How was 2019 for you?
Man Power: On a personal level it followed the trend of the last 10 years of being full of gigantically rotten bullshit in some areas, balanced with phenomenal amazingness in others. I’m not complaining though, as on reflection that feels more like a life being lived. I’d much rather live my life on a seesaw where you get to feel the highs and lows. I think it must be pretty unfulfilling sitting on an unwavering line of steady mediocrity for your whole life.
Highlights?
Keeping this on a purely professional level, playing for almost 12 hours doing the closing slot at Panorama Bar is a notable standout in my life as a DJ, never mind just the last year.
Watching my label, Me Me Me, blossom this year has given me a bit of a parental buzz too. Especially when it comes to seeing new artists, like Club Tularosa or Ben Caldwell, thrive off getting this platform for their work. Its also been incredibly refreshing to start my “JUAN POWER” collaboration with Juan Maclean, which has been one of those rare occasions where everything has worked beautifully without a single hitch, from our time in the studio, our time on the road together, the gigs themselves, the music we’ve made and the public’s reception to that music.
Lowlights?
There’s no career stuff I can say was bad, and there’s not personal stuff I’m willing to share, so the only thing I can really highlight is it’s been pretty fucking grim to see a blonde-haired demagogue shit-heel in office on both sides of the Atlantic, and how that’s emboldened a bunch of every day fuckwits with rotten opinions to speak and act in some very awful ways. I still have to temper that with how it’s also made people come together to fight such bleakness too, especially in my rave scene, so I’m not gonna let it get me down.
Oh, this might be redundant by the time this goes to press, but… TORIES OUT!
Song of the year?
Tyler The Creator – Earfquake
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
To start looking after the inside and outside of my body properly. I turn 40 on January 22, and I’m starting to realize I need to keep this working for probably another 40 years, and it’s kind of busted up already.