This weeks interview & mix come from Madam X
Selector Afterdark – Madam X by The Selector on Mixcloud
Introduce yourself and tell us about the part of the UK you’re from?
I DJ under the name Madam X, and I’ve lived in Manchester for 4 years, (originally from Milton Keynes).
Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been working on recently?
At the minute, I’m up in a Hotel Room writing this in the early hours of the morning. I’ve just finished playing at Melkweg, Amsterdam tonight, which was really good fun and I’ll be back on the plane tomorrow for our BPM party in Manchester. I’ve also been working on the next release on our Big People Music label with Tee Vish and Jenna G and that’s looking to come out late January / early Feb 2015 – exciting times!
And can you talk us through the mix?
The mix is full of a bit of everything (old & new) I’m feeling at the minute. A lot of it is dark and bassy, with heavy elements of Garage and a couple old Grime bits towards the end for nostalgic purposes. A lot of new stuff I’m feeling in there as well; new Chimpo, new Kahn & Neek, the Keysound ‘Certified Connections’ compilation, a cheeky forthcoming Butterz release, and a lot of new Swamp 81 bits from Chunky.
Nice, give us a taste of some of your favourite British artists at the moment?
I think Kinzy’s got a really bright future ahead of him. I was really into his Baloo EP, and this new record off the Red Bull x Stripes EP is mad. Obviously anything ‘Kahn & Neek’ falls in the same equation. Sudanim was featured on my Kaizen Movements compilation, so I’m fully backing him. And obviously all the Manchester music featured; Chimpo, Zed Bias, Jenna G, Chunky, Biome, Krystal Klear – gets a special mention. All of it excites me otherwise it wouldn’t be in the mix! 😉
Cool, tell us about some of your British DJ Heroes and influences in general?
Anyone who’s enriched the music scene is my hero. People who start independent movements and develop their sound into an identity inspire me. The kind of stuff Loefah’s done with Swamp 81, or MC DRS has achieved with Estate Recordings and it’s imprint on Manchester music. The Bandulu Records bunch in Bristol. Zed Bias’ ability to produce music with no expiration date. Doing your own thing, inspiring others and enjoying it – that’s what it’s all about really.
And what’s on the cards in the immediate future?
I’ll be back in The Netherlands for some more gigs come 2015. The BPM Roadhouse parties are still going strong every first Friday of the Month in Manchester, and our next residency in London with the Bussey Building will be on January 16th. And when I won’t be Djing, I’ll mostly be working hard on the Tee Vish & Jenna G EP coming out soon.
And finally, where is the best place in the world you have DJ’d and why?
Other than our own BPM parties where I can really experiment with what I play, one of my standout favourite gigs of all time was the HomieLoverFriend festival in Berlin at ‘Yaam Beach’, 2 summers back. The bookings were wicked, and I got to meet loads of interesting people from all over coming from Amsterdam, Berlin, the UK etc, and the energy that day was crazy. Good vibes all round.