INTERVIEW: Richy Ahmed chats about travelling, ADE, NYE and more

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Read the exclusive Richy Ahmed interview!

The summer months of 2018 have been the busiest yet for Richy, playing at some of the world’s biggest and most respected festivals including ADE, Tomorrowland and Hideout. Things didn’t end there for Richy, whilst continuing his long-standing Paradise residency at DC-10 Ibiza, he also made numerous appearances elsewhere across The White Isle, with the infamous Elrow and the island’s biggest underground party Circo Loco. He rounds off a tremendous year Down Under with shows across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. We were lucky enough to chat with the man himself ahead of his arrival….

Where are you right now?

I’m in Dubai right now, about to play Blue Marlin tonight. I just came from the Alps, I was playing a festival there last night called Rise. It’s been a funny one to pack for going from snowboarding to Dubai. I’ve just been chilling here in the gym and the Spa but I’ll be getting picked up in an hour to go to the gig, it’s 6.40 in the evening here.

Have you been anywhere particularly interesting recently?

Yes, in November I did two American tours – I went to New York, San Francisco, LA. I came back to play Manchester and then flew back out to the US to play Denver, Orlando and Chicago. A week later, I went to South America to play Chile and Montevideo, then back to Europe to play Turin in Italy.

We’re all about inspiring people to get out and explore the cities they’re living in or travelling through. Do you have a particular city that you have fallen in love with?

New York – I love New York!

What was so special?

I’ve always loved it there, it’s the vibe. It’s similar to London, the food is amazing, you can walk everywhere, it’s good weather, the people are cool and the music scene is really good. It’s always been one of my favourite places to go and it was so good to get back there.

Where do you currently live?

I live in London and have done for 10 years. I live in between London and Ibiza in the summer.

Do you ever get a chance to go shopping for clothes while on your travels? Can you recommend any shops or brands that you wear?

I don’t shop too much when I travel. I did a lot of shopping in New York, we went to some of the boutique stores. I went to the Supreme shop as it’s a lot cheaper in America. One of my favourite places in London is Goodhood. I buy one of my favourite brands from there, a Japanese label called Guilty Party.

You’re playing NYE in Sydney this year but where’s been your most memorable NYE party of all time?

I played Fabric New Year’s Eve two years ago, that was really cool. I like being in London on New Year’s Eve. Last year, I played four different parties on New Year’s Eve so it was busy, but then I flew out to Ibiza on New Year’s Day to play Circo Loco. Fabric is definitely my most memorable New Year’s Eve.

We’re always eager to discover new artists when we travel, is there a country or city that you feel is leading the way with electronic music right now? Which artists, in particular, stood out to you and why?

Amsterdam is a really amazing place, I’m playing there a lot more now to. They have so many cool parties going on all year round. I played there for ADE this year and I went to see Ricardo Villalobos and Zip play at Bret. Gerd Janson also played a really good set.

You played Elrow Town London which looked amazing. Is it as fun to play as it is to party? 

Yeh, it’s really fun to play. It’s just as fun to play there as it is to party, you get the same effect; you still feel like you’re part of this massive crowd of 10,000 people. It’s great vibes and the crew always look after you. You also get to see a lot of other DJ friends there. It’s a really fun party and one where you don’t take yourself too seriously.

ADE’s just past and it looks like there were awesome parties. What was your highlight event?

I played four parties at ADE this year, but my favourite was the Paradise party. The Elrow one was really cool, I closed it with Andrea Olivia back to back. At Paradise, I got to play in a brand new room and the sound was amazing. I came on after Jamie and did 5-7, we had a big crew there and a lot of promoters were there too. It was a big gig for me with all of those people there seeing what I could do. 

How important do you think ADE is to the industry?

I think it’s really important. It’s becoming one of the major yearly festivals, overtaking Sonar maybe; with the selection of parties. It’s also after the hectic summer season, you get to see a lot of people who you haven’t seen for a while. All the parties had a great vibe this year to, they were all rammed. Amsterdam itself also has a cool vibe, it’s really easy to get around and the people are really chilled out. There’s so much going on there and there’s such a great range of music.

Can you tell us any news about your label?

This year has been a massive year for the label. I’ve been super happy with every release this year. The last release got ‘Track of the Month’ from Mixmag. The Roman Flugel remix we had was really exciting and Man Power also smashed it with his release. Before that, the Ejeca release was massive. Next up we have my release, the ‘Love Birds’ release; it’s been one of the biggest tracks of the summer.

All of the music that is forthcoming in the next year, I’m super happy with. We’ve got so much lined up next year, we have Gerd Janson, Radio Slave, Dennis Ferrer and DJ Tennis all going to do something for us. All the music so far has been really well received, DJ’s are playing it and I’ve been working really hard with the artwork too, keeping everything really clear. I’m really happy with it all and it’s been a great year for FourThirtyTwo.

While we’re on the subject of ADE, Amsterdam is an amazing city, can you recommend any bars or clubs?

As I mentioned before, I would definitely recommend Brett. De School is also amazing. They are my two favourites.

And finally, you’re heading over to Aus soon, what are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to all of it. The last time I played in Australia I wasn’t really touring. Sydney on New Year is a very special place, it’s fantastic with all the fireworks in the harbour and everything. It’ll be nice to get a bit of sun and the Revolver gig I’m playing also looks really cool. It’ll be something a bit different.

Tour Dates
Saturday 29th December: Faction, Sydney
Sunday 30th December: Beyond the Valley, VIC
Sunday 30th December: Revolver, Melbourne
Monday 31st December: MCA, Sydney
Tuesday 1st January: Habitat Garden Party, Perth

Travel to Western Australia