Club Ready Radio Dance Freex Radio
Dance Music had always been of interest to me from around my mid to late teens. Spending those years visiting clubs in Medway and Maidstone (including the legendary Excalibur in Gillingham and Pure Science/Club Class at Atomics in Maidstone) and the HEAT raves on Hastings Pier.
Inspiration for me largely came from my cousin, Gary who had been DJing in London through the early 90s, moving on to Tenerife before finally settling in South Asia and running the Gecko Beach Bar in Koh Samui and Le Noir in Kuala Lumpa.
I got my 1st set of decks in 1999 (belt drive Numark decks with a blue Dog 2 channel mixer with no eq ) and started teaching myself using the vast amounts of mostly DnB, UKG and Trance 12’s I’d built up. This adventure remained 100% a bedroom hobby and as marriage, work and parenting took over my interest fell away and I sold most of my collection and the decks.
By chance in 2010 a mate was paid for a job with a mobile DJ set up instead of cash. As he had no idea about music but still liked the idea of being a DJ he asked if I fancied joining him as a duo. And so for the next 3 or 4 years, we hit the Mobile disco circuit doing weddings and parties. In the end, the cost of maintaining equipment and the stress of being responsible for ensuring a couple of most important nights didn’t end in musical catastrophe meant we stopped.
By this time I had invested in a Numark NS6 controller, my first step towards modern equipment. Lo and behold other matters got in the way of DJing, even just at home, and the NS6 joined my ever-growing pile of equipment sitting in my garage. It wasn’t until 2020 and the first covid lockdown that I got back into music. Working from home and having CentreForce playing in the background all day I suddenly felt enthusiastic about house music in a way I’d not since the 90s. Being the impulsive person I am I went online and ordered myself a Pioneer DDJ-1000SRT (just before they became gold dust), a webcam and signed up for a couple of record pools.
Once I was comfortable I began filming some of my sets and posting them to my YouTube channel mainly to get feedback from my mates, which was really positive. I then moved into the world of TikTok and started streaming weekly live sets, some of which were being viewed by up to 1000 people. I realised though that my technique still needed work and having watched a few of the Club Ready tutorials on YouTube I decided to purchase the course. This then opened me up to the Club Ready Tribe and an invitation from My Mate Dave to begin a Sunday evening residency on the station. I’m loving being able to share my favourite tracks and the feedback to date has reassured me I’m doing ok. Keep raving.