DJ Fresh Interview

One of the most in-demand DJs and producers for summer parties, we speak to DJ Fresh about new collaborations, going teetotal and what he gets up to on the road.

Hi Dan, how are you?
Very good, thanks.

Where in the world are you?
At home in Oxford in the studio.

Your most recent song, ‘Believer’ alongside Adam F, is just in time for the European summer; will it be a pivotal part of your summer sets?
Yeah, absolutely. I’m really excited about it; I’ve been messing around with gospel and soul influences this year and that’s something that ‘Gravity’ touched on, moving away from the synthy vibes of the last few years. So this is the first of a batch of new stuff.

Your melodies and song structures are a breath of fresh to the Drum and Bass scene; is this the type of dance music that drives you?
I just like doing stuff that I haven’t done before and pushing myself, but one step at a time. At the moment, I’m experimenting with songs and trying new things.

You’ve had some major hits in the last couple of years with Sian Evans, Rita Ora and Ella Eyre; is there something about UK female artists that particularly draws you in?
I like working with girl singers, I find they have more emotion in their voice in a higher range – it’s kind of a technical thing, really. I just love the female voice. I do stuff with guys as well, but it’s difficult to find guys that have a unique sound that can cut through a high-energy track. There are so many amazing British artists to work with and new singers coming through, so that’s really exciting.

Is there anyone at the moment that you’ve got your eye on?
I’d still like to do something with Jessie Ware and I’d love to work with Jess Glynne. It’s funny, actually, because I was in the studio with Paloma Faith, and you never know how it’s going to work out in terms of your synergy, and sometimes it’s not just about what the person sounds like, it’s the chemistry when you’re together in the studio. I’ve been in the studio with Clare Maguire and I’ve been working on a new single with High Contrast, so I’ve just been keeping an open mind and trying as much as I can.

Is it important for you to work closely with the vocalist?
Yeah, a lot of dance producers don’t get involved in the songwriting, but that’s something I’ve always been passionate about. When I was at school, I was keen on creating writing – that and music were the only things I was good at! I get involved as much as possible so that my songs have something running through them that makes all of them sound like a DJ Fresh song.

Looking forward to the summer, what plans do you have?
We’re going to be all over the place; we’ve got shows in Ibiza with Like Mike, Steve Aoki and Dimitri Vegas, then we’re going to be in Majorca, a bunch of festivals in the UK and Europe, and all of the typical holiday destinations! I don’t know what it is about my music, but people seem to love listening to it on holiday!

Do you enjoy that?
Yeah, I’ve actually just gone completely tea-total, so being in party places is completely different to what it used to be! But performing for people that are celebrating being away is perfect for me because I just like making very positive, upbeat music, so I like being a part of that.

You’ve travelled to some incredible places thanks to your music; is there anywhere recently that particularly wowed you?
Yeah, constantly, everywhere. When you’re doing things that I’m doing, there are so many tremendous, surprising things happening all the time and I really hope that I can continue to tread that path. You have to make the music for yourself, but when you perform that’s when you get to see how it relates to other people and that’s the most gratifying thing about making music.

What do you like to get up to while on the road besides the shows?
Since we stopped drinking, we just want to stay as busy as possible! One of the downsides of being on the road is that you have a lot of time. to be sat around. If you go out, join in the partying, wake up with a hangover, miss half the day and you’ve got a flight in the evening, you spend hours in a hotel. So we’re really trying to see what there is to do, we have our photographer with us and she’s always keen to get as much footage of us doing stuff as possible, like we were playing at Siam Water Park in Tenerife and we got them to section off a part so we could go surfing; when we were in China, we went to see the pandas and semi-climbed the Great Wall! It’s really cool for me to make the most out of travelling now, because I spent so many years partying and not seeing that much. It’s a whole new phase of touring, for me.

By Charlotte Mellor
@cmellor_03