John Gurd

John Gurd

Outro

John Gurd

interviews, outro, March 2008, COMMENTS

Ideal DJs snapped up rising DJ star Jon Gurd in an exclusive signing last month. At the tender age of just 24, Jon’s portfolio already includes his own record label, Friday night Ministry of Sound radio show, world-class productions picked up by the likes of Sander Kleinenberg and DJ appearances all over the world. He gave NIGHT the lowdown on underground house and his plans for the future...

What doors do you hope will open now you’ve signed with Ideal DJs?
I know they have a good contact base, so I hope this allows me to play in venues that I wouldn’t have been able to before... and I’m looking forward to the diary being managed by somebody, because I’m too unorganised!

What has been the defining point in your career so far?
Thinking back now there’ve been quite a few, like becoming resident for Slinky when I was 19, which catapulted me into the industry. But I think the most defining point was the BBC Radio 1 Ibiza week in 2006 when they were doing an essential mix every night, and a track I had just written with Dave Robertson called ‘The Rendition’, made it onto Carl Cox, Pete Tong, Steve Lawler and Seb Fontain’s mix all inside that one week!

What’s the underground house and electro music scene like in the UK at the moment?
It’s doing very well from my point of view, I think some areas are doing better than others, but London is still rocking as much as ever, as are the other big dons like Manchester, Leeds etc. There’s a very good scene down here in my home town too, Portsmouth, with the biggest nights being Punchfunk and Cartel, both sell out events more often than not.

Are people prepared to pay more and travel further for big name DJs and big nights?
I’m not sure, I think a lot of people still travel into London for specific clubs and DJs, well they certainly do where I’m from, but I’m only about 50 miles away. A lot of people have good house music on their doorstep.

Describe your best club experience as a DJ.
Sankeys in Manchester last August, that’s the most up-for-it crowd I’ve ever experienced, closely followed by Stealth in Nottingham!

Where do you want to take your record label Kill a Watt in the future?
I’d like it to continue where it left off last year, as a platform for me to release my material, maybe with a few high profile remixes thrown in for 2008. I’d also like to run a few parties under the same name in or close to my home town, but that’s in the very early stages.

What can we expect from you in 2008?
I’ve been writing a lot more material than usual in the last couple of months, so that’s all got to come out over this year, both solo projects and collaborations with Dave Robertson. There are a few more overseas tours in the pipeline and hopefully I’ll be at a good few clubs in the UK.

From: March 2008 Issue

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