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Spencer Parker Interview
House | Tuesday 13th December 2011 | Osh
How long have you been djing and what was your inspiration at the time?
I’ve been djing for around 10 years now and my inspiration at the time was the same as it is now – just going out clubbing and hearing good dj’s play.
I never really planned to be a dj but as I started going out more and more I wanted to buy my favorite records that I was hearing week in, week out. More as a souvenir to remind me of a good night than anything else. But, as I amassed a reasonable collection of pretty cool records, my friend was having a party and didn’t have a dj, so I stepped in….
I remember you saying to me when I met you a few years back that you like myself used to be hooked on Hip Hop, I started as a Hip Hop DJ. Did you also?
Hip Hop was the first music I really got into when I was younger, staying up late to tape Westwood’s show on Capital FM and buying records by the likes of Organized Konfusion, A Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr, Geto Boyz etc etc but I was never a hip hop dj. As I actually started going out to clubs I was bitten by the house bug and that was the first music that I really got into seriously buying on vinyl.
Name one annoying thing that comes with being a DJ?
Well, there aren’t really that many annoying things that come with being a dj, to be honest. Like any “job” there are certain aspects that aren’t as much fun as others but I think that’s true of most vocations. The only thing I would really say that can be annoying is that sometimes people feel they have the right to come up to you and demand, in a pretty rude and arrogant manner, that you play certain records or a certain style of music. Not ask, but demand. This can be pretty annoying, especially when you have a packed club of people having fun and this one individual wants you to completely change the music just to suit them…
You currently live in Germany why did you decide to move?
But, at the same I had always harbored a dream to live in a foreign country for a decent amount of time and I had some good friends already living here in Berlin, so I decided to give it a shot. Berlin is a truly beautiful city in so many different ways and I’m really happy here at the moment, so I think it was a good move for me.
I personally think there is good music coming from every around the globe but Germany at the moment for many is so called “ where its at”. What do you think about this?
I’d agree with you – there is great music coming from Switzerland, Romania, Italy and the UK, to give just a few examples. But I think a lot of the reason Germany, and Berlin, in particular, get so much attention is because of the clubscene here. I don’t think there is another city in the world that can rival Berlin for good, credible house ,techno and disco nights in interesting locations. And I think this amazing clubscene maybe gives people the perception there are, for some reason, more amazing producers here, than there are in other parts of the world…
Don’t you think it’s about time the UK had its period like Germany has as we have some awesome talent over here?
Maybe. But the only way this will happen is if the talent in the UK makes good enough records – simple as that. No intelligent person buys records because they are made by Germans, people buy records because they consider them to be good.
You foremost started as a DJ and doing A&R, how long have you been actually producing and what set up do you use?
I’ve been producing for around 4 years or so I guess and still completely consider myself a novice that is learning as he goes. I simply use a Macbook Pro and Ableton Live ( I think I’m on 7 at the moment). I have a couple of plug ins but mainly use whats in Ableton already. My motto is KISS ! (keep it simple, stupid!)
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
I truly have absolutely no idea, I could be headlining Sonar or working as a waitress in a cocktail bar… But I look forward to finding out !
What Dj/Producers in other genres do you rate?
In other genres I’d have to say people like Diamond D, Pharell Williams, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Quiet Village, The Revenge, Tom Moulton, Swizz Beats, Quincy Jones, Stuart Price, Nile Rogers the list goes on and on…
I would like to work with Prince or James Brown (RIP) if it was possible. Are there any pop stars past or present that you would like to work with?
I’m good friends with Jake from Scissor Sisters so maybe we might work on something one day but apart from him, again, the list is endless but would definitely include Mini Viva, Rhianna, Cheryl Cole, Nikka Costa, Jay Z, Pet Shop Boys, Donna Summer, Sylvester, Prince, Fine Young Cannibals, Blow Monkeys, Keri Hilson, Daryl Pandy, The Beach Boys, The Cure etc etc etc
Have you got plans for a solo album?
Yes thanks. : ) But none I can talk about right now…
What advice could you give to bedroom djs and producers who have just started?
For dj’s - buy your favourite records and play them, create your own style and search out tracks you love that everyone else ISN’T playing. For producers – maybe start off by doing some edits of tracks you really like to get some experience and progress into making your own tracks. The most important thing is to make something you are proud of and, if you dj also, something you are happy to play in your set. As long as you do that, even if no one else likes it or wants to play it/sign it – you have a secret weapon that you have, exclusively, to play.
If you were stuck in and elevator for 7 hours who would it be with?
I’d have to go for the dream team of Penelope Cruz, Paz Vega, Monica Belucci and Cheryl Cole.
Name one killer tune, which is not out yet?
The new Justin Drake single is phenomenal – definitely my biggest track of the last few months and had 4 people running to the booth to ask what it was when I played it at Panorama Bar last weekend.
Are you going to the winter music conference?
Hell no !
