The track I’ll be opening my next DJ set with
Samuel Jonathan Johnson: Just Us
The opening line of this song is: “Wow, we’re finally alone/ This is beautiful”. I like to start my sets off with something inappropriately intimate. I’m a big fan of awkwardness.
The track I always play to rescue a dancefloor
Pharoahe Monch: Simon Says
This is an undeniable banger that will get any room with a heartbeat loose. That kick feels so sublime. And it’s funny. I maintain it’s imperative not to take yourself too seriously when you’re selecting music for people to dance to.
The track that currently gets the most rewinds
Dizzee Rascal: Fix Up, Look Sharp
As soon as anyone hears Dizzee’s “oiiiii” at the beginning of this track, they are transported to some joyous, playful place.
The track that has been unfairly slept on this year
Hejira: I Don’t Belong To Anyone
Such a great band of super-talented British musicians. They deserve a real chance to find their audience. I’m certain it’s out there.
The track I wish I’d never played
James Brown: The Payback
This is one of the best pieces of music ever recorded but had I not elected to play it on the night I first DJed, I wouldn’t have had to endure a posh girl asking me if I had “anything more funky”. Twenty years on, that particular apex of oblivious inquiry still jars.
The track that got me out of bed this morning
Jade Fox/The Invisible: Passion
I’ve been going through unreleased recordings by my first band Jade Fox. We dug up this killer take of passion which was always one of my favourites, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
The track I’d play to show off my eclectic tastes
Ruby Hughes & Joseph Middleton: Abendstern
I think I would play this transcendent and thoughtful rendition of Schubert’s song as performed by my fiancee. The dynamic is so effortlessly musical and transportive. In short, wifey, Middleton and Schubert smash it yet again
