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Features
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DJGRH comes to Knowwhere
Reported by Knowwhere
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Submitted 29-11-06 21:57
Gary Holden otherwise known as DJGRH has wanted to be a dj since he was a toddler, but it was his crucial collaboration with Paul Maddox producing the awesome ‘New York, New York’ that really put him on the dance music map. Signed by tidy who sold it by the truck load, the track was subsequently remixed by OD404 and went on to be featured on MTV and a number of hard dance collaborations. Named after his favourite place, Gary’s now been to the city that supposedly never sleeps three times, most recently being his first proper holiday in eleven years. It’s safe to say then that he’s one of the most hard working lads in the music industry, having achieved a considerable amount in the last eight years.
Of course over the last eight years there’s been a number of ups and downs, but the result is a ridiculously long discography, gigs all over the world and now a great job at Mission, one of Leeds’ top clubs, where he gets to work with the crème de la crème of the dance music industry, including his beloved tidy. With Gary back in London to play in the Hardwhere room at Knowwhere this Friday night, we decided to see what he’s been up to since his last interview on HarderFaster a couple of years ago.
You were one of the first people to be interviewed on this website by Allan McGrath in April 2002 then haven’t been interviewed since June 2004 when Kes had a turn. What have been the highlights of your career in the last couple of years since you’ve been featured on HF? Has 2006 treated you well so far?
I think the main aspect of things has been stability. Even though things have been fantastic for the last few years or so, I have failed to find any stability in my ‘employment’ within dance music. The scene has been so fast-changing and it’s been hard to keep enjoying what I have been doing, as well as ensuring it is my ‘bread and butter money’. I have now worked in the music scene for nearly 8 years — it gives you one hell of a rollercoaster ride!
But, I am now very happy within what I do – and my ever-increasing responsibilities.
In your last interview with Kes you said you’ve actually wanted to be a DJ since you were 2 or 3 years old as you were photographed wearing headphones by your parents. Is that really true?! For those who don’t know you and can’t be arsed to go back and read the other features, what got you into dj’ing? When did you first start mixing and how did you get to play out for the first time?
Yeah, I always wanted to be a DJ — my Mum has some embarrassing tapes of a ‘high pitched’ kid stop starting tapes that he’d recorded off the radio! Haha!
I got into DJing when a load of mates entered me for a competition at uni because I ‘need[ed] to get out there and stop studying all the time!!’ At first, I flared them for it, but I ended up winning the bloody thing! This then led to a residency at the university’s club, which led me to then to win Energy UK DJ of the Month, which then led to me playing at HQ Amsterdam, which then led to Frantic — which then lead to literally hundreds and hundreds of appearances!!
How would you describe the DJGRH sound? Do you still enjoy playing different styles?
Versatile, consistent.
You’ve DJ’ed all over the UK and all over the world. What’s been your favourite gig? And is there anywhere you’d still like to play?
I have had some corking gigs in the USA, Finland, Holland, Ibiza, Norway and countless others, but one gig that maybe sticks in mind was opening up at the Tidy Weekender 5 (I think it was?). I have played about 10 Weekenders and they’re really special. There isn’t anywhere I haven’t played that I would like to play really. I have played for literally hundreds upon hundreds of brands — and I don’t think there is a big UK brand that I haven’t played for at some point.
It’s almost the end of another year. Can you see yourself making any new year’s resolutions? What goals do you have for 2007?
My new year’s resolution is obvious — I need to re-join the gym and make time to go! Haha! Goals for 2007 are to carry on doing what I am doing — keeping things rolling along nicely with the DJing, DJGRH Recordings continuing in the same vein that it has, and increasing my responsibilities with Club Mission here in Leeds, who I spend the vast majority of my time working for.
How did working for Mission come about? What do you do for the club? Looking at its website at www.clubmission.com the place seems to be busy almost every night of the week — that must take a lot of hard work! How do you manage to juggle this with your DJing and music production?
Within dance music, you have to be multi-talented and be able to hack a lot. I graduated several years ago and I have always used my marketing/promotional skills to good effect. I can’t really reveal who, but let’s just say I had some pretty big brands talk to me about taking me on permanently, but I ended up being called into Head Office of Mission/Fibre/Federation by Sean Wilson, Director. He put his cards on the table and told me that tidy were coming to the club for a residency — and that he wanted me to front the whole thing. I absolutely love it!
Mission are an institution here in Leeds and to be involved with them is rewarding, thrilling and tiring! They’re holding monthly Federation events in the likes of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast and the like, and the club holds regular events such as Glasshouse, Kiss Da Funk, Vibealite, Tribal Sessions and many more — some of them attracting nearly 2000 people at every bash! We pulled well over a thousand for the first ‘Tidy Leeds’ it was a credit to the way that ourselves and tidy liaised and I was over the f**king moon! It has gone down as one of the best hard house events ever.
I won’t deny that I am not putting in as much time to my DJing as before. But then again, I hit a real rough patch where my diary was stacked out — then about a third of the gigs were cancelled! What with a city centre apartment and a hefty lifestyle to pay for, I have to have consistency in terms of financial input. It has taken me a long time to find a balance, but I am very happy to have found it now.
The OD404 remix of the first track you ever made is one of my hard house favs, ‘New York, New York’ with Paul Maddox, which reached the Bangingtunes.com ‘Top Selling Track’ position before it was even released, made it onto countless compilations and was thrashed on MTV. This must’ve been quite a start to your production career! Do you still carry this track in your record bag and play it out? Or do you prefer to play your more recent productions?
‘New York, New York’ made DJGRH. That’s my opinion anyways. What started as a bit of a piss around with Maddox, developed into jumping in the Tidy studio, deciding ‘Tidy will never like it’, Tidy signing it, it selling like hotcakes, getting onto MTV and loads of compilations.
I do still carry ‘New York, New York’ but play much more recent productions.
DJGRH Recordings is really on a roll at the moment. Could you please tell HF readers a bit about your most recent releases? What releases do you have on the horizon?
The label has really stepped up a gear in the last six months or so and is now on its 12th release. I’ve had some cracking material on there from a real variety of artists: myself, Paul Maddox, Chrysus, Tik Tok, Lee Pasch, Liam Melly, AJ Hutch, Edwin Van Cleef, Scott Fo-Shaw, DJ Lusty, Richard B, Digital Kid, Audio Hedz, Andy Rise, Bonzo, Chris Impact, E-Type, Ugly Dave, Sazz, Karnage, Tom Berry, Mark H, Chris Hoff, Bryan Kearney.
All the releases have touched on trance, funky techno, hard trance and hard house — and have well received and well supported from all those in the industry. The biggest seller has definitely been Brian Kearney’s Edit of Liam Melly’s ‘Arrival’ which was well supported by Eddie Halliwell on Radio 1 and in Ibiza etc.
Running your own record label you must get sent loads of tracks for signing. What up and coming producers are you keen to hear from more from at the moment?
Three names : Scott Fo-Shaw and Jon BW / Simon Paul.
#
Your discography is now ridiculously long. What are your favourite tracks you’ve made or collaborated on? Do you have any new productions in the pipelines?
I really, really don’t have favourites. I have been fortunate to work with what I would consider the best — Paul Maddox, Lee Pasch, Tik Tok, Chrysus, Chris Hoff, MDA & Spherical, Scott Fo-Shaw and Chris Impact. The newest of these productions is with Scott Fo-Shaw. Its VERY hard to find the time these days now for any production in all honesty, but I am hoping to work with MDA & Spherical, Edwin Van Cleef, Simon Paul and Jon BW and some others in the New Year.
You’ve got a wicked Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/djgrh and a new one on the way, to be launched in early 2007. Did it take you long to get your current site up and running? Your friends list on your MySpace site is a who’s who of current dance music. Do you get much time to network with people?
I am not brilliant at HTML, getting to grips with stuff like that, but spent a bit of time on it. However, due to working every hour God sends for Mission, my site [http://www.djgrh.com] and my Myspace have suffered. However, I have just struck a deal for a complete refurbishment of both — and am really looking forward to their launch in early 2007!
I don’t get a lot of time to get on MySpace. I didn’t really see the appeal at first — but now I can completely see the addiction!
You say on your Myspace that in a recent trip you managed to get to Oslo, Manchester, Leeds, London, New York, Amsterdam and Liverpool all in the space of just three weeks. That sounds mad, how the hell did you do it?! Why such a crazy itinerary?
This three weeks really epitomised what the hell life is all about to me! It was a mixture of work, DJing, sightseeing, travelling — and spending time with Liam. It all worked out so perfectly!
We booked to go to NYC for Liam’s 21st birthday as we both are stupidly obsessed with the place (ask Kelly @ Red Management about this obsession — she is another who has the bug!). As luck would have it, I got booked for a gig on Oslo just before it and got booked in Amsterdam just after it, so we decided to really plan it out and go a bit crazy! Within this, we caught up with Liam’s family in Manchester and London — and ended the whole thing by racing off the plane in Leeds and jumping on a train to Liverpool to join my Dad on his 60th!
It was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best 3 weeks of my life! Oslo and the people there were incredible, NYC was just jaw-dropping every second of the day (it was my third time there!) and Amsterdam was very special — I played a 5 hour predominantly house set on the back of a boat at GayPride with about 600,000 very special party people!
You also say that the five days you spent in New York were your first holiday in 11 years! Surely you must’ve been burned out well before then if that was the case? Where do you get your energy from? And I guess this is a sign of your obsession with New York that this was your first holiday for so long. But why New York? Had you visited the place before?
Yes, my first holiday since myself and about 50 others tipped over to Amsterdam from University. The energy you find comes from the drive of knowing you’re doing what you love doing, although just in the last few years I have moved down to fourth gear for a change! I’d visited New York twice before — there is no place like it on earth — and I cry every time I have to leave! New York is everything you could ever want. I used to live in the USA and had some time to kill in between employment and heading back to the UK, so thought I’d pack my bags and go and see Sasha and Digweed in Twilo in NYC — something I had really always wanted to do. It was a breathtaking night that went beyond ‘clubbing’ for me. To return to NYC with Liam was very special — we headed to see Richie Santana at Pacha, then on for Roger Sanchez at Crobar. Phenomenal stuff.
In your 2004 interview you confess to “working a hell of a lot.” Is this still the case or have you managed to fit in some more down time having been in the scene a lot longer now?
Yes!! And do you know what, this is the most important question as far as I am concerned. Working 12 hour days got to me to where I am today, but I certainly ensure now that I use my time effectively to work and play. My better half Liam changed things for me dramatically — he gave me some other purpose to where I strived to go — and the time we spend together is equally as fulfilling as playing to a packed dancefloor!
The hard dance scene has changed considerable in the time since your last feature. What do you think about some of the changes over the years and where do you see it going?
I still wish it was as popular as what it was six years ago — but that’s never going to be happening. Electronic music, as a whole, has dipped. At the moment it feels like everything is lying ‘low key’ — with the exception of tidy, no-one is really producing ‘notable tracks’ that everyone knows.
Between those interviews you put yourself on the other side of the screen and interviewed Olly Perris and Ashley James in March 2004, and have since written for a number websites and publications, including Upfront Mmag. Would you ever give up making music altogether and become a journalist?
I have actually thought about it! But I am too into the DJing, producing, label owning, club promoting! That’s quite enough for now! Haha!
You work with Tidy Leeds and are presently in the process of putting together a massive Christmas party. What, in your opinion after seeing so many different sides of the industry, makes a great party? Why should HF readers come to the tidy Christmas Party?
Tidy Leeds is by far the most exciting project I have worked on.
To bring the biggest dance in hard dance to my home city is something special — and to see the first event go off like it did was really, really fulfilling for me! The Christmas Party we have is going to be belting. It’s at Mission on the 22nd of December with the Tidy Boys, Anne Savage, Paul Maddox, JP & Jukesy, Lisa Pin Up, myself, Lee Haslam, Technikal, Guyver and many more — and we’ve kept the whole thing down to a tenner a ticket!!
I’d say ultimate professionalism makes a good party — I have encountered too many half-wits that do a boshed job — and it annoys me.
Reading the reactions to the first tidy Leeds @ Mission will be a good enough reason to come down. But, having said that, Happy Christmas to all HF readers (whether they are coming down or not!).
This Friday night you’re playing in the Hardwhere Room at Knowwhere @ Heaven. Are you looking forward to getting back to Heaven? What can HF fans expect from your set this Friday?
Isn’t Heaven just one of those venues where you walk in and just think “ . . . right, bring it onnnn!!”
I love the place! I’ve played there a few times for parties such as tidy London, Beat Retreat etc. It’s just such a great place to fill and make an atmosphere in — all three rooms are such great spaces aren’t they? It’s a buzz to get to place for Ant Dean too — I met him years ago when we both played at Mass in Brixton. He’s such a character and it’s great to see him doing so well with his own brand now.
I am on in the middle of the night, so you can expect something very driving and euphoric! Really am looking forward to the club on Friday!
Finally, as someone who has seen pretty much all sides of the music industry, what advice would you give readers wanting to break into it, either as djs, producers or promoters?
Give it 550%! Be something more than ‘a wicked DJ’ — differentiate yourself and give your audience something to remember you by. Bear in mind there is a lot of good luck and bad luck along the way — and that even if you try your hardest and that ‘DJing is your life’ that does not necessarily mean that you will gain success.
Dance music is a good laugh — but you have to show utter professionalism in order for anyone to want to work with you. At the end of the day, dance music is more than just ‘fun’ to a lot of people (including myself) — it is their livelihood — and they’re not going to want to work with you if you’re anything less than 110% dedicated and professional.
You can catch Gary in December at:
01.12: Knowwhere @ Heaven, London
02.12: The Big Reunion (Tidy Arena) @ Pontins, Skegness
06.12: MudAfuNka @ Mine Bar, Leeds
08.12: Nu Religion North @ The Venue, Long Eaton
15.12: Vi4gra @ MyHouse, Leeds
22.12: Tidy Xmas Party (House Set) @ Mission, Leeds
26.12: Kerfuffle @ Club Shhhh!, Sheffield
30.12: Tidy NYE @ Pontins, Blackpool
31.12: Storm @ The Emporium, Coalville
http://www.djgrh.com/
http://www.myspace.com/djgrh
http://www.clubmission.com/
http://www.tidy.com/leeds
http://www.tidydigital.com/labels/dj_grh_recordings
http://www.trackitdown.net/djgrhrecordings
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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