Modern Wisdom - #111 - Cristoph - Life Behind The Decks - Mental Health As An International DJ

Episode Date: October 14, 2019

Cristoph is a DJ and producer. Being a world star international DJ playing to thousands of screaming fans, having songs in the #1 spot and touring the world sounds like a dream job for many people. But what does the reality of this lifestyle look like? Today we get an incredibly open, honest and undiluted view of mental health, loneliness and the truth about life behind the decks from one of the fastest rising stars in house music. - Extra Stuff: Follow Cristoph on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CristophMusic Follow Cristoph on Instagram - https://instagram.com/CristophMusic Follow Cristoph on Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/CristophMusic Check out everything I recommend from books to products and help support the podcast at no extra cost to you by shopping through this link - https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcast Email: https://www.chriswillx.com/contact Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh, hello, humans. Welcome back to Modern Wisdom. I've been looking for this episode for ages. One of my very good, very old-time friends, Christoph has joined me today. And we're talking about the world of mental health and the realities of being a world star international DJ. Christoph is supporting Eric Prids on New Year's Evegigs, he's playing all around the world, multiple international shows, festivals, creamfields, headlines, slots, support slots for the world's biggest DJs, and he also had one of the biggest tracks of the last 12 months, which was breathe, featuring Kamu Fat and Gem Cook. But the reality of this lifestyle is actually a little bit different, and today we get to hear the other side of the story.

Hearing about what it feels like to be an international DJ who lives in airplanes, airports and hotels essentially in isolation until they're then thrust into this incredibly energetic, higher adrenaline, high-paced environment where there's alcohol everywhere, it's chaotic, they've got to play this music and then they need to get themselves back around, sorted ready for the next flight to go to some new time zone, is pretty eye-opening. It's all well and good saying that some people have it worse, but I challenge anyone to go without sleep for a few days, be in and out of planes, deal with a bunch of hangovers, and try not to semi-loose their mind. And today we really get to hear some

very personal stories from Kristoff about some times where he's not a rock bottom, but I mean, well, he hit the toiletries aisle of Azda, and you'll find out what I mean by that later on. I found it very encouraging to hear someone who is so well regarded in the DJ world opening up about these sorts of discussions. Obviously, we had the death of a Vici not long ago and hopefully if people like Christoph continue to come out and make the DJ world take a little bit more care about mental health, perhaps we can avoid some more tragedies in the future. Hopefully this will open your eyes as well.

If you enjoy the episode, please do not forget to rate us 5 stars wherever you are listening. It'll only take as long as the intro and it will make me very happy indeed. Please welcome my good friend, Christoph. Christophe. I might actually get a hold of him. Christophe, welcome. Thanks for the help. It's a pleasure to have you on. I might actually grab you in between flying around. Indeed, sorry for the delay. I know we've been trying to get this sort of, of course, a little wide-natured. Forever. So where have you been recently? Have I got you from? Er, Merrick, er, for predominantly the whole of the summer, then the last bit there was a Merrick, a South Merrick, and then straight from there,

from Elashore and Ibiza, which was, er, on Hell of a journey, take a thing, both. And we've just, so just before we've started, you've had to take a call to sort out India, it's bio-Australia. Yeah, around the UK for the next few weeks, and then literally go from here to America, back here to India, to New Zealand, to Australia, to Bali, to Australia, to back here and then eventually come home. Like when I say here, I mean like the UK, yeah, it's, yeah, it's so pretty good. And I'll pretend, and he says that was a way for Christmas, so he was kicking off. You mind your own.

Yeah, I just go back to America for a new year and stuff like that. Yeah. So of course, it bit of downtime and decim mode. I don't know if I want or not. I was going to, what do you feel like when you slow down now? Because obviously like the whole dream, a lot of people, there'll be some DJs that are listening, some promoters, other people that know the party world and they see that DJ flying around the world, playing their own tracks, you know, getting paid to travel and see all these different places. What does it feel like when you slow down now? To be honest with you, my team always make me take time off.

And I'm always kind of reluctant to do so. Then towards the end of say the six weeks that you've been on to us, I'm thinking you begin to realize that you are running on fumes and it's just the adrenaline getting you through. And I mean, I always look at it this, you know, yourself who promoting people pay serious money for the ages, people pay serious money to get into clubs and to buy the drinks and things like that, especially in the likes of a beather and stuff. So if you want to turn up with what I would class as a face like a smart

dors, you know what I mean it's gonna it goes out to the crowd and the crowd look back and think he's not fucking asked about he's not interested at all and really it's just a bit tiresome so I'll try and be as upbeat as I can when I'm not really one of those DJs who stands there and gives it all the hands in the air. You're a dancer. No you're a groove shock, you're a groove I've got a dancer. So I try and just be there in interact with the promoters, the crowd afterwards and things

like that. So as I say, you do realise that you are running on a adrenaline and on fumes and stuff like that. So you think, I'll get back, then I get home and I can't sleep because of the jet lag. I'm really, really bad with it. And I come down with like a flute because of all the, like being on the planes with the aircon and stuff like that, you know, really bad for it.

So I'll just come down with some sort of flute. And I get through that. So the past week, that's what I've been battling with. Now I'm still a little bit tired, but I'm fucking bored of my mind. I'm just trying to hold off. I'm going in the studio. Now I'm just like, right, I'm definitely right in the track this week, so I'll probably

be going tomorrow, Friday, get something done. And I just want to be back on the road again, just like, you know what I mean, all my mates all loved up. I'm sat your single, just twiddling my thumbs on a nighttime like, you know, like this boring. That's really strong, I'm really cool. I'm going to be honest. Yeah, didn't you use to really be bad with flying?

Yeah, me, Ter I'm really close. Yeah, didn't you use to really be bad with flying? Yeah, me too. I remember when we went out to Ibiza and you were, I think it was about midday, maybe 2013, something like that middle of the season, and you were sinking a couple of pint, so that's like, you're getting on it a little bit early and your thing was, no, this is just so I can kind of get on the plane and not feel too uncomfortable. Yeah, I think like the whole drink and beforehand used to really relaxes and he gets to that point where you don't really care that much.

Now it's a second nature. I mean, I still do panic when you go on, I don't know, across the Atlantic and you hit major turbulence and stuff like that, but it's, I don't know, I've got this voice in my head which keeps on telling us that the plane's going down and I'm arguing with, and I kind of bypass the whole turbulence thing because I'm arguing with the voice in my head. But yeah, I mean, I just realized that it is work, it's what I've got to do to climb the ladder and to reach the dreams which I've set myself type of thing and I'm still not 100% comfortable with it and I don't think many people are, it's just something that you have to do. I'm very unnatural. Yeah, being

being in a plane and 35,000 feet. My doctor tells me that all the time, like all the time you're just like it's not normal for you to sit on planes for as much as you do, for as long as you do, as many times of the years you do, you know what I mean? The pressure on you and things like that. But that's what's seeing me, it's works. I get it. So by way of starting a little bit of an origin story for you, I think one of the things that I've quite selfishly probably enjoyed about being able to see the trajectory of your career is I got to spend a lot of time with you like 10 years ago

when we were both partying in Newcastle and we were playing gigs together and you've played for some of my events just as, you know, little normal local gigs. And then I've seen that trajectory as it's climbed up and climbed up and how you've got to the place that you are now where you're supporting Eric Pritz on New Year's Eve and releasing tracks on his record label. When 10 years ago, you would be talking about him with the same kind of starry-eyed fanboyness that everybody else does. And seeing that trajectory, seeing you go from being a DJ of which I know hundreds, to being

those of which I know, like maybe two, maybe you and Patrick Topping, the only two guys who are even really close to that kind of, like, there's a few coming up when you castle me, there's some good ones, I mean, which is doing well. I don't know him though. Yeah, all right, it's fair enough. Jackie, Jackie, yeah, Jackie, it's starting to go well, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a hot spot, isn't it, for DJ talent? It is me, honestly, like a lot of people are starting to see like Watson the water up in the North East. Now, just say the North East, because there's only two for them actually new castle and you know the rest of them are just like, oh yeah, yeah, it all emily, oh from Newcastle, I'm like, no you fucking stop branding yourself. So can you just give us a little bit of, how would you define your career? Have you got a question?

I don't really know. I mean, ever since I've been a young kid, I'veed. My dad was a DJ, my brother was a DJ, so it's kind of been in the family. It's all I've ever wanted to do. But actually understanding the whole of the industry and how I would get there, I didn't really have a plan, didn't understand it whatsoever. I mean we were just sat around and I'll be like, oh yeah I'm going to be a DJ, that type of crack, do you know what I mean? Everyone's like, oh, of course you are, mate.

And then it actually took, sadly, like one of my friends passing away. He just died out the blue, had two thick. Do you know what I mean? And I think just basically he's took too many, like pain killers and two short of period of time by accident. Body's just shut down type of thing.

And that just gave me a massive kick up loss. It's that whole cliche that could happen to anyone. And I just was just like right the only way I'm going to kind of reach these goals which you want to, which you've set yourself in life type of thing, is by like learning to produce. Now I can't plan in some it and I think like that I just still know yeah, I've just like considered learning the piano because I'm really doing like pianos both and you can obviously pass it on in the keyboard and sit there with your MIDI keyboard but I find it easy just to draw in on Ailton on the piano roll what I want

to do and so I'll just loop certain like like one bar's two bars, four bars, whatever and start writing my patterns and messing around and fortunately I know what kind of works on the dance floor because I've been in that many nightclubs and I've got that much and stuff like that and I know exactly what I want to make for what time in the night and things like that and just went from there really. So your foundation is a club DJ playing like high volume. Yeah, a lot of nights, a lot of like time and attention. Yes, that has created a good base. Yeah, well that without without without I mean for DJing alone, some of the the nights are nice to when I work for you guys, I think I'll be daydaging for six hours from 10 to four whatever like that I

were five I was 10 to three or nine to three whatever it was and that is totally a lot what I need to know reading a crowd saying what's going on saying what to play doing your homework on making your like set sound different anybody else out there. You know what I mean? Like, homing in on certain areas and things. I mean, Newcastle has been a city where, predominantly it's been, when I've been around, it's been R&B pop music, which has been the big sound. But there was a huge surge of house music, that funky house stuff, which

comes to flue. Yeah, like the head candy style and everything like that, every day in town is playing that. And at that moment in time I was thinking, fuck, and I like this big competition out there. Because at one point I was literally the only DJ in town who was playing house music. So then you've got to kind of look at it and think, right, what's working. How can I get myself some promos? How can I make my set different to this and stuff like that. So that's when you start looking at making like a bootleg, a mashup type of thing, it's going from there. But yeah, like I would say without a doubt that the whole long set thing working for five, six hours is really home then or not on the day, the DJ and say the things and helped you,

like helped me become a lot better at it type of thing and reading a crowd more. Yeah, so there's a guy called James Smith, he's a famous online PT now. Yeah. And he talks a lot about the fact that he cut his teeth doing like 10,000 hours of on-floor PT. Right.

And he's now transitioned that and it is abilities that he's learned doing like the grunt work. Yeah. I've just normal everyday stuff and now he's distilled that down and it's kind of the same piece of stuff, right? Yeah. Of course, yeah. You know, if you've completed, tuk tuk palis on a Friday in the middle of December,

150 people in there. Like, what's creamfield's main stage? You know, I'm so exuberant. That doesn't have fire. Yeah, right so it is. So one of the things that you touched on there, which there's a few elements of your career that I absolutely love. And again, I've had this weird, voyeuristic ability to see it so close up, which is rare.

So I'm taking the opportunity to kind of indulge myself a little bit. One of the things I really enjoyed, although it's a fucking nightmare for me at the time as a promoter, is that you would never compromise your sets. No. And I don't want any DJs that are listening. If you don't play for me, follow that way. If you do play for me, do not fucking listen to him, please, it's a nightmare. But one of my favorite stories of ours is when we played in Ibiza, so we took out Ibiza twice. I think we should give you first ever getting spaced.

Do you remember what was there in the test? Yes, we did. And I walked off. I'm the client. That was the second time. So the terrace was when you finished. It was like the beach. It was like the beach.

It was the war room. Yeah, that was upstairs. And the terreza thing. Yeah. And then the second time we played a big bowl party and the after party was in Amnesia's terrace. Yes. In the main terrace. But the way that it worked, like typically anyone who's ever been to Ibiza, 10 o'clock at night in Ibiza is a ghost town. No one's at the cleaners and the like roady techs. But what happened was you had these 10 boats each filled with like

200 people. Yeah. And they'd all been steaming from 6 p.m. Rolls straight into the people and they'd all been steaming from 6pm, raw straightened at the club and they'd just fill this room. So very bizarrely your opening set was like a 2am, 3am, 4am, it had to really be hard hitting straight away. And anyway, I was like right, fine, had you and someone else and someone else lined up to play this thing. And this room starts filling up and filling up and I'm like sweet, he's playing this vibe, that's cool. And one of the guys comes over, the promote comes over and says, we're going to have to get into, to like, step it up a bit. I give you a note, you know, like, I, I find the way that you do when you do, you know, I find. I know how far I could push you as well after a couple

years of work. I was like, and then sure enough, like, three minutes later, because they're expecting like, you know, the big house, this was later because they're expecting like you know big house this is 2012 they're expecting that sweet shell smafer and stuff like yeah and they can move and it's like he's still not pushing enough and I was like right come back over and nudge you again same thing happens nudge you with third time and you were just like right fuck it the next guy can come on I don't I'm not bothered yeah and I was like that was probably first time an amnes I'm in Indonesia as well. It was one of the terrorists. 2,500 people losing their shit that all hammered like perfect crowd. And rather than you delve into you create somewhere

to pick out some bangers that you probably would have heard floating around so you could have played from back in the day, your thing was, no, I'll just walk off. And I'll just put someone else in. My favorite story. Yeah, and I'll just put someone else in. Yep, my favourite story. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's some stupid, but there's always a reason for it.

And I'm thinking of the future, I'm thinking of the bigger picture. Now, then we'll want to push it to, I don't know, say the BPM up to 132. I would have been at 122, 123. Do you know what I mean? So, the jump up there, you you got to remember that there's other Dayiers to come on who are the headliners of that club who will be coming on from say 12 in the morning now If they're stepping into the booth and the kid who's on before them this little unknown Shipbag is playing at 132 they're going to be like what the fuck is going on here? Yeah kick off

Come playing and they're going to come at you to tell you to slow it down. Do you know what I mean? And in my world, those are the guys who I want to meet. So if I always like start on a bad foot with them and then remember me for the kid who was playing too fast and was playing a load of shit, instead of playing a warm-up set for them, you're already going to be someone

who they don't really want to associate with. Do you know what I mean? And it was a brand new world out there to me what I was trying to get into. And I was just thinking, think about the like the long run. This is just a like a little warm up gig to a bunch of kids who are off the fucking head. Do you know what I mean? I remember you. Yeah. So I'm a, I'm a man. The guy come across me at the barns was like, look, I'm sorry for say, I said, look, you've got a club to run, but I've also got a career to start. And he bought me a shot myself,

guaranteed I'll be back to headline your club. And I think it was maybe the year after, the year after that, I've done it with the fact that, when you're back and you're still there, and I said, that's all you have to be back. Well, I'd just like, fully believed that that's what I would do, you know what I mean? And it's kind of that, like the whole belief in yourself

and I knew that was like the big picture and I knew that was my aim and I knew what I was going to be doing and I wouldn't jeopardize it by playing, fucking show me love or something like that. Would have went off. And I'm sure the kid who would come on after is that was your first song.

Like in the whole place going off and I, all right, I could have played that, but that, doing that could have also jeopardized Whatever the whole plans we could have fucked it up. I think I think Nathan Williams actually played a backstreet boys remix of deep house This I think that's when our left The privilege. Did you walk out of the booth? You walked out of the club?

That sounds like you played back to three boys, right? Yeah, like, so even going back, like, again, indulge yourself further about some good memories, do you remember when we went to Lane Seven for Michael's birthday and Pete Tong played your track on radio one and the evening, first time everyone, we were on your old BM?

Yeah. Man, like these sorts of things, like, is it even then, like, was that was that would that have been like maybe Pepsi or big H or something like that would have that been even before that time. That's sort of a good for us. Probably was good for us. I'll shout or something. Yeah. So what are the ones that started getting on the real first first real big track. Yeah. But this still at that stage, you were still like essentially like a local legend. Yeah, yeah. So how would you get from being a guy who once has Pete on play a track on a Friday? What happens between that point and flying around literally spending your life on planes, paying the biggest gigs on the plane? Your guess is as good as mine. I think a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time and I do think that with the right sound as well.

Yes, I mean, me sound has changed a lot since those days, but I've always known what I was doing and I was always making more of this progressive melodic sound and it wasn't really getting anywhere because it's such a niche market. So I realised that what I've got to do was kind of delve into the more techier stuff which is really bubbling, it's getting all the big crowds and whatever I'm starting to play. Maybe make a few hits and that to create a bass following and then start going slowly back to the melodic side and bringing them in. that was the whole kind of business plan type within that I had. It worked really well because it was a period where you were quite tightly turning the hots in 32.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I was, I still am a huge fan of daily and I ended up signing with the same manager as him and stuff like that. But again, they just didn't fully get the whole progressive vibe. And that's fair enough. You know, I don't know if they didn't enjoy it or what I don't know, but it was kind of like all of a sudden Eric stumbled across Katzi. Is that the song?

Yeah, and that was the last track on A Track, which I've done for daily, which is like this conceptual album project that we're done. And Eric would play that on his radio show. Was that his podcast? Yeah and I'd seen it, someone had said something so I'd seen it and I was in America at the time and I was actually meant to play LA and on the flight on the way over the gig got cancelled because the week before there was a fight in the club so I got there and the promo I said the gigs off so I had a few things to the promo I then flow off and I was telling off weeks late I was still in America playing my last show in

Chicago on the Saturday night and Eric was actually doing two like charity shows for a guy called James Lilo and Lilo who passed away and he was doing them at the club I was meant to be playing in LA. Now on the first one by all it comes, the guy who's on before played all the Eric's trucks. Just don't fucking do. So he was pissed off about that. This guy who manages the club's sound in LA contacted my manager at the time said, look does Chris want to fly back and warm up Ferric. We all know he's a big, I've got a red fan. So they ran and said, look, you've got to pay for your own flight across to LA from Chicago.

Then a new one home from LA, you've got to pay for your own accommodation. But you do get the warm up for your hero. I said, no, it is. I may never ever get that opportunity again. So when I cross played and I ended on Catsy, I need to turn around to Renny's two-am and I just said, for Fox's sake, I wanted to play this track and Renny was like, that's Chris. And then fuck you. So me and Eric started talking, Eric was like, get my number off Renny. We've got things to discuss about. And then the next day, the round up and said, like,

we wanted to play Epic 5. And then it just went from fucking zero to 100, like, over night. And I was like, what's going on? So like, what does it feel like? So because I don't think that we can really convey to the listeners just how big of a fan you were. Oh, a very crad still. Like, wasn't it, like you tell me a story like after part is your mate would take the piss out with you for talking about how fanboy you were about.

Oh yeah, completely. And back at those parties I started seeing things to wind them up like, saying, oh yeah, I'll play with Eric Pritz, you know what I mean? Like just to get them to bite when they were pissed, you know what I mean? Like shut up and like just like large banta type of thing. But yeah, I remember once we were at a party, I was sat there and I said, well anyone comes with cream fields and everyone was like, yeah, yeah, so I sat and bought four cream fields tickets. So the right, you come to cream fields tomorrow, fucking, we're going to watch Prairie's. That's all we're going to do when we're just driving down. I remember that.

You just threw him in there. Yeah, that's a little bit. So we're just studying these tent all day. What's Jeremy Orlando? You're his phone, may I join Coles? I remember that. Eric, come on, finish. Walk straight back to the Condra, straight back home. It was like, yeah, that had got rained off on the sun, the whole campsite

front of it, it was fucking pissing down there, freezing cold. We got Ross Walton drive, so he come down, had a few drinks in there, from about five or six in the night to stop drinking and just eight hot dogs all the way till it was like 11 at night and then we're like right more off by the otherical. Yeah, she has made time to try it but we had a good night. We're there. I mean I will follow him everywhere, everywhere. Everywhere I could I would go and see him and just constantly just like listen to his music non-stop, like non-stop, nothing else would ever ever. Does it still now? So I mean how long have you been working in collaboration with Eric now?

It's just over two years. Okay. When you get a text off him, because I think we were in, we were somewhere in Yekassal and you were like, I think he texted you. Yeah. What happens when you see the name Eric Pritz. Pop up on your phone, do you still go like, yeah, you get like, it's, we had butterfly feeling and at one point I think fuck me's just going to go right

I've had enough you're off of the jokes over me actually music shit Yeah, pretty much so and then others it's just like fucking L.I. I think actually Yeah, he's turned into one of my good friends type of thing on top of like working alongside him So it's more often than not, it's just stupid banter between us. Yeah. Cause like, I mean, we've been touring a hell of a lot together this summer. So he'll like say, if instance, we've just been up to Sweden, which was amazing to say him in his hometown of all his friends and everything like that. And I think it was a club mate. We played this place called F12.

And he's actually done a track called F12 and I've seen it, views with him and he says, like if any, if the last club you would ever want to play, they always say is F12, so I think this is going to be fucking this club. I expected to be small, like underground things like that. Mate, it steps outside of a building. That's what it is. That's the club.

It's the strangest fucking thing I've ever been in. We had it, so imagine like an old, trying to make a government building. Okay. So we were inside. There's a bar inside and a little club downstairs, but the DJ booth in there is like at the end of the bar. So I'm trying to think of a club in town, which is what I had that kind of same setup. It's just a pair of decks at the end of the ball so I'm trying to think of a club in town which used to what had that kind of same setup. It's just a pair of decks at the end of a ball so we were outside and literally honestly maybe there was a window there and there's some stairs leading up and you have to climb out and you climb out and you were in between people's legs so we're dancing on a windows sill, you have to tap them out the way, climb out with it, edge along the windowsill and jump into the day, J-Boof, to play in those just two sets of stairs

coming up and two sets of stairs I've heard, those bars at the top of the end of them. Just make our as probably said, our thought was about 200 people, right, but they were just like that, there was about 400, 500 there, but I was like, there must have been a cannon fuse still on that window so I was just people just standing there dancing on stairs and playing literally to stuff. I made an atmosphere that was unreal so we got hammered there and our food back to London to play London and then food back to Gothenburg, Metman Gothenburg and he just like drinking. So we played Gothenburg and at a great laugh there and he woke up the next day

and I think he was a bit hungover and he took a picture of the bar and he was going, can't stop, was it, can't stop won't stop or something like that and then he took a picture of them bar and I was just in hysterics and he's just keeps on, because I was laughing at him, he keeps on doing it whenever we've been playing a few games he'll take a picture and he's like, I need like a hair of the dog, that thing thing, and he gets to go again. And he's just cracked me up when he's a funny bus, that really is. That's awesome, man.

I mean, again, to see someone that I care about get to live their dream out with, you know, it's such a perfect storm, it seems to me. Like, I remember that in white rooms boot like that you did, a decade ago. And like it was mint, but you know, like to go from that from like just fucking about with stems and relics and tracks to this is a real testament to the way you were.

And again, to kind of for DJs or artists that are listening, one of the things that I think I've noticed that defines what you've done is you've always stuck to your guns with regards to what route you've been going in and you haven't compromised on that. And then the other thing has been you work right? Like I remember an obsessive level of sort of work even back in the day, like when you'd have gone with after party and then walking up the next day and if it was at yours, everyone still be downstairs party and but you'd be upstairs just cracking tracks and I'm still making tracks out of the same is it yeah I try and do at least one track a week and if I don't

or something with a track if I don't actually do a full track and if I don't I really get up myself and like say it myself like you're thrown a huge opportunity where you're being lazy type of thing, which I don't think is maybe the healthiest of attitudes to have, but it works for me and it gives us a kick up loss. Some of them are shith and I'll just be like alright it's fun and a bin, but I don't dwell on something for too long. I know a lot of producers out there, and I get sent hell of a lot of music, and I reply to every single person who sends us a truck,

which is also very time consuming. And- You also have got quite a bit of time on. I mean, that's what I say. That's what I say to them, like I say look, make sure it's a streamable link because when I'm sat in an airport, I've got nothing else to do

I travel on my own, I haven't got a tour manager I do everything on my own so what else am I gonna do? Do you know what I mean? Sit there and do fuck all to your own. Tender. Tender, tender, tender at the end. You can have fast enough a tender or something to do. You can have tender everywhere around you. And then once you've been everywhere once when you go back and it's like in your area again You can see you're mad. Yes, I've got absolutely no idea. I'll tend to work But I'll talk you after this I do, we'll do a tutorial after this one But now, yeah, so I get sent a lot mate and I go through everything and you know, like I try and

Tell everyone like because a lot of them are what would you change? What would you do? Like if I'm telling you what I would do it then starts becoming my track you know what I mean it's you've got to believe in yourself and you've got to do what you do and don't sit there because what ends up happening they're just through the kitchen sink I don't mind it's just you put too much input and it's that all saying less is more definitely a definitely a character characterisation of your music I think. Yeah. And certainly that more melodic sound, which you're right, there was that period where you had a little bit more sort of driving stuff.

Yeah. I guess you'd be able to do it the same. And but I knew there was always that bit in the back of your mind that was like you just wanted to get straight back into the melodies and those kind of like really ethereal kind of epic, like hands. What I'm trying to do at this moment is bridge them together. So I've got the drive. And I find some progressive too floaty. And it's just standing there and I know for a fact it's not what people are wanting at two in the morning. You know what I mean? It's just kind of like for a pull

party. Yeah exactly. Like through a day and stuff like, I love it. Drive around, listen to it all the time. If I haven't got heart A, he's got something like that. So you have to make a massive file. What the hell? What the hell? But I haven't got that on you know?

But like when I'm in a club, I want to hear something like, make you move. I like definitely make head down. And the melodic side of it is what capture the emotion. So when people are stood there and the breakdowns all this euphoric thing, you know what I mean, that's what's in you'll start seeing them with the highs closed and all it's like that's what you aim and they get and that's why people leave and they'll remember those records type of thing.

They're not going to remember something which has just got a soap boom base, like a soap base, like written in soap boom base, or a soap base type of thing, with a two minute snare roll, do you know what I mean, they're not going to remember that, you know what I mean, because everything just sounds the same, so you've got to kind of like make this really catchy melody or this huge breakdown. And that's what gives the experience to be sad as to be yourself. And that's what I want to hear when I'm on a dance floor. So you play for yourself, exactly. Just as well that you're not into like, like, scar punk or something like that, maybe playing some really terrible music. And out of all of the tracks that you've seen played live, what's the one that's made people get the most emotional yours or someone else's?

Any memories that come into mind in particular of periods where people have fully lost their shit? I dropped spectra's remix of mystery, mystery land which is on Kevin and Perry and it's like an old trans track and stunning and this is like a proper techno version of it and I've seen some people like fuck because I think it just reminds them of Kevin and Perry that's always the one which hits home. I hope this must do. Yeah, I. It does make it really does you see, I've seen someone actually get down and get engaged,

that cream feels like. Oh my gosh. I'm serious mate, I was like, I don't know if it's it is that hard. This song's gonna last 10 minutes mate, that engagement's for the rest of your life. I don't know mate. Mace you'll do some crackers, you know what I mean?

Like that under the sheets, I always get to people go and when you just drop that last track of the night. Yeah. But I think that's more aim towards the couples, as if they like get home with just like sex in a truck, really. And it's unbelievable that record one quality. So you mentioned that you don't have a tour manager. No, actually, what's the reason for that?

And I'm not in desperate need for one. Well, I've haven't been till recently. And now, the longer they are, the more you actually need that human interaction. Because how much is a tour manager friend that's just there with you? Is that a significant part of the whole?

Just to be comprehensive? Yeah. I mean, the whole idea of a tour manager, someone who deals with your flights, or, they'll deal with your flights, they'll deal with any complications with the flights delays, like cancellations, anything like that, they'll deal with the driver picking you up, they'll drive like they'll deal with all the hotels, like checking in, checking out things like that, they'll deal with the promoters, so you are just fully in the music game, that's all you're just thinking of, about you set what

you're going to play and things like that Even when you get to the club, it's two a month and we'll go up to the decks and queue everything up with you USB You don't tell them what track you're going to start with. That's what I've seen Them do type of things so that's what I'm guessing is their job. It's not something I've really looked into I've got a bunch of friends who want to do it Trusting them to do it is a comp. That's like the question. I was gonna say, I know some of your friends, mate.

Exactly. I don't know. I mean, either. One of the whole issue is, I don't know how much I would trust us two together. You know what I mean? So I know, just being a man. I'll be, I'll be employing like someone to compote you with us. That's what I would essentially be doing because none of them are like

Massively clued up in the music world, which is fair enough. I don't expect them to be It would be the company that I'm paying for now That's when you're asking how much that is just something between you and them I guess you can set up and give them a salary and out of that them I've got to get their own travel. Are you giving them certain amount per tour and you just employ them per tours? I think there's a lot of different ways you can work with a tour manager.

I've seen people just use them for certain areas of the world. Like Pat McScott Morgan, Morgan Benniss. And I think he actually started off just like the long ones that weren't over in America, but by all the times I'm sure he's doing a lot of them with him now. You've got to be with someone who you get on with because you're basically living in each other's pockets apart from when you're in the hotel room. Now that's another reason why I want to sit in a hotel room on my own. It's like a real issue of going out and getting out. And if you've been partying and you've been drinking

and you've got late nights, it becomes harder to leave the room even if it's just a go to the gym or downstairs to the restaurant. Wow, so it's just kind of, I've got late nights, it becomes harder to leave the room even if it's just to go to the gym or downstairs to the restaurant. Wow, so it's just kind of, I've got this thing and I've always had it where it's like a self-confidence thing which is quite strange in the job that I do, but you think that everyone's staring at you and like you're sitting down on your own and you think that everyone's talking about you and you go on to the gym on your own and you think so you go shopping and things like that. So if it gets to a point where I'm not feeling mentally strong, I'll just use like room service and just sit in the room.

And I'm not going to be into it. And then once you've done that for two days and you just locked in, like essentially those walls and then you go on through security and then airport and want to play and then back to another hotel and then the only time you leave in it is to go and get pissed while you're daydying type of thing. It then becomes really weird, like situation type of thing.

If you were with someone you'd be like, how are we, let's go out and we'll go, go and manage the shops or we'll go out for some food or something like that. And you've got each other to divide off and you don't realise you're surroundings as much. One thing I've been thinking of recently, so I spend a lot of time on my own as well. And I think that as humans we desire a conversation, we desire not conversation, we desire a dialogue with an interaction with other people, other things. And one of the things that I've thought of recently is is if you're not around with the people I think the dialogue begins to just continue inside of your head. Oh yeah, and I certainly feel when I spend too much time in solitude

that that inner dialogue starts to turn up like the loud start to completely completely. I mean I've always talked to myself to be honest with you. But I know exactly what you mean. I live alone, I travel alone. So it is alone, you life out there. And I don't think people realize that side of it,

because they'll just look on and they'll think, oh, he's flying around the world, he gets to see everywhere. You see nothing, because you're getting somewhere and you'll get some food. You're trying to get an hour of sleep, because you know you're going to be day-jent till 4-5 in the morning. More than like you're on after partying day-jent there till 9-10 in the morning, then you think shit, I've got a flight in an hour or two, so you've got to get back to the hotel, pat your suitcase straight on, so no sleep, you're grabbing hour on the flight, you'll get into somewhere, you'll meet the promoter, you'll organise in there, you'll get another hour in bed, you've got to get up, you'll

sort your music and then you'll have the next one. And when that's four or five days in a room, it's hard to keep control of your mind and your thoughts and stuff like that. And it's just, it can't get away from you, but it's not all as glamorous as everyone thinks it is, you know what I mean? But there'll be people out there that'll be like, well, you don't need to go I'r glamrys, as ymwch chi'n ei'r gweithio. Mae'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r

gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r want to meet you in the one of coming party with you and the one I get to know you and you get interested inside of their lives and what it's like where you are. You know like an Argentina or Chile or Brazil or Colombia or whatever like that is completely different way of life down there. It's it isn't restant to see how they're going and down especially down that side of the world like music is there release from their life type of thing. You know what I mean? It's the abs that they're coming to thousands to gigs and everything sold out and they're just completely the smartest crowd in the world. It's unbelievable down there. Honestly, like, I keep on coming back and convincing myself that I'm going to end up buying somewhere in Argentina and just having a house down there. But when you get there and you're playing in the winter down there and

fucking hell, it's absolutely freezing. It's maybe used to it from being up here. Yeah. Oh, I, so you've touched on there the fact that D-Gyn's maybe not as glamorous as everyone thinks it's maybe not quite as rosy. And we see, was it last year that we had Tim Bogg, Abichy past the year before? Last year, wasn't it? Yeah, I think it's been his one year anniversary this year, I don't know. It was last year I'm sure, because my two months at my I tend to regard Rene as two erics two months at Rene, he's worked with Tim in the past and I know Erics was good friends with him and stuff like that and I'm sure I'll run them last year was to see if they had seen type of thing. I think when people saw the Avicii aftermath, one of the main things that came out was the same one as when Robin Williams passed away, which is you have someone who appears to

have everything going on, they have their shit together, they have a life that most people dream of, etc, etc. But look, this is what can happen. And as tragic as it is, one thing that I do think is a positive that can be taken from those situations is that normal people who deal with levels of anxiety or depression or dark days and dark thoughts, they get recented on the factor I hang on. If this guy is a world famous DJ, he was making millions, selling millions of records known around the world, all this stuff, if he can feel depressed in his situation in that life, it makes you feel more justified a little bit in the way that you feel. So do you think in the DJ community that depression and mental health is something that should be looked

after a little bit? Completely. Yeah. I mean, I don't know that much on the matter, and I've never watched the whole documentary, but by all accounts, Tim's manager was meant to be a bit of a pushy guy. I've never seen it. No, I'm just what I've seen and stuff like that. So I can't really comment on that, but I do

think the whole mental health and I do think it's now like coming to like the front of things. You see a lot of articles. I'm in DJ Mag, Mix Mag. I've done a lot of spreads on on the whole mental health issues within the industry. I know Luciano was really bad, my Rillow was really bad. I mean, even at the start of the year, wasn't that I'd hit some sort of depression or anything like that, but I felt like I was losing my mind because I'd came back from tour and I just couldn't adjust back to normality. It wasn't like normal life, I just couldn't get around the jet lag. I do suffer quite bad with it.

So you're talking three, four days with absolutely no sleep whatsoever. And I would remember, I was sat there watching like the shopping channel because that's all that's on at five in the morning. And so I'm sat there and there's just different things coming on and I'm sat going. The general I use on my hair is shit, right?

Right, okay. And I'm sat ordering things off Ebay that are popping up like different like feather dust dusters and all that for the house, right? And honestly, right, I'll go through it all and I went out of the house because the me gel was shit, right? And I went to Azda, this is at like five in the morning, sat on the floor and Azda and the hair product, I'll try and I'll every foot,

and honestly, let me hair was glad he was foot, right? And so then I got up, walked off, didn't know I was there, went and picked up 84 dishwasher tablets and I massively, like, big bit of air broccoli and checked out, right? So very the staff had been watching me the most effort he is out his mind. So I got out and I was like, what the fuck am I doing with this? So go home I was telling all the lads who are like in hysterics, I started ordering dream catches and stuff like that, I'm like nodding to that shit whatsoever.

And I remember speaking with one of the lads, Malie, and you know when your order of A-Bate comes onto your calendar and your iPhone, all the products were to come in and they scrolled down those over a hundred stuff on order coming and honestly make that like my poor chair with me house was just full of stuff getting posted through from A-Bate and I was like what the fuck am I ordering? I was holding like t-shirts and stuff like that was the most normal stuff but I must have just been guessing sizes because they were like, what are boot shoes? I was like, starting to lose it a bit and I was going on like nighttime drives and like this voice in my head started coming more and more and it was kind of like the only way you're going to go to sleep is by smashing your can't that lorry across there or things

like that and that's when I started f** fuck and hell, like there's something wrong. So I spoke to my mom, went to the doctors and the doctors said, like, look, what's kind of the sleep deprivation is kind of making you go a bit delusional type of thing. So they put me on some sleeping tablets, which actually had an antidepressant built into it. And that makes your crush before it brings you back up, so I'm feeling loads up and then I had like some anti-psychotic drug as well to try and condense the voices. And I was on them for a couple of months and I remember I was in Miami and March. And you're still trying to take them when you're on tour because your body's kind of become used to them. And on tour you hit that many different time zones

like you don't know if you've taken one day or not type of thing. And I just remember, it's up my eye. And I was like, I don't need them whatsoever. And I'll just train my mind to look, you're jet lagged. You know what I mean? Just sit and deal with it. Get some sleep when you can't sleep.

And like, Renny and all I'm coached me through that, you've got to learn to sleep when your body's telling you to sleep type of thing. If you're up all night, then you're up all night. You don't, because you know what I'm saying? If you can't sleep and you're sitting there, and you're telling yourself, or have only got an hour before start work,

you're not going to sleep in that hour, because you're going to tell yourself for that whole hour that you've got to go to sleep in the hour. And then like you shut your eyes and you're like, oh, I'm going to sleep in for work. And it all just gets on top of you. But on top of that in the danger world, I mean everyone out there knows how much drugs is kicking about in the danger world and how many dangers are actually involved in it

and stuff like that. And that's what they want to do then let them do it type of thing. But of course that whole come down area is going to mess with people's mind. Alcohol is a depressant as it is. There's so much free alcohol when you dig out every single part whether you're playing them or not, you know what I mean? I could go and see you dig, for instance, like on Saturday, Denny's playing Cosmic, I'm already speaking on Twitter earlier on, I might pop down and say him, Ben Nikki's up next week, I don't even, I'm not into his music,

no, I don't like it, it's just not my thing. He's already right, we're gonna get absolutely, I'm gonna say, he's got a reputation. Yeah, he loves it, he's a great kid, but like you'll go to their gigs and it's all free, alcohol, less, so you're gonna guzzle it all because it's free, you know what I mean? So once it gets on that and then you're rolling, the days your mind just starts going and it's good to see that people are picking up o'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod i'r gwybod millions across the year. You know what I mean? We've loads of money, loads of free things, and they just get thrown around and of course that they're going to get involved in this

world that is essentially going to really mess with the head type of thing, you know what I mean? And even go to a gig and play in front of, even if you play in front of a few hundred people, go back to your hotel room on your own. You crash mate massively, because you've been so high, everyone's been there loving it, you're doing your thing, you're loving the music that you're playing, everyone out there's really enjoying it, you leave so happy that you want to sit there and talk about it and then you go back to a lonely hotel room and it's just pitch black with no music on and it takes a while, I mean even though I've just worked and in bars, people who work behind the ball will take and I will retook the show down when they get in

with the music's been blasting all night, just the needs at time for the brain to switch off. So when you've been like the one who's creating that atmosphere, you're so happy, but then you've got no one to talk about it. And you just like, oh, I'm back on my own again. You know what I mean? And then you've got to pick yourself up

to go out the next day to be like, oh, this is going to be amazing. And it's just constant peaks and troughs. And it's just hard to keep on top of our times, you know what I mean? And I think like the whole Luciano thing, he was saying that he got massively involved in drugs and things like that. And that's probably the main antagonist of it all. But yeah, I'm glad to see that it is like, there's a lot of attention getting paid on it, but I don't think it's just needs to be spoke about within the day, day, day, world. I think it's the world over.

I think people need to understand that this is, it's a major thing going on in everybody, do you know what I mean? Well, even though other people might not be doing flights around the world and playing a DJ gig and then coming back to be on their own, there's people who might live with a partner that the relationships degenerate in or they might be in a, you know, someone, a young person who doesn't get on with their parents or has a dysfunctional household or someone who does live on their own, the same mechanism that you're talking about, which is impacting on DJs, which is maybe being catalyzed by high highs

and then some substances and other things as well. So that's the same mechanism. It's that same module in the back of our minds, humans desire connection, but health, wealth and happiness. Without all of those things working in harmony, you end up with a dysfunctional human. Oh, that would help me. And I speak to a lot of people, and all like, you know, like some of the lads and things like that,

and they'll call like, oh, you've got a mint life, and I'm in a non-happy job and stuff like that. I try and encourage them just like if you aren't happy in life Then leave it, you know, I mean you can't put a price on happiness So if you're like not leave life like leave your job type of thing or something like that You know like you've got to figure out what it is bring it bringing you down whether it's a Relationship that you in your job or whatever like that, the area that you're living in, you know what I mean? It can all be sorted if you just sit there and kind of figure out a plan of what you're going to do, but a lot of people just, they don't,

they don't want to like, challenge it. I mean, that's talking from experience with my friends, type of thing, they just want to, and they rather sit back and and accept what's going on. I'm just like you're going to look back and regret it, you know what I mean you're really all but I mean there's nothing that can't be solved and I'm at a true believer in that like if the comment speak to me and things like that you know like we can sit there and we can talk about it and we can get through everything that is causing an issue with them. And you know, like a lot of it is just like the jobs, the lives and things like that. But I also tell them that what you're looking at when I'm posting things on Instagram, Twitter or whatever like that is a load of fucking shit. Do you know what I mean?

It's to give off that you are living this amazing life and you're not. And I'm like on the phone, he's all the time saying I'm bored out my mind in like as I say, Colombia, Orlando, LA or something like that, you know what I mean, waiting to be picked up, you know, I'm sat here on my own type of thing, it's not like look at me, I'm playing in front of this amount of people type of thing, that's just two hours of that one day type of thing. You're a selfie of you on your own in the hotel. You're not giving it a dark. You're not giving it a selfie of you anywhere.

You're in a selfie guy. But like, and I think that is, it's a major thing with the whole of society that do believe that what these people are posting on social media is their actual life, and it's not. Well, the problem is that there's an asymmetry between what we see of other people and what we know of ourselves. Yeah.

So I get to see the best of everybody else's life while I watch mine unfold from a front row seat that gets to see all of my blenders, all of them. The that time that you tried to chat up the waitress and you looked silly and that time that you Like didn't think that you looked very like cool when you stepped out of the door or that time where you didn't feel very confident When whatever like all of those things Everybody that is listening has a front row seat to you watch it through your own eyes

Whether you want to or not. Yeah, however everybody else you get this curated, very polished, very embellished social media fee. And the problem is that we forget that everybody else is just as idiotic and just as stupid and just as insecure as we are. Everybody is. Everyone, as Alan DeBotten calls it, everybody is eternally flawed. Yeah. And that is human nature. It is the beautiful part of human nature because it is the one thing that makes us all the same.

It's the fact that all of us are fairly messed up in one way or another. We all have our demons that we need to bear. Some people have some that are really bad and some people you know, unfortunately haven't. But everyone should be, everyone should be sympathetic and empathetic to the rest of humanity because we're all carrying these sorts of kisses, right? Fully agreed. Yeah. I don't know. I think it's interesting to hear the stories of someone who is in this world and from the outside looking in, obviously it's such an aspiration. This is what? Thousands, probably tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of DJs around the world.

That's what they want. They want that life in the road. Of course. But if they saw the reality of what they want, they want to actually consist of, is that what they want? I always say, like, to a lot of the lads that there's no chance that they could do it. A couple of them have came away for a weekend in turn on. So there's absolutely no chance I could do your job, like not

whatsoever. You tell them the root and you tell them, as I was saying earlier, when I flew from Columbia and I got up on the Thursday morning, and you from the Thursday morning, and I wasn't getting to bed until I got asleep at night and I put a bed, when I say getting a bed, obviously you're picking up a couple hours on a six hour flight at Rumsville, South America, but you weren't getting to bed,

probably overnight until the Monday night in the Bootha. So, I know that they were behind time, but that's from the Thursday morning, stepping out of bed, that that was the last time you were sleeping overnight in a bed comfortable until the Monday night. And you tell that to your parents and they're just like, no, just, you can keep your job.

I need my night hours. Yeah, exactly. So I mean, people don't see that. People just honestly just see you playing in front of X amount of people, a track that you've really is doing well or whatever like that. And the look at that side of things, you know what I mean? And a lot of people, and I don't even like the word, it's like the look at the fame side of things, do you know what I mean?

And I don't like it because this isn't what, like that's not what I do the job for. I don't class myself as famous. Never once thought I am, never, ever will type a thing. I just am a dafflaher from Newcastle who's been lucky enough to follow his dream and is living out his dream type of thing and does a job that he wants to do. And I keep telling myself that because 99% of the population doesn't get to do that, you know what I mean, they're stopping a job that they don't want to do. You know what I mean, I've just been lucky enough to do what I want to do.

And it's just, it's allowing me to see the world, it's allowing me to do this, but the people who want to do that don't actually understand like the hard work that goes into it, like my nephew, he's really talented when it comes to music and he's like I want to do this I want to and I've said I'll teach out the day Jets not a problem mate you know what I mean but the part that you can't teach is like being strong to to make sure you get up for the flight in the morning to make sure you're not missing it, to make sure that you are hitting every single gig and smashing them type of thing, to make sure you are on point to everyone you're not coming across as ignorant or arrogant or anything like that. When really it is you're just a

bit tired or you're a bit down or something like that because you've been away from your family and friends for the past six weeks type of thing and no one sees that side of it And I don't think you can teach people that either the only thing that you can actually do is probably take them on two or people which is just Gonna cost money, you know, yeah, I'm not Do you think that there is a Balanced way to do DJ to her life? Do you think there. Yeah, so it's not a lost cause. No, not at all. I mean, I know a lot of DJs, Patrick goes T-Total for a while, Camel Fackle T-Total for a while, Eric goes T-Total for a while, Luciano does Marillo, like

the all. And I think what you need is your needs maybe that one time way you just completely are like ran down into the ground. Do you think that your hair products and broccoli story might be that? Maybe, but it's a little worse than that. If there's a lower, lower than sat in the middle of aster with broccoli and hair products, I really fear for you. The thing is though, I don't know if I could ever go to a total, not because I love the drink too much. I need drink to get in the vibe. Yeah, not to get on stage to get in that booth. Okay.

I need a drink because I do suffer really badly with nerves. So I need that and it's a bit of Dutch courage. I sometimes upgrade gigs and like I'm being sick like seconds before going on stage type of thing because of the nerves or too much. And if you watch like there's anyone who's close to me like understand what I'm saying. If you could see my hand I'm like that trying to put the US being and then I'll stand there and I'll cough never ever get a cough. I don't smoke never had a cigarette in me life. So like for me to have a cough, I only really have a good after, I have a cold or a flu which I only get them after to this type of thing.

So I'm studying, I start coughing, made gagan things like that because I'm nervous and you'll see is looking around and like my ex-girlfriend was saying that she would always look and you'll see his look around and like my ex-girlfriend was saying that she would always look and you could, she said I knew when you were getting nervous, I knew when you started to panic because you look around the crowd and I look for someone who I know just to look back and give me some sort of like reassurance, I was always looking for her, she said I used to like be like he needs to see his, this was just a little dart like that. We're even about to see this type of thing. And she's right, yeah, you don't need that. And that's why I don't think I could ever stop fully drinking.

But yeah, there is that area where you can just just drink moderately. There's a lot of that. Yeah, maybe you have a month off a few weeks on type of thing. Time off is perfect, it's perfect. I mean, nearly every day, Jay produces now, so they need that time off to write the music. In that time off, like what I do is hammer the gym,

so I get in the routine. I find the gym is great for my mental, and it's great for the product, like productivity type of thing. And it just makes me, just, I'm not talking about, you know about what a lot more than me, it just, I'm not talking about you know about it a lot more than me it releases all the endorphins and stuff like that. It just makes me feel really good about myself type of thing. Dragging yourself there is the whole of this thing. Yeah, I mean

at the start this week it's been my first week and six weeks and obviously I don't want to go but luckily enough I train my one of my best mates and so we go and he's like just come along a trwy'n gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gweld gw And then you bring this and you just be the healthiest version that you can be and you go away on tour. And if I run myself into the ground, I run myself into the ground. Sven Wuffs, like, by all accounts, I've never met Sven. But he's meant to hammer it for 11 months. And then for one month, for two month, the start of the year goes away to Switzerland. It will retreat, sits on a drip. Transfusion.

You know something? An entire blood transfusion and gets all this. Yeah,'s cleaned. I would say Solomon does it because that bloke is a machine. Is he a saffron? Who's the hardest part here in all the DJ? Um, other than Christoph. I'll just be laughing with Dave from Kamenfight just before came in.

You know, about Barlow from James Barlow from Salardo. Okay. He hits a hard, just one of his own. It always looks like Paul Fisher does. But he's quite switched on me. Easy clever, easy clever guy. He switched on me. Anybody who is not following Fisher on Instagram

or Snapchat, I don't know if you just Snapchat as well. His Instagram stories are a crease for me. Oh my God. But I would probably say, it's people that hit it hard. Solomon has to, man. Why? It goes forever after foys. Not seeing that video of him,

Dejan on someone's ironing board in the middle of a kitchen in Melbourne. No, mate. Is there for like 11 or 12 hours, man? On the side of my mouth. Like, it's just mental man. What about those Italian DJs like Danny Tanagli or people like that play like,

like the monster. I'm Chuck Cup, he's just brought the record for it over in Romania. I think it was like that sunrise festival. Right. Which is a savage day's long set. 36 or so, I was at 28 or something like that So it's like for a solo set something ridiculous to savage, but by all accounts You stood there and he's eating pasta. Well, he's deep

And I know like when Martinez brothers and all like them do a massive monster thing in my army every year And then get pizza delivered to the club and stuff like that so the the studying the DJ and we're eating pizza and stuff like that. That's a good cut. I think it's good. I don't know. I'd like really into all that. Like I follow like people who do massive long sets because I know for what you've been back up mine.

I've probably broke some of them sat in the links. Some of them were to sat in my studio and then you're gentle. Some day from the Friday or something like that. But I just don't realize what day it is when I took the curtains. Yeah, more like you're just cracking on. Yeah. Interesting what you said about the fact that the balance that you can get comes from some very basic things, right? So you talk about making sure you sleep's right, you're nutrition,

having some sort of exercise, having some sort of routine, having some sort of sleep and wake cycle. And I was discussing this in Dusseldorf yesterday with big group of people in the sales floor, and they've got this really highly charged sales floor, very, very high pressure. A lot of them are saying they're struggling to turn off when they go home, and downstream from that, some of them were maybe feeling a little bit down and they had some some twinge of depression and anxiety and stuff like that. And I was like, you would be so surprised to find out how the strongest, most capable people on the planet can get absolutely annihilated by bad diet messed up sleep and not enough sunlight. Yeah.

I like it. It's not, I think because of the way that social media that mental health originally was a little bit stigmatized. Now there is this, it's okay to talk campaign and stuff like that, which is going on, which half of me likes, half of me likes the fact that there is a social campaign which encourages people to openly discuss mental health problems. The other half of me feels like campaigns like that

draw attention to it in a way which still highlights that it is a stigma, like by saying, it's okay to talk. It's like, you'm gonna just talk, like I ask you what you add for breakfast. You don't think, oh, should I talk about what I actually add for breakfast for? Should I say that I have some at else? Yeah.

Part of, and obviously it's a lot more difficult for us to mandate the fact that, like how do you say, everybody just be cool with the fact that some people have down like periods where they feel a bit sad. That's quite difficult to actually advertise, right? So you need to okay to talk thing. I do get in a do make sense. But if the strongest people, the best performers on the planet can get taken down by poor food, poor sleep, poor training, poor nutrition, of course you can as well. And what happens is you manage to simulate or bring on some sort of psychosis through jet lag

and some South American food and a bit of DJing and some beers. Like if that's happening to you, like look at someone who's not managed to get themselves out of bed or have a good sleep and wake cycle for a couple of months. Yeah. And doesn't have any friends, doesn't have any real sort of connection and things like that. Like, of course, that's going to take them down, of course, from it. But the thing that I think is liberating about this discussion, and there's a great book, which is called, um, it's by, I called, Jo Han Haari called Lost Connection. Right. And uh, Jo Han's going to come on.

Eventually, I've said this to the listeners, oh my, I have said this for 18 months, but I promise you I'm going to get him a years sin in my Instagram inbox. Lost connections and he identifies a whole bunch of different causes of depression, right, that are environmental, not biological. And in those, so many of them are fixable. It's like make sure that you get some sunlight, make sure that you see some nature, make sure that you've got someone to talk to, make sure you've got some work that's meaningful, that you eat right, that you deal with any childhood trauma. And you know, like, none of these, I thought it was this problem that was mine to bear, that it's like this very unique curse that was bestowed on me and it's this problem which

only I have. And then you look back and you're like, hang'm going to second, I had fast food for a week and I got four hours sleep at a time, maximum. Yeah. Might have been that. Yeah. Might not have been, I'm weird. There's something dysfunctional or wrong with me. It might just be that I'm not giving myself the foundation to then have a normal productive functional life off the top of. Yeah. It sounds like DJing on the road is a little bit like the perfect storm to create that completely really, really is. I mean, as I say, traveling on your own is not going to help whatsoever.

You know what I mean? Just even just going through security day after day and airport. You're sick of it. It's just like, do you ever sometimes think that you might not go through the scanner so that they'll do a reckless unjust so you get a bit of healing contact? I don't know, I've just got a face with sensors through it. I've just got a face with senses. I mean, it's, I've got a waiver on my visa for America. So I've got to go through secondary immigration there. It just takes ages getting into the country and then he sat there. An old dad sound, I'll really sound.

Then some of them want to go through the suitcase. They'll pull everything out. Then they just leave it for you to pack it. And it's kind of like, if that person isn't friendly, whether you're going through security off through secondary immigration, it pisses you off from day one. Do you know what I mean? Say that to him. Yeah. But look, and that can really aid to the way you're feeling and things like that, then you'll get on a plane and the plane food will be shit. You'll sit there and you're getting through the whole day just like this is just a fucking way. Do you always fly in

like good class? Like the long distance ones are nice. Nice class. Yeah, long distance. And we do try and get for the shorter ones to get in it if there isn't like a business class area such we do try and get like emergency exit just because I've got a bad lower back When my good friends is about you have a fair being on planes all this much one Yeah, when my good friends the chiropractor just basically on the corner and He's kind of he's helped a lot but he says I need to work on it a lot But because you're not here for a good length of time it's pretty hard because every work that I'm doing is just resetting itself. Yeah so he's kind

of like you need to get his much space. I mean if you think about what you've stored bending over dangerous acts. Yeah well I've got a guy that listeners will know Dr. Stuart McGill who's the world's world leading expert on backpaint. Right. Now it's going to seem in Canada. You've got it world leading expert on back pain. Now it's going to seem in Canada. You've got to fix George Simpier for the future. You have to use NFL NHL, NBA, MMA, everything. Best guys on the planet. I'll put you in touch.

You'd love to work with him. He's a hero. Yeah, that's what. And but yeah, these sort of little physiological psychological effects. And you're like, oh, you're just going on a plane for a bit. It's like, well, yeah, fine. That's great in a normal person's world, like mine, where I, yesterday I got, I went

to Düsseldorf and back in a day, which is the only thing, weirdly enough, day before we do this, the only thing that I can actually kind of start to link in with what you do. So it's four flights, but there were 45 minutes each. And there was a little bit of moving around and going through connections and stuff like that. And even that was like this is fucking shit. Yeah. Do you have you got like airplane hacks or like have you got your favorite way of going through airports or have you got your favorite areas and airports that you always go to? Luckily enough for you fly and

Like that much, you do get cards for the lunges. Like my Amix cards, which is a business card can get us a lot of priority lunges. I'm a gold memor B so that can get us any B lounge which is kicking around. Who's collecting your air miles? You. There's somewhere. I've got them all on the B A app somewhere. You'll be able to buy a house.

I mean, I honestly do not understand how they work. I mean, I don't, honestly, me brother and loan, he's got loads on B.A. and he keeps, he's like, oh yeah, I got that hotel on, I've got that flight on the, on the miles on the, I don't understand it. Just seeing with the hammock, you're inserting and navigating the globe. Yeah. Yeah. One monthly basis. So, like, what were the, were the words saying about the MX ones is I've got a call up and say look so kind of if I was to take someone, say on that the next long tour, yeah, I could like ring MX and say can you give me a price using points type of thing on this flight, on these flights type of thing and see what can come up but I really don't know how it all works man. I really don't know. I'm not interested in finding out all along the sea.

So you're getting, you've managed to make flying as comfortable as you can though I'm going to guess. Yeah. I mean system, tools about this game on iPhones, it's called woodblock or something like that. It's kind of like Tetris. Okay. But like harder. Okay. And it winds me up so I'm sat there and before I know it, I'm like three Tetris, but like Hora,

and it winds me up so it's rotten. So I'm sat there and before I know it, I'm like three hours deep into a flight, I'm just playing this game, honestly, the vet, you've gotten like really charged your phone or I've got a carry on case, which has got it like one of them, like battery, like built into a type thing

which you can take out like the lithium battery. So I'll sit and have that fully charged. I'll be phone fully charged and go on the plane. And they'll just tap that up there. And there's that strike hero as well, which is kind of like you know a football and you've just got to like draw the path of the ball on the thing. And I was sitting there obsessed with it. I'll get in there like for four, five hours.

If you're flying around America a lot of the planes have got Wi-Fi on O like TVs in the selections brilliant, really is across there. You've never tried to try and produce on the plane? I do a lot, if I've got good space, but a lot of the time, if you're in the business area at sound, you know what I mean, you've got your own area to sit and put the laptop on, but if you're putting it on the table and because if you've got it on your sound, you know what I mean, you've got your own area to sit and put the laptop on, but if you're putting it on the table and front you because if you've got it on your lap, you're looking like that, your next pulling, it's killing you straight away, so you're putting it on the table and no matter who you are, the person in front of you must get

like a six cents to put the seat back as soon as you put a laptop on there, but it puts a back, now he slams it down, so he's trying to produce like that. So when I'm on the road, I do more of it in a hotel room than I do on the plane. And I'll just sit much more than family. Netflix is now a thing that way you can sit much on there. So I'm trying to get into that mind-hunter and stuff like that on there. Yeah, it's really, really good. New series of top boys coming out at the moment as well. You have seen that, I've never watched any of them,

but it's been good. I've just been told one, I've just watched the first episode, this is on the BBC One, it's called, it's about the soldier who's killed someone, like a Taliban. Okay. And he got put in jail for it because he said it was like in cold blood,

but then he's just been laid out and I've just watched the first one in. Real sorry. No, no. And he's kind of just got with his barista and then his barista has been assaulted and the police have seen it. It looks like really cool sort of... I can't remember what it's called.

It looks like a really, really good one. Like another one where you've got to think. If you end up finding, I don't know, become like a Star Trek fan. Yeah. If there was ever a day, I don't think you're fairly safe from this being the case. But if you ever got really into sci-fi and you didn't speak to anyone except for DJ

for like a couple of weeks, you're turning to like a proper Comic-Con like Star Trek and you're something. I'll be worried. Honestly, that is. I'm back in think you were a clean-up. Yeah. That's strange, I think, the one that gets me on.

Oh, yeah. I've like finished the third series and I took me a while to get through it with all the travelling. The first two series I watched within a day, the thing I watched the first one, just all off and set them on as soon as I got released, I sat in. And I remember we had an X-Grayal film sat there and this Irish-latted flown across to watch me play, I think it was Sasha. And he came on his own and he tweeted saying that he's across watch me play, I think it was Sasha and he came on

his own and he tweeted saying that he's across on his own, I was like I'm not letting you stay in this like my city on your own. So I drove to his hotel, picked him up, took him up for food with me and the promoters and all that beforehand, he sat there like this, had a backstage with all the lads, took him back to mine for an after party, then just said he can stay here. So he sat up and stuff like that and then the next day he was meant to get on the fight I was like get the later one we sat and watch stranger things got like dominoes and he was just sat there like that all through the day then I ran him up to the airport and he's became like a really good friend he does a lot of work from the socials and up now. One unbelievable story. So yeah he's a lovely kid I was just like you're not

sitting in your castle on your own mate if you've over on your own, I want to make sure you have the best like your best time here But yeah, it took me a while to get through the third series, but as soon as it finishes once straight the studio Vote three tracks just like that did you the inspiration it gives me is just it's just really strange It's strange you things quite sort of it's the key and yeah But it's the tension in those scenes with 11 in that, the mind-flair thing. And I just sit there and it just, you can just create like some mad stuff in your head, right? I know exactly what I'm going to go and do.

Yeah. And you make or get all those darker sounds and stuff like that. And then off you go. Have you got any restriction now? So obviously, one of the things, first off, I don't know what I would want to make. But secondly, if I did, I couldn't make it. Is there any restriction now from what is in your mind to what comes out of the speakers or what goes into the stand?

So you can make whatever the sound is you want. Like we've actually been out and like left on a night out or for instance we've all been backing all the lads like how about we'll write something in the studio and I'm like I'm sick of writing like house techno vibes do you know what I mean I want to I'll write something different and I was just I said the one of the kids I was just like what's big at the minute and one of the lads who was out with was like odd Drake so I had to listen to one of Drake's tracks and I was just like right give us 10 minutes

and sat there and had a drum up straight away, go, and I was just like, the bass lines are piss easy. Sat there, that one had this loop going and like, fucking, like, fucking, just dissecting. Yeah, Drake's track. I was like, well, I was so, you go on and you can buy like silly little hip hop vocals and things like that off.

So I had it and we've like created this three and a half minute hip hop track. Then we all got it to the cause and stuff. I'll sit there and I'll write like damn tempo stuff So I remember put something on a on my Facebook a while ago and There's a producer from down Liverpool. He popped up and said there's a pop producer dying to get out of you I'm telling you mate. Hmm. Maybe an angle. So I might look at it in the future I was gonna say would you ever be interested in doing something like that?

Or I can't remember the film, but Dead Mouse did the entire soundtrack for a film, even in the last couple of years. I mean I'm good friends with there. Do you South of you remember him? Australian guy? I believe he was from Eastern Europe somewhere, but he lives in Australia now in Melbourne. And he scores a lot of films. Do you know what I mean?

I think there's a lot of sound engineering stuff like that. And he'll just wait it from start to finish all the score for films and stuff like that. Would that be something maybe? Yeah, it's a good time. It could be serious money, isn't that? I bet there is. There's no on the road either. It'd be pointless.

I'll probably just throw the project up. I can't do it. I need to be honest. I'll take you money back. So what's next? What's happening? What's the rest of 2019 going stuff for you? So for the next couple of weeks, I'll be sat in the studio, probably catching up with

friends when I can get them out and family and stuff like that probably just hitting a few bars in town and then as I say just hammering the studio I want to get when's my next gig? Begin in October that gives me to I want to get maybe four or five trucks ready for the beginning of October I've got two gigs down on wheels so I want to get four, five trucks ready for them, a test out. And I've got another two weeks off, which is while ADE's on, never ever go that, just... Yeah, I mean, yeah, loads. It's just, it's all just too mad, like, just really mad for you. Yeah, that doesn't it. Yeah, it's just, I just find it mad. And then I go across to America as I say and come

straight back, do Manchester then straight on to India, then to New Zealand, Australia, body, Australia, then back and do leads, Liverpool and then come back home. And that takes me to the beginning of December. So I'm going to have to get a lot of music prepared for them, even if it's just ideas ready to pencil to finish on the road or whatever like that. I'll start a lot on the roads and I'll finish that again through December. Where is New Year? People want to see you play this New Year. Have you released it yet? I haven't released it so long. I've seen it in America. Yeah. And then, yeah, I'm across there for then. And then, look, phone call before we started

off Rene was basically saying that I'm across there for New Year, then I come back. Then, I'm across the Dominican Republic to do, like, do this thing across America called Holy Ship. Yeah, seeing it's a huge cruise line, a festival. Yeah, and now they've changed the Holy Ship, and they've changed the Go Ship, wrecked the Holy Ship wrecked, so now actually on land, which is a five-day party in an all-inclusive resort in Dominican Republic, and they're sending the likes of me,

scream, and people like that. See what you'll come back. What if you lose? I'll probably get a job behind the bars. It's stuck in the Dominican Republic. Sound like me, really. It's all going to look good. So yeah, so you am down there and then it looks like straight from that and straight

up into America, around America. And he was saying there that I could be aware I think it's for like six weeks because it's going to take all the way through February in March and then it's Miami and March on May as well be over there so I could well be aware from January till land and March type of thing which would be cool but a place is in the worst place of sorry than America isn't that easy to be based for a bit. And then release wise, there's, I mean, I'm sat in so much music mate, like ridiculous amount. New stuff or remix is bootlegs. And enough remix is for the year. Yeah, with those. I've seen a lot recently about it

and stuff like that. So now this is all like brand new originals. So I think the next one could be maybe a two-track EP. We're just going to say that back in the day a lot of your releases were sent it around or at least when kind of Pepsi and Guffers and stuff like that were coming out. A lot of them were sent it around two trackers, four trackers, eight trackers. It's been at least in terms of what I see more singles recently. Have you got,, would you ever do like a full album? I would, I mean, I'd went to the team that I'd spoke about doing maybe like another kind of conceptual album project, maybe nine tracks or even three releases of five. You know what I mean?

So it's like 15 tracks I don't put them out and at the end of the 15 I'll do like a huge like continuous mix, but also in between the mixes I'll do like a huge like continuous mix but also in between the mixes I'll do kind of like I'd synth work in there to make it just a one-off performance type of thing so people have got this mix but at this moment in time singles are the ones which are performing best and that's what the perform best on the likes of beat port which promoters and people are going off so if you're constantly getting to number one which a lot of my releases are on the Prague charts, it's good, like yeah, if you release a three tracker, it goes into more of the release charts and people buy the releases of whole rather than specific tracks, I don't

fully understand that side of things, that's me management telling me what's going on. Then I mean, it's Eric and like our manager, Mick, who is saying like release one track at a time, it's coming out on a label, which is owned by Eric. I'll be like, I kind of trust you, mate. So it's all good. So yeah, I am looking out of a labels. There's other labels out there, which I want to work with. I love to release on Solomon's label, dynamic. I mean, I've already done Sasha's in Dig Reads,

which was a big target of mine. What's left anything any of the ones? Like if you've probably just some of them. Is there any one that's for you? Cool. Well, if you're listening, Solomon. I've got his own big glass. I've got a car coming.

Man, it's been fantastic. Yeah, really good. Really good. It's been awesome. Got a cut. Next time you hear, let me know. Anyone who wants to follow you online, why should I head? Twitter and Instagram is Christoph Music. Shuffee's books, Christoph Music.

And SoundCloud is Christoph Music as well. But you spell Christoph C-R-I-S-T-O-P-H. I think a lot of it, people misspell it and stuff like that. There's a whole number of ways that people can ruin your art, it's name is it. I think of course the author, like author, correct on-ide phones and things like that. I'd say H after the C, that's what I keep telling myself. Yeah, I know, that would be it. Anyway man, thank you so much for your time. Thank you very much, man.

Thank you very much for your time. We'll see you next time. Thank you very much.