Page 36 - Zone Magazine Issue 018

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE ELECTRONIC MUSIC, TELL US ABOUT PAUL BEFORE IT ALL HAPPENED, AND HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED IN THE SCENE?
I left school with no real qualifications and worked general jobs in a clothes factory and market stall. Throughout my teens I was heavily into the breakdance and hip hop culture, which was my first introduction to electronic sounds and DJ's. When Acid House exploded it felt like a natural progression and I quickly became addicted to house music.
VINYL/CDS/OR DIGITAL AND WHY?
Vinyl is great but times change and technological advancement is unavoidable. Personally, I like the ease of use of digital and the vast storage options available to you. Vinyl will always hold a special place to most DJ's from my era though.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH CREAM, AND DO YOU THINK WITHOUT CREAM, WOULD YOU BE STILL DOING WHAT YOU DO?
I found the DJ bug and became resident in various bars in the city. It was a exciting and creativte time with lots of new nights popping up. I knew Darren Hughes through friends and he asked me would I like to be resident at his new night. It intially started at in the smaller intimate Annexe room in Nation, but we knew we had something special and it quickly expanded. Of course I owe a lot to Cream, but I like to think I'd still be involved in some capacity without them.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SCENE
TODAY COMPARED TO BACK WHEN YOU
STARTED?
to the hedonistic times we lived through. We lived and breathed it week in week out and there was a big night in every town and city in the country. Today it's very hit and miss and only every few months or in some cases once a year.
MAIN SET OR SUPPORT? AND WHY?
Both, but I do love building a night and setting the tone. Warming up is a dying art form but it's such an integral part of the night. I think having more DJ's on the bill and shorter set times has lessened the need to craft a set.
FESTIVAL / BIG CLUB OR SMALL CLUB? AND WHY?
All have their pros and cons. If I really had to choose I would probably go with a more intimate night where the crowd are right on top of you and there's no escape and a lot more interaction.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELEASES.
Production is the one thing I should have done more of, it just scared me a bit. I had this idea that I should be involved in every part of the process instead of just coming up with ideas and it stalled. I produced a track with Andy Weatherall in the late 90s, a quirky techno track which did ok. In modern times I had a few out on Big Fist records which charted at number one in track it down. It's something I'm really looking at getting back into seriously and there's plans in the pipeline.
FAVOURITE PLACE YOU HAVE PLAYED, AND
WHY? AND WHERE HAVE YOU NOT PLAYED
YOU WOULD LIKE TO?
Cream obviously. Being resident gave me a lot of leeway to experiment and try different genres. Looking at the brannd today it seems very commercial but we were always pushing the boundaries musically and with three rooms we had a real eclectic mix. I've played most places. Ibiza residency would be decent.
Very difficult one. I still love it today but it's hard to match up
36 ZONE-MAGAZINE.COM