This weeks interview & mix comes from Grum.
Selector Afterdark – Grum by The Selector on Mixcloud
Introduce yourself and tell us about the part of the UK you’re from?
I’m a 20-something year old Scotsman living up in Glasgow. I make music on the more progressive side of house.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been working on recently?
I’ve had a mad busy few months doing a ton of remixes for electronic artists like Steve Angello, Above & Beyond, Second City and Gareth Emery. I also remixed some up-and-coming indie artists like Prides and Indiana. Just been getting back into writing new original stuff recently too, so next year is shaping up to be pretty busy for new tunes.
And can you talk us through the mix?
The longer mix is typical of the sort of club set I’m playing at the moment – mainly focused on my own material and starting off a bit deeper, then building up to some of the bigger sounding music I’ve been writing recently. I like to maintain the energy and put together some nice key matched mixes to keep it all bounding along nicely.
Nice, give us a taste of some of your favourite British artists at the moment?
There’s been a real underground dance music renaissance going on in Britain for the past couple of years, of all genres. So I’ve captured a bit of that from the more energetic and melodic side of things. Tilt have come back strong in the last year with a new album so there’s a new tune in there from them…plus Richard Knott and Paul Thomas are two of my favourite UK producers at the moment, making classy music for big rooms. There’s also an obligatory tune of mine in there in the form of my remix for Cash Cash.
Cool, tell us about some of your British DJ Heroes and influences in general?
I have long been a massive fan of the original superstar DJ, Paul Oakenfold. He has changed his style a bit throughout the years, but his trance essential mixes from the late 90’s are some of the best examples of the genre. It’s been really cool to see him going back to trance again and supporting some of my tunes too.
Another hero of mine is Sasha. A master of re-invention, while still keeping credibility throughout all his work. He’s still around and playing awesome music.
And what’s on the cards in the immediate future?
I’ve got some big shows coming up with Above & Beyond and Steve Angello, which I’m really looking forward to. Early this year I’ve also finally got my “Human Touch” album coming out. At the moment I’m writing new music for Anjunabeats, Mau5trap and Size Records, which should also be out this year.
And finally, where is the best place in the world you have DJ’d and why?
I think in terms of pure energy and enthusiasm you cannot beat the US at the moment. It’s amazing to play to people so passionate about the music. If we are talking about the UK though, I love playing in the north. I played Cream’s sellout birthday in Liverpool and it was great to see the scene so healthy over here.