As the San City High label’s UK tour edges its way closer to London, Alex of the dynamic due The Squatters take some time out to speak to Amanda Gegg about their hectic year, Djing tips and tour bus antics.
So Alex, how is the tour going so far?
Awesome! We are having a whale of a time. Meeting loads of cool people & playing some wicked venues.
That tour bus must be a bundle of laughs to say the least! Where’s been your favourite stop up until now?
The tour bus is mental. We have been getting up to loads of crazy stuff. Edinburgh has to be our favourite place yet. The crowd were nuts. People were actually trying to climb over in to the DJ box. Madness!
And what do you guys have in store for your set at East Village on the 13th October?
We never plan our sets as crowds vary from place to place. We like to read the crowd to ensure optimum performance. We have a few cheeky re-edits and mash ups we’ve done for the tour and so far they’re going down a treat. We’ll also be giving out some free Mix CDs which will be available from the merchandise stand.
When we last visited the San City High crew you guys were really taking off with tunes such as ‘Monster’ and ‘On Fire’. This must have been a hectic year for you, but how long have you both been DJing together?
Yeah this year has been pretty mad. We’ve been producing and DJing together for about 3 years now but we have both been djing beforehand for about 10 years a piece.
How did you get involved with the San City High label?
Well, we were messing around in the studio and came up with Monster and thought we would send it to Kissy to see if he would play it on his show. A day later he got in touch telling us that he loved the track and wanted to sign it as the first release on his San City High Label. We then got asked to do another track as the B side (On Fire) and this proved to do as well as Monster.
We know that your routes go back to Oldskool Hip Hop and Rave, but how do you think your style has evolved up to the present day?
We generally like to mash things up and that’s how it’s always been. Bridges have been crossed between styles so music is not so "genre specific" anymore. We aim all our production at the dance floor so anything that we reckon will blow your socks off in the club, we generally put it in a track.
I’m sure you get asked this a lot but there is a whole host of DJ talent out there waiting to be discovered, do you have any tips on how to pursue the dream?
Don't ever give up and look at criticism as a creative tool. Also smile and be nice. Nobody likes rude people! Also do everything for the right reason… because you love it! :o)
Thanks so much Alex. We look forward to seeing you guys down at East Village on the 13th so we can join the party!
If you fancy checking out what the boys have in store for you at East Village they've kindly furnished us with their tour mix for your downloading pleasure.
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