Weren't we all as teens?! The whole Hip Hop culture was about having an
Identity and not conforming to the mainstream in much same way as
Hardcore clubbing/raving is today. A group of like-minded individuals out to have fun but not following the pack.

2. Your music style is quite diverse, in the early days you pushed a lot of the Dutch and other European sounds. What are your musical influences?

My influences come from far and wide to be honest. From Hip Hop to
Techno to Breaks to Trance to Gabber and beyond. DJs who weren't afraid to mix it up such as Carl Cox and Easygroove always grabbed my ears. Variety is the Spice of life after all.

3. You had a residency at the legendry Club Kinetic in Stoke how did that come about?

It was literally about being in the right place at the right time. I was booked to play a set at the club after sending in numerous demos and it just so happened that the current resident left on the same night I played. The set went down really well and I was invited to come back a week later and was offered the residency, I was over the moon as you can imagine!

4. Brisk one of the most technical DJ’s in the scene, what is your view on ‘Final scratch’.

I've always been a traditional vinyl man myself however, this style of system is the closest you'll find to actually 'playing records' but with the source being digital. Many of us use cds as a means to play out the latest music inexpensively but it can lack the 'feel' of vinyl/records, Final Scratch uses 2 'vinyl' platters that simulate spinning a record on the turntable and in fact plays an mp3/wav/audio file from a hard drive on a laptop/computer. A good friend of mine, Yoji Biomehanika uses this when touring as effectively he can carry the equivalent of 3 or 4 bags of material but in the form of a small laptop! A great addition to the modern DJs weaponry I would say (although it could be a little more affordable!).

Having it large? Hmm, all countries have it large in terms of dance Floor reactions but right now I would say that Australia is really strong, North America is showcasing some great events and Japan still has a small but strong underground following. I am currently negotiating a gig in Germany, which is exciting, a return to Holland and also a debut trip to Moscow, Russia.

6. Yourself and Trixxy are responsible for what some would say the number one hardcore track ‘Eye Opener’ did you ever envisage it was going to be as successful as it is today?

In brief, NO! Sometimes you'll write a track and think 'this is great, can't wait to play it, I think it could be a big tune" and then the results don’t quite live up to expectations. With 'Eyeopener' this was in fact the opposite. We put the track together relatively quickly, played it out a few times with reasonable reactions then all of a sudden everyone seemed to jump on it and the rest, they say, is history!

7. How did you and Ham join up to create Next Generation, did you think it was ever going to be successful?

We didn't set up Next Generation with a view to be successful. We set it up with a view to simply releasing music we believed in without any restrictions that can sometimes be placed on an artist from the label. We achieved our goal and then plenty more too.

8. With the success of the ‘The Collection’ series showcasing Next Generation alongside Blatant Beats. Where do you see Next Generation going in the up and coming years?

A difficult question however, expect more albums, plenty more releases, Live shows, tours, gigs and err.. Wait and see!

9. What is your view on the whole Internet downloading and MP3 thing??

I feel it's a double-edged sword. Whilst it can be used to promote a track or style of music there are many people who treat the Internet as a free music resource and use it to obtain music without paying. If the statistics continue to accelerate at the current pace I do fear for the future of niche genres such as Hardcore as the sales just aren't there to sustain it – I sincerely hope this isn't the case and I am proved wrong though.

10. What feeling do you get when you hear a track that you produced and see the dance floor go crazy. How would you describe that feeling?

Making a track locked up in a studio for hours on end isn't always the most rewarding experience so when you get the chance to play it out to a music hungry audience and the reactions are fantastic, well, that makes up for the hours on end sat in front of a computer screen.

11. How healthy do you think the scene is considering that this summer (2005) there is both the Hardcore Heaven weekender along with Innovation’s weekender in the sun? How much are looking forward to playing at these events?

I think the scene is the best it's been in a long time but I think people do need to be mindful of the numbers that really are out there. There seems to be a large resurgence of promoters along with numerous new events cropping up right now and I hope that everyone has the sense to work together on dates as to avoid diluting the crowd too much. I think the Hardcore scene needs to perhaps walk again before it should run. That said, the Hardcore Heaven weekender was a first and most definitely went off and the buzz on the 'In The Sun' is immense so here's to the rest of 2005.

12. One of my favourite all time sets is your set from ‘Helter Skelter – Anthology ‘97’. Do you miss that 97 sound?
PS you have a spare copy of ‘Mindtrust- Key to your Heart‘ on Pengo?

I do miss a lot of the musical elements from 1995-1997, these were the years where the global dance floor temporarily united and numerous styles from around the world including the USA, Australia and Europe were all being played on different continents well, perhaps more than are today at least!

(No spare copies I'm afraid!)

13. What career direction do you think that you would of taken had the music or the rave scene not been such an impact on your life?

Probably graphic design I would say. I was training to do this before becoming a fulltime DJ anyway and I always get involved with all the artwork for the company so yes, I think that would be my job. Whatever the career, it would have to be a creative one.

14. How do you spend your Sunday afternoons after a busy week in the studio and a weekend of travelling up and down the UK?

A game of squash usually dusts out the cobwebs then a nice relaxed day with the girlfriend, good food and a DVD - normal stuff really.

Cheers for taking time out to do the interview would you like to give people some shouts.

Huge shout outs to everyone supporting the music and the scene. We are onto a good thing here, let's keep it alive and kicking. Respects!