DJ Madhatter
Location : Bedford, UK
Residencies : www.dzirefm.co.uk
Past Residencies : Empire Nightclub

How long have you been DJing, what got you started, and where do you see yourself going with it from here?
I have been mixing it up for about 3 years now, since late october 2002 when I just turned 15 gaining a set of Numark belt drives - ooooh the shame! Which I used for aproximately 2 years which I sold and saved up enough cash to buy some Technic 1210s. I basicaly kicked off like most people who used to buy alot of tape packs back in the day when tapes were around they were the thing at the time but now you dont hear much of them they have been been pretty much put underneath the ground and the future is coming faster than most people expect. If underage try and get themselves into a big rave such as Sidewinder or Sun city. I did have the chances when I tuned into the odd stations such as Freeze or Major FM when I was staying round some mates on a few occasions. I had a few inspirations of when I heard the artist djs which include EZ, Tuff Jam, Ray Hurley, Mike Ruff Cut Lloyd & Martin Larner to name just a few. I have only really been taking it seriously as of this year by gaining a few weekly slots on some internet stations starting off with Crunch fm, Image fm, which I have no recently moved onto DZire FM. Before I even started on stations I gained my first residency at Empire nightclub in Milton Keynes spring this year which I played alongside people such as MC Ultra, SLK, Roll Deep & IMP Batch. Aslong as I keep headstrong and full of confidence I will pursue what I want to achieve.

What styles of UK Garage and/or Grime do you prefer and why?
At current I play the following 4x4, 2-Step, Dubstep & Grime / Sublow.

I was drawn into it from school friends back quite a few years ago which up to now have stuck by it ever since I first heard of the scene. I used to listen out to a bigger variety of music such as RnB & Hip-Hop but now I have positioned my whole life dedicating to this one music scene.

I'm guessing I will probably stick to playing the whole variety of UK Garage as my love for it has grown boldly on and on through the years which until a few years ago around in early 2002 had a combination of switch to a darker feeling as which will grow more as the up and coming ages of today will stick more to Grime than true pioneering Garage due to being here at this time and place.

As an up and coming DJ, what sets you apart from the crowd. Why should people hear you?
I am extremely talented as pointed out by quite a few people, fresh, funky, diverse, and always come with a new sound technique whether its radio or a club event, I just havent had the chance to break through the barriers and gain a larger reputation at current but will be dedicating more time next year to make more of an improvement towards this.

Where do you see the music going?
In terms of 4x4 & 2Step, I dont really see a lot of forthcoming supporters coming through to appreciate what others are trying to acomplish. I can't really say I see 2-Step rising anymore from its current state but with 4x4 it gives out more flow of bumpy bass and energetic movements which is proving to be working. Some great releases this year, coming from talented producers.

As on the other side of the scene Grime / Sublow is still pushing itself to a bigger state of play and will be sticking around for quite a few years yet I feel.

Do you produce as well as DJing? If yes, any releases coming that we should look out for? If not yet, do you aspire to in the future or do you prefer to just DJ.
As of present I think the best course of action would be to keep at the DJing hoping to contain what lessons I had learnt in the beggining. There are always new tricks to learn.

Producing wise, I have had the opportunity to play around a little bit with programs such as Cubase & Fruity Loops, recently been figuring out how it all works, and hopefully get the hang of it before the end of the year. It will be a long process but I want to achieve a few well made productions to do with both sides of UK Garage starting off with a little 4x4 and maybe advancing to adding vocals, who knows? We'll just have to see how it goes.

Any shout outs?
Sending a big big shout to everyone who has been helping me by their strict advice and confidence to achieve getting up another step of the ladder.

They are:
Sammy (Fort Knox Promotions), Rowland (IANT Promotions), Robbie T, Greg P (Ultra Kutz Recordings), Donaeo (UK Panther Recordings), Step On, Chino (Artilla), Charma, Andre (Nothing But Talent Records), AC, Smarty (Crunch FM), Daniel (Phase Locked Promotions), Remedy, Manic (Manic FM), Sketche, Naughty Grammer (D.O.N.S Productions), Alessandro, Sniperz (DZire FM), Grumpy, Frances, Charlie G, Grizzly Records, Vicki, Miss X, Caz, Eran, Tom, Ami, Danielle, The Tech Boy, Torn, Jade, Kylie, Rutty B, Laura, Leanne, Luke, Mark, Flex & Kirsty B.

Also shouts out to the people I've missed out you know who you are.

Check out my website at:
http://www.freewebs.com/djmadhatter

Also catch my showcase weekend solution every saturday evening 8 - 10:
http://www.dzirefm.co.uk