how we got to where we are today you have to appreciate that dance music was built on a foundation of black music and R&B.
What is it about a tune or track that makes you prick up your ears and mark it out as a hit? What makes one tune stand head and shoulders above the rest? Is it the riff, the melody, the lyrics etc?
It is a combination of all of these. Sometimes, I can tell if a record is a hit within 30 seconds of hearing it. It just fires off a kind of tingly feeling in your head. I think it is important for there to be some kind of emotional element in a record, whether that is happiness, sadness, darkness, anger – as in the harder styles of dance that give it an edge. I have known instrumental trance records to move me as much as a powerful ballad.
Do you think it's hard for young radio DJs to break onto national stations? What are the prospective paths onto somewhere like Radio 1, and are the stations themselves doing enough to encourage new talent?
Nowadays, there are literally hundreds of radio stations in the UK which means far more DJs are getting a break. When I started out in the London there was just Capital Radio and Radio London, which only played a few hours of music a day, and of course Radio 1. Obviously, Radio 1 is constantly looking at new talent as you’ll see by the number of new DJs signed to the station in the last 2 years.
Your Dance Anthems Show on Radio 1 is one of the most popular shows on the station - when it started did you think it would become as popular as it is, and do you think this is a healthy reflection upon just how far dance music has grown into today's culture?
Obviously, I didn’t know it would be quite as big, but I had a hunch that this would work. I’m delighted that even in the most recent survey our audience has continued to grow. It is good to see that despite media knocking dance music there are still many many people enjoying it.
Trance is a sound that constantly gets bashed as being cheesy girly handbag music, yet it is arguably one of the most popular and best selling forms of dance music in the world - do you think that the criticisms leveled against trance are justified, and how do you think the trance sound has changed over the years as it has come in and out of relative popularity?
It always makes me laugh when people slate dance music or call it cheesy. Their notion must be that it is a bad thing to see a large group of people in a club really enjoying themselves. I can only assume that people who make such comments would rather be standing in a dark corner of a room without any friends nodding their heads because they are too inhibited to dance. Trance music allows people to lose themselves on the dance floor and experience euphoric highs. It also seems to attract like-minded people who have a positive attitude to life and aren’t afraid to enjoy themselves. Let’s hope the other people stay away.
You must get sent a ridiculous number of new tunes through the post every week - how on earth do you find the time to go through them all and select the best ones to play?
Sundays are my record listening days. I just plough through them. Sadly, at least 70% are terrible, which can make it an ordeal sometimes because you worry you won’t find anything for the show. Then suddenly you find one and you’re dancing around the kitchen. However, instead of just relying on records sent to me I do go to record shops and buy records too.
What effect do you think the upstart of internet based radio stations will have on the more mainstream national stations? Do you think that the falling listening figures for national radio are related to the internet boom and the availability of tunes almost 'on-demand'?
Digital technology will change all broadcasting as we know it. However, a national broadcaster offers a massive shared experience and the role of the DJ to select his style of music will become even more important to create a following. My main concern is that as music continues to be available free on the internet any time, any place, record sales continue to fall and unless revenue streams can be created to protect artists then many people will stop making music because they will sustain large losses.
You also head up the NuLife record label yet have managed to reach such an esteemed level of success without having produced yourself. Most up-and-coming DJ’s these days find that in order to get ahead they need to move into production – how have you managed to be so successful without following this route and do you think there is too much emphasis these days on production for DJ’s hoping to make it up the industry ladder?
I would love to make records but juggling so many jobs together I don’t physically have the time. However, it is a great way for new DJs to get noticed and I would strongly recommend it as a route in.
You claim that one of your proudest moments was when you were featured on the album “It Takes a Nation of Millions” introducing Public Enemy after managing to persuade the BBC to record their first UK show – what other moments are you most proud of in your career and why?
Creating the Radio 1 dance parties where we had crowds of up to 35,000 people on beaches across the UK dancing for free to the likes of Paul van Dyk and Carl Cox and creating my weekly residency at Eden in Ibiza. I was the first DJ to have a weekly residency and the nights have always been very euphoric.
You are associated as being one of the biggest influences in terms of changing the BBC’s style and incorporating new and innovative ideas within the Corporation – where do you get your inspiration from in terms of pushing the boundaries and what do you feel has been your most radical shake up since joining the BBC?
It is not me who makes the decisions at the BBC. I am just employed there as a presenter but it is always nice to help suggest things and it has been great to try new ideas out in shows. Radio 1’s innovative ideas are created by Andy Parfitt and his team of producers and executive producers.
You have been fortunate enough in your career to be able to meet and work with some of the biggest names in dance music – who has been your most interesting interviewee and who would you most like to interview or work with that you have yet to have had the pleasure of meeting?
Paul Oakenfold continues to amaze me with all the challenging things he does in his life, from DJing on the Great Wall in China to scoring movie soundtracks to making brilliant trance records. I have actually met everyone in the dance industry so I am very lucky!
In 2001 you won an award at the British Independent Film Awards for your soundtrack to the movie SW9 – how did you get involved in doing the soundtrack and do you have further plans to do anymore work with films in the future?
I was approached by the film company and it was a fascinating experience. It is something I would like to do again one day.
Is there any musical event that you always look forward to? Which club/event do you always ensure that you check out and what are the main attributes of success that make a night a “must see” event?
I don’t really get the chance to go out as I am always DJing!
You have been involved with Euphoria a lot over the last few years – can you tell us more about this? How did you initially get involved and what is your particular role within the event?
As I was mixing many of the Euphoria CDs I decided to bring Euphoria in as a live event at my Ministry of Sound parties and then subsequently at Eden in Ibiza. Euphoria now have their own events department but we no longer work together.
You have always been a keen supporter of new styles and genres, ensuring that with innovative marketing ideas you manage to reach wider audiences with new sounds and events. Your set at Knowwhere coincides with their debut performance at London’s oldest clubbing venue, the Fridge – how important is it to you to be involved with up-coming talent, be it promoting talent or DJ’s?
I am always keen to see new styles and people coming through. One of the main reasons I am doing this event is the enthusiasm of the promoters who when they lost their venue put one of the events on in their own house. I really hope people come and support this event because it has been run by and for trance enthusiasts.
Out of all the styles and genres that you play, which holds the most special place in your heart and why? Do you have one particular genre that you will always treasure or does your taste change over time and one genre soon overtake another as a firm favourite for you?
Trance is my favourite genre in its many difference forms. However, I still have a love for Hip-hop.
Being so intrinsically involved with the evolution of dance music, where do you see the future of clubbing? What do you think we will witness within the club scene over the next few years to keep it afloat and vibrant?
I would like to see a bit more imagination in the staging of events. Years ago you would get art students designing the costumes and themes and it was more like going to a unique event.
What changes, if any, would you like to implement in the dance music world?
I would like some of the dance music magazines to be more positive and celebrate the culture rather than bitching and just writing about drugs all the time.
Having achieved so much in your career you are seen as a role model to many artists, be they DJ’s, presenters, promoters, producers etc – where do get your innovation and drive from? Has music always been inherent to you or do you have any role models that you look towards when searching for inspiration?
People I have admired include US House producer Frankie Knuckles and Paul Oakenfold.
If you were forced to choose between playing out as a DJ in clubs or being a DJ on the radio, which would you choose and why?
They are so different and I like each one for different reasons.
Any last comments?
Come to the gig and enjoy it!
[b]Photos courtesy of Knowwhere[/c]
Knowwhere @ The FRIDGE
 
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On:
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Friday 21st May 2004
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At:
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The Fridge [map]
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From:
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10pm - 6am
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Cost:
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£10 members £12 in advance More On The Door
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Website:
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www.clubknowwhere.co.uk
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Ticket Info:
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for advanced tickets contact www.ticketweb.co.uk or call clubtickets on 0870 2462050, or to take advantage of our special early bird offer, email a contact telephone number to tickets@clubknowwhere.co.uk, and you can buy tickets for only £10 plus booking fee of £2, this offer will only be open for a short time!
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Get A Bit Of Trance In Your Life!
For over two years, underground promotion “Knowwhere” has been synonymous with quality Trance on the capital’s clubbing scene. Starting life in Brixton’s “414”, and relocating to The SoundShaft, in December 2003, Knowwhere has built itself a worthy reputation and faithful following.
On the 21st of May, Knowwhere takes its biggest step so far, when it takes up residence at top London clubbing venue The Fridge. Now under new ownership, and having recently undergone a major refurbishment, The Fridge is already home to some of London’s best Hard Dance events. With Knowwhere as its latest resident the venue looks set to achieve the same level of respect among Trance lovers.
Knowwhere’s addition of new resident Matt Darey alongside current favourites Anthony Dean & Ian Betts, will be another popular move for Trance fans. Pioneer of the UK Trance scene and one of the most prolific producers in the industry, Matt’s name has long flown the British flag among Europe’s Trance superstars.
Each month Knowwhere will be presenting some of Trance’s most popular names, with Radio 1’s Dave Pearce heading the bill on their debut night.
Another new addition to Knowwhere from 21st of May will be a second room, dedicated to the Funky genre. The Funky room's first night kicks off with a great line-up, headed by The Ignition Crew, alongside Lizzie Curious & Tim Davison.
With an outstanding new venue, new resident, a new room, and a great opening line-up, there’s plenty to look forward to from the Knowwhere team in the future.
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Flyer:
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Other Features By Sharon B:
What's it all about? Alfie! - Getting Technikal with Alf Bamford
Heat UK presents....SW4!!! - Interview with Damian Gelle
Interview with TWIST promoter Steve Darragh
Interview with Innovate Resident Nick Sentience
Interview with Ferry Corsten
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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![[HarderFaster] - Work Hard, Play Harder!](/images/mainbanner_top1.gif)
He has had such an amazing and varied career and his tune knowledge is awesome! 
Can't wait to see what he plays at Knowwhere 
I wonder if he will roll another fat one on Friday.