Page 16 - Zone Magazine Issue 018

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Being Irish and proud, as I’ve yet to meet an Irish person who has said otherwise, we seem to be a different breed compared to other nationalities. Compare your experiences playing at home and playing abroad.
I always love playing at home in Ireland; the crowd are always really up for it and in your face. Also, as you said as a proud Irishman and having being in the middle of that crowd for many years as a clubber, I think that’s given me a better understanding of what the Irish crowd enjoy when I’m DJ-ing here. I’m grateful to have a really strong following in Ireland, many of them who I can now call friends. That said, I love playing anywhere in the world, it’s the best part of being a producer, getting to play tracks you’ve spent weeks and months on to your fans; There really is nothing better. The more places I play, I find that the crowds are different and like different styles i.e. Uplifting or Tech, Psy etc. After playing a few tracks you can kind of gauge what sort of set they will like. That’s why I never stick to a set list when playing live; I always play to the crowd. I always try to DJ with a smile on my face and enjoy it as that’s what I’ve worked hard for the last 10 years. To be able to go and DJ in different countries, I feel privileged to be in a position to do just that, the same way I always take the time out for fans as without them I wouldn’t be able to do it.
A selective few have the pleasure of knowing you in person, but for the onlookers and listeners, you at first glance come across as a very reserved, modest and a contented being. Cool and calm in every way. Have you some kind of hidden wildness that you’re not telling us about? Go on spill, you are quite the gentleman I must say and without going on too much, whenever I hear the name Paul Denton being mentioned between friends and fellow music lovers, there is nothing but greatness spoken, amazement and wonder at the hero you are to your fans.
Tell us something we don’t know about Paul Denton.
Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha! I’m not sure I could go into that, what you see is what you get with me no bullshit, I am who I am! I prefer to keep my music & family life separate. I don’t feel the need to post my life on social media. There’s a lot of crap in the scene, people pretending to be something they’re not or using stupid gimmicks online to build up profiles, basically fishing for likes. Why pretend to be someone you’re not? I just don’t buy into all that and I hope that my music does my talking for me. To me your only as good as the music that you make.
Alongside the huge gigs and festivals you’ve already played and been added to on home soil this year, you also made your debut at the infamous Luminosity Beach Festival held in Amsterdam last June. I know my friends have told me their experiences of it in years gone by and it really represents some of their most memorable moments over their entire lifetime. That’s huge!
How did it feel to be a part of something so very special to clubbers all across the world?
When starting out, these are the gigs I wanted to play at Luminosity along with ASOT. I think are the two biggest Trance gigs in my opinion. There is something special about Luminosity, having attended before and then to get the chance to play and close the Saturday was surreal. It was easily my biggest gig to
date. Even though I clashed with a few headliners there was still a great crowd and an amazing atmosphere for my set. I was completely overwhelmed at the end, it was a special gig. Massive shout to everyone who came to see me play and everyone who put my name forward because I wouldn’t of been on the lineup without their support!
I guess you could say that the Luminosity line-
up for this year’s festival was that of a ‘dream
line-up’. Was there anyone missing on the list
that you would have also liked to see this year?
It’s possibly the biggest trance lineup ever. With the exception of Tiesto coming back and doing a classic trance set which isn’t going to happen, there’s not many that’s not on the lineup. Absolutely massive!!! I’m counting the days haha!
You’ve the makings of a greatest hits compilation with all of these phenomenal releases you’re dropping left, right and centre. ‘Curtain Call’ recently released on Subculture and ‘Splinter’ on Kearnage are both doing some serious damage across the globe, not to mention your newest screamer Remix of Ton TB ‘Electronic Malfunction’ released on Outburst. You've quite the support on this Remix in particular, Mr. Armin Van Buuren who's had a lot of fun banging it out at some huge events recently!
What in your opinion has been your most successful release and why?
‘Say My Name’ the track I did with Darren Flynn & Audrey Gallagher is easily my most successful and still getting played nearly three years after its release, which in a time when most tracks have a shelf life of two to four weeks, I think speaks for itself. It’s an amazing track that still gets a massive reaction on dance floors whenever I play it. Of my own solo tracks ‘Searching The Sky’ is my most favourite of all. It’s a special track to me, again it gets amazing reactions and it’s one that will be in my sets for a long time. My most successful in terms of support has been my Ton TB remix. To see the likes of Armin Van Buuren & Sander Van Doorn play it at massive festivals all summer was something else.
I cannot begin to imagine how much time you need to be putting into the studio. It can be a gruelling process I’m sure. Any type of creative work can be like fighting a losing battle.
Are you ever a little self-critical, editing and mastering? How long would you normally spend working on an original piece?
Each track is different. I try to put a two to three week time limit on original tracks and no more than two on a remix. I’ve still got tracks that I’ve not finished three to four years later and then there are tracks I’ve finished in four hours. I struggle just as much as any producer with thinking my stuff isn’t good enough but when you’re constantly listening to the same track for days/weeks that happens. I’m my own worst critic, you’ve got to be but sometimes that’s a good and bad thing. Some tracks that I’ve written in little or no time have done much better than ones I’ve spend weeks mulling over chopping and changing things. It can be very pain staking at times, but I’ve adopted a new approach this year and that’s not to focus on it too much; write with my heart and not my head. I write better songs when I’m not thinking about it and over complicating things and just let the music take over.
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