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Issue104

Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.

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So releasing another album, The Desecration of Desire, after so long, what's changed for this album release, I mean, why now after so long? Well, what's changed for me is that, honestly, this feels like my first album, that's the biggest difference to me on this project. It took so long because I left the UK and I had to sell my studio, managed to keep 4 or 5 pieces from there, but I had to sell most of it and I started to then come over to Holland and then decided to live over here before Brexit happened. And decided to enjoy life a little bit more because I've been against my will in many ways, I've been isolated in the UK by living in the countryside, which, you know, it's a nice area with some nice people around. But I never got to socialise at all and when I came over to Holland I realised that I could socialise, I started to socialise a lot more, and also I was waiting to see what was going to happen with the whole recording industry, which in retrospect is a little bit of a lame excuse because if your going make an album then you should just make an album no matter what, because that's what artists do. You mentioned that this album is entirely created and curated by you, without any "outside pressures" but more influenced by some delightful, intelligent and deep people, so who inspired you on your journey whilst making the album? They where the guests that I invited over to do vocals, and I knew Louisahhh already for about a year because this album really is a story of Paris and Amsterdam, and the Persian side of it is definitely Louisahhh amongst other people, including Marylin who did the artwork. But I knew Louisahhh for a little while and I already felt a very close with her as a personality, so it was natural for me for her to be my actual first collaboration on the album, and then all the other people that I was inspired by musically in the past, I invited in, and they still inspired me by their personalities, which you don't always know is going to happen, because some people do present a different side of them musically. But I think I have an instinct to maybe just attaching myself to music and knowing that the other person will be cool, and that 's exactly what happened. The album does not feel as "dark" or industrial as your previous works is this a reflection of the current state of affairs our world is in right now or does this signify a bigger change in yourself? I think it's more the latter, so I think it's a bigger change in myself and also the production and just allowing myself to be more fearless, and presenting what I want to present without second guessing it. Am not sure so much about the influences from the world, this probably would be one of the darkest albums I'd make due to everything that has been going on. But it was a 2-year journey and all the tracks were recorded in the order in how you hear them, so it reflects that, it reflects whatever was going on in my life in those 2 years. More and more DJs and artists are now coming out to speak about the mental pressures of being a creative, which has affected their mental health and also stifled their creativity. How do you deal with your busy DJing schedule whilst still finding the time to make music? Well, when I first started to make the album I had already decided to cut some work out because it was getting too much for me. So I wouldn't DJ every single week like I used too, or 3 times a week or 2 dates in one night, I stopped doing that because it was sapping so much energy and not replacing it with anything else and I want to do the job and I want to enjoy what am doing. So I already started to do the change, the transition, probably about year or two before I started to record the album, and then of course, in the middle of the album, I had that car accident. That really changed my whole overview over everything and I thought to myself that "I really have to take better care of myself" and not be this box of oranges that, that's so constant and just in time for delivery for the shop to sell, so that changed my mind too. So before the car accident I already had more time to record because of that, then after the car accident, ironically I had to take 2 months off from recording as I had to get myself together. But I had already changed towards that, as I've now been on the road for about 30 years. I think it's lovely that they're doing things about mental health, and some of them are heartfelt but some are jumping on it to get even more publicity. But I suppose that's the case of this whole industry, there's a lot of publicity whores in this industry that feel they need to jump on anything and everything just to present an opinion. I know a few people who have had a few difficulties with touring, I've had some difficulties with touring as well, it's a very, very tough life. Your ADE nights 'Dave Clarke presents' have garnered much success over the last decade, can you tell us a bit about how this comes together each year and what you feel has made it so popular? Well, when I first started doing these ADE nights 13 years ago, no one was that bothered about techno as a genre, there were a few people, but generally, they weren't that bothered, it was still house, trance and some other subgenres, but techno wasn't really seen as something that was of use, or to do a night here for some reason, I don't know why. So in those days it was relatively easy to put together a line-up, and I've always approached the line up in the same way, in that I like this person's music, I like this person as a DJ, I want to book this person. It's not, "what can this person do for me" or anything like that, so I've always booked talent based upon how I feel about the talent, so I've always quoted myself as doing this from a "fanboys" perspective because it really is. But as times gone on, especially in the last 6 years, all of a sudden, techno was much more "in vogue" and then politics came in and people were playing dirty politics and it becomes much trickier to book lineups. But still I enjoy it, but it's a lot more difficult because I think am the only person to do a techno lineup for the whole 13 years, other people just jump on when it suits them financially, when the capacity of ADE started to explode more then they jump on it as well without really supporting it. There is a little bittersweet thing going on there, but the nights themselves, I work with some really great people at the Melkweg now, I've worked with two teams there and both of those teams throughout the years, again from a "fan" perspective have been very easy to work with, and we try to be as anti- political as possible over the whole situation. Which are the standout shows or festivals you have played this year? Ohh, that's tough because I travel so much and I often forget where I was the week before, probably sounds a bit bizarre to those people that don't travel that much, but yeah for me, Concrete, Paris, that was amazing this year and also Igloofest in Montreal was really, really good. Rotterdam Rave was brilliant and also Hong Kong Sonar was really good and I really enjoyed that. Playing for the guys in Liverpool, the 303 people over in Liverpool and Manchester is always really, really good. Soenda Festival here in Holland was also really good this year. Dublin was amazing this year for me actually, it was like 37 degrees inside the club, that was incredible. Unfortunately this year we missed the talk in which you presented a panel discussing Brexit. Could you tell us how you feel Brexit could impact the UK and global electronic scene as a whole? Well, let's deal with the positives, and am not sure about the electronic music scene because generally, the electronic music scene does not have that much to say verbally or lyrically, so let's just talk about the music industry from a positive perspective. I think that we will start to get much edgier music written by people who are just angry and in the words of John Lydon, "Anger is an energy". I think we are going to get very good anarchist music, more authentic, more socially aware lyrics, I think a lot of people have grown up in a situation where yes there are difficulties but most things are "Okay". But now things are going to be quite tricky, and there is that talk that is there is a hard edge Brexit, then bands coming into the U.K will be subject to having all their gear signed in and signed out, so longer queues at the very least and vice-versa, it will probably happen within Europe as well. What ideas have changed your life? Well the whole European revolution of everyone getting together, and free travel, I still remember getting on the ferry from Dieppe to New Haven and having to stamp in and stamp out how many pounds you took in because pounds was still, you know, more, to take in and out the country and that would be my foreign holiday, it'll be a day trip to Dieppe and that would be it for the summer and I felt quite posh about that. So the whole European story has been one of the biggest changes in my life on a political level, I think that would be the biggest thing for me actually. 2017 / ISSUE 104 29 Dave Clarke comes across as a very deep, opinionated and insightful persona, the years seem to have added many layers to his already complex character, and when you hear his stance on things, you begin to understand why the moniker John Peel gave him, "The Baron Of Techno", fits so well. follow @DJDaveClarke HOUSE Rosh Ram | Guestlist " THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLICITY WHORES IN THIS INDUSTRY THAT FEEL THEY NEED TO JUMP ON ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING JUST TO PRESENT AN OPINION. "

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