Congratulations on your return to the top of the Beatport charts! Did you already have a chance to celebrate the news?

Yeah, I just did a massive pub crawl with my mates and then threw a huge celebration party in downtown LA… Actually that’s bollox. I just woke up, I’m in isolation for the sixth month, I don’t drink and I’m questioning if my friends remember who I am. Thanks for asking though.  

Your version of Giuseppe Clemente (AKA Josement’s) “All Night Alone” is not a radical remix but mostly an edit of the track arrangement using different drum and bass sounds. When you listened to the original what did you want to change and why?

Yeah, I did very little to this in comparison to a normal remix, to be honest. Having said that, this edit ended up taking me quite a while to get right as I rebuilt the drums and bass from the ground up and it took a while to get the balance I felt it needed in my head.  Essentially, I was told about the original track by Chris Lorenzo (my partner in crime for our group ‘Anti Up’) and I immediately knew I needed to get hold of the stems to make this track work the way I wanted it to. So I hit up Josement and he sent me the stems. Easy.  

Did you immediately get the lyrics of the song? What do they say (asking for a friend)?

Yeah. I saw them and honestly, I don’t want to tell anyone what they are now because I think they’re more magical when you don’t know.

“All Night Alone” is not the only track from your label Black Book Records currently in the Beatport top 10 (Martin Ikin’s “Hands Up” is currently still at number 4). 

What is the main difference in running a dance music label during the current crisis? Have you made any changes to your release plan?

The crisis hasn’t had a hugely adverse effect on the label, to be honest with you.  I think the main thing we’ve found is that many people are now holding back music until touring is clearly back. I totally understand that mentality. We’re working harder than ever looking for new music and artists to sign/develop etc. Our plan is to develop records and artist’s profiles so that when clubs open again, more people will want to go to their shows. That’s how to build a career.  

Because of your family situation, you have to have quite a strict lockdown at your home in LA. How are you dealing with this and does it have any effect on your productivity as a musician?

Well, honestly, it sucks, but I’m not alone in saying that. My house is being renovated and we’ve been living in an apartment while it gets finished. Then my mother in law had a big stroke, COVID happened and we didn’t want to risk her catching it at a healthcare facility, so we rented a house, discharged her and we’ve been home caring for her since March. I have a tiny (purple) room that I stream and make beats in but I struggle to mix things how I’d normally do, so a couple of times, late at night I’ve gone to my studio when nobody is around my studio complex and bosh out some mixdowns. Just making the most of a crap situation like the rest of us.  

Like many DJs these days you’re spending a lot of time on Twitch. Do you have a regular schedule and what is your experience using the platform? Is it a different way for you to connect with your fans? 

Yes, I’ve been doing it quite regularly and it’s been loads of fun. To start with it’s been an experiment just to see how comfortable I am streaming in the first place.  It took me ages to get the tech right. But already there is a fantastic community building around the streams I do. The main music-focused ones being production streams and then black book demo submissions. Just watching how my live feedback to music has already influenced the music being sent to the label.  It’s positive and again, feels like it’s making the best of a bad situation.