Well, it’s been a pretty nuts year. I started as a dabbling bedroom producer and occasional, moderately reluctant DJ; the year finished with me full-time pro in the mobile DJ market and with a CD release and BBC Introducing Artist of the Month under my belt as a producer. And some live shows, too! Just by looking through the round-up of the year below you can see the growing momentum in the later part of the year – here’s to everyone in 2015 who supported me as an independent artist, who shelled out on the CD, turned up to gigs, played my stuff on the radio, read my rambling blog posts, hired me to DJ for them – you’re all beautiful and I’ve had way more fun than I deserve. If this year is anything to go by, 2016 is going to be absolutely mental.
January
- Post-Christmas lull. Dabbled. Messed about. DJ’d a bit.
February
- Launched Resonance, a semi-regular night of live electronica and dance in Coventry. Hard work, lots of lessons learned, but all of the fun, right there.
- DJ-ing starting to gain some speed.
March
- Started a very successful relationship with Coventry’s Fargo Village arts & retail space with a bunch of outdoor DJ sets. From the top of a double-decker bus. With a bar in it. I kid you not.
- DJ’d my first wedding; nerve-wracking but awesome, first of several this year.
April
- Buckets of DJ-ing – primarily Roller Derby & Fargo events.
- Live sound engineering & PA hire work
- Attended my first Wedding Fair – more bookings!
May
- Moar DJ-ing – Vintage Fairs, Art Exhibitions, private parties
- DJ’d for the Earlsdon Festival – big audience, lots of live performances to wrangle and fit in, great feedback, top day!
June
- Live sound engineering for the unbelievably talented and skillful Richard Durrant – a real privilege of a gig to work on.
- Played a live set of original material at Coventry Pride.
- … and then again at Warwickshire Pride a week later!
- … and DJ’d a bunch of parties and events
July
- I started this website!
- …and added some tweaks and polish to a mate’s album.
- Got heavily into mastering and production for the forthcoming EP.
August
- CD masters and artwork done and dusted; teased the EP.
- Got local BBC airplay for a couple of the EP tracks.
- Finally explained to the world where the name came from!
September
- “Eighty Days of Rain” released on CD and download, coupled with a launch night gig.
- Visited BPM and played with some very nice toys.
- Got some extremely entertaining reviews for the EP.
October
- Went full-time pro as a mobile DJ. Life improved by approximately 8 million percent.
- DJ’d the “Festival of the Dead” at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. Incredible venue, amazing atmosphere, made extra- terrifying by this short-notice gig with very specific music requirements, usually handled by a professional musicologist; turns out it was fine. Great feedback from the public and the organisation. Top DJ set of the year.
- Back-to-back Halloween DJ sets and parties.
- More radio airtime!
November
- Managed, promoted, hosted, played live and DJ’d at Resonance 2.0 in Coventry. A mental and busy night full of incredible music from awesome individuals. This show was the live performance highlight of the year for me.
- Made a video!
- … and another one!
- More live sound work & DJ-ing events and parties throughout.
December
- DJ-ing lots of Christmas events and parties. And a 2-day Roller Derby tournament; stamina? Yeah, I got that. Oh, and squeezed a wedding in, too. Spent most of the month on my feet, it feels like.
- I was selected as Artist of the Month on BBC Introducing Coventry & Warwickshire!
- And an article I wrote in November was selected for publication on a pro DJ website!
- The icing on the cake was an “honourable mention” in the legendary Pete Chambers’ Coventry Telegraph column for a “superb EP”. Pete got some good news, too!
- … and DJ-ing New Year’s Eve at The Falcon in Hatton brings us to the end of the year!