Page 40 - DemoZone Magazine Issue 003

FEATURE INTERVIEW
DJ PRESSURE
One Saturday afternoon in Dublin in 1994 in Music Power Records in Merchants Arch Temple Bar, both Paul (A young DJ) and Mike (a young MC), collared a certain well known DJ to offer their service’s that night in the biggest underground Dance club in the city, The Asylum.
They had the balls to give him mix tapes and written rhymes and ask him straight out, and after listening and reading them he said ‘yeah why not’ and the lads played many times in the Asylum after that. Now 22 years later they also get the chance to write about him in this magazine! Booom
DJ Pressure, who was going to be on the cover of Zone Magazine Issue 001 1994, is now featuring in Zone Magazine 2015!
Dublin man DJ Pressure aka Robert Mateers is one of Irelands best known pioneering DJ’s, with an extensive career spanning 3 decades from the heady full on crazy days of 1991, up to the present day ,with a list of credits and achievements as long as his years in the scene itself, whose graced the stage and played alongside heavyweights such as Carl Cox, Altern-8, 2unlimited, The Prodigy, SL2, 2 for joy, Fabio & Grooverider, Micky Finn, 808 State, Shades of Rhythm, Derrick May, Slam and Ubiquity, Soundcrowd JX, N-Trance, The Grid, Atlantic Ocean, etc.
It all kicked off for DJ Pressure in 1991 after a mind blowing experience in the Astoria in London that changed his life and opened him up to the sound of Rave, fast forward 22 years and his passion for the dance scene shows no signs of abating, with a full year of big events and gigs lined up, he is still very much in demand with the old skool and new upcoming clubbers alike. So after a brief reunion on Facebook he kindly agreed take some time out from his busy schedule to hook up with Zone Mag for an interview in Dublin’s docklands one sunny Wednesday afternoon, to share his story and undoubted wealth of experience in the Irish Dance music scene. Give it up for the legendary DJ Pressure....
So Rob great to finally catch up with you after all this time, looking back over the last 25 years of your impressive DJ / Producer dance music career what initially attracted and influenced you to the Acid house / Rave scene as it was called then, how did it all start for you way back in 1990’s Dublin?
It actually all started for me around 1990- 1991 when on a short weekend break to visit a school pal of mine, Dave Mahon, in London. He took me along to my first rave, Orange, at the Astoria Theatre in the West end. To say it blew my mind would be an understatement. I have always had a deep passion for music ever since I was a kid (ska, punk, Goth, nu romantic etc.) but this was something totally different. The music, the lights, the crowd all coming together to give me a whole new perspective to how powerful music can be. Hearing tracks like Lennie Dee Ice – We Are Ie, N-Joi – Adrenaline, Psychotropic – Hypnosis, The Gonzo – Lost etc. for the first time totally changed my outlook on music so much so that I made two more trips over to the Astoria in the following six months for more of the same and in the meantime relied on regular cassettes in the post from London from my friend Dave to keep me going.
My first contact with acid house / rave in Dublin was walking through the abbey mall on Abbey / Liffey Street and hearing a song that I had heard whilst on one of my trips to London. That song was Cyclone – A Place Called Bliss and was being played by Billy Murray in Abbey Discs. Needless to say, I went in and purchased my first official dance 12” vinyl.
Abbey discs in the Abbey mall became my new second home for buying music and making contact with other people with the same interest as me in this new up and coming underground dance scene.
I started going to Sides nightclub around 1992. This was the first club in Dublin where I could go out to hear the type of music that I wanted to hear. During this period I got my first set of decks and set about learning how to mix the vinyl collection that I was building at the time.
I got my first lucky break when I bumped into Marcus O'Neill [Psyclone Zone] promoter of major dance events at the Mansion House, Point Depot etc. He asked me would I be interested in doing some slots for him at his events in the Mansion House (Psyclone Zone) alongside such Djs as Fabio, Grooverider, Micky Finn, Prodigy, SL2, 2Unlimited etc.
My big break came in 1993 when I hooked up with an old friend of mine from the Abbey Mall, Paul Farrell, who had just taken over and was managing a new dance club for Dublin called the Asylum and asked me would I be interested in doing a guest slot for him. And the rest is history as they say.
How did playing in the infamous Asylum underground dance club in Dublin elevate your DJ exposure, and what were your most memorable nights?
To put it simply it elevated my DJ exposure immensely. Playing to a sold out club every Saturday night / Sunday morning to a totally full on music driven crowd was a memorable experience. Every night I played there was a privilege but the nights that stand out for special recognition would be:
My first night that I played at the Asylum. I was just so relieved that it went well and I didn't fuck up.
My first night going on last simply for the same reason as above.
The night Carl Cox played at the Asylum. The 25th May '94 – my last night playing at the Asylum as it was closed down the week later.
Apart from the massive exposure that playing in the Asylum gave my DJ career I’d also like to give special mention to Paul Farrell for putting his trust in me and encouraging me to play the music that I wanted to play.
And a very special mention to Gary (DJ Dilly) for not only exposing me to loads and loads of unbelievable music but for also providing me with copies of same on 12” vinyl.
And a shout out to my other fellow Asylum resident Warren K for all the support with music and mixing and just being an all- round good guy.
There are so many other memorable nights post the Asylum closing down. Here's a small selection of some of them:
Headlining at the Psyclone Zone @ the Ormonde MMC '94.
Playing at the sold-out 12,000 capacity Dance Nation at the Point Depot '94. Playing at Silk to a sold-out 5,000 capacity National Basketball arena.
All of the Unknown Pleasure nights at the Waterfront (Columbia Bills) alongside fellow resident Mark Kavanagh.
Playing at the launch of my first single 'Pride' night to a sold-out Ormonde MMC (big shout out to my good friend and long- time co-producer Tim Hannigan aka Mr. Spring for all his help down the years). Playing to a crowd of over 10,000 at the Navan Exhibition Centre.
Playing at the massive Heaven '98 event to an 8,000 capacity crowd.
Playing alongside Faithless, David Holmes, CJ Bolland, to a sold-out Point Depot. Playing on the main stage at Creamfields Ireland.
Playing at all three Planet Love festivals. Playing too many nights to remember at Temple Theatre.
Playing at all the sold-out Psyclone Zone events around the Country.
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