DJ Dave Angel Interview 1993

What is your real name?
It’s Dave Angel Nicholas Gooden.

How old are you?
26, no 27.

How long have your been making tracks?
The first track I made was a session I did for my dad in the studio when I was about 12 yrs old.

What type of music was that?
Like reggae, I got paid for it, about £30.

Did you get your equipment first or did you go to a studio?
I went to a studio first, my dad was in the studio all the time, mainly he did Jazz, but that’s where I got to know all about music.

Where and how was your first track ever made?
The first track I made that came out on record was Sweet Dreams Eurythmics remix, that was about 6 yrs ago.

Why did you decide to start writing tracks?
Well when my father died I took it bad and went a bit ‘haywire’, I started drugs in a big way and ended up getting a prison sentence, my girl was pregnant and whilst I was inside my son was born, that woke me up and made realise what I was doing. Drugs and shit, and getting involved heavily, I realised it was time I did what my dad wanted me to do, and do what I wanted to do as well – music, just music. It was my last stint inside that made me realise that it was for me no more. I’d been inside before a few times as I used to pick pockets but this was the last time.

So how soon when you came out did you make your track?
It was 2 weeks after I came out that I made the Sweet Dreams track. Before I went inside and from being young I have always been a DJ although I was a bit of a bad boy. I did stints on the Radio Stations in London, the same Radio Station as Fabio and Grooverider. To get back onto the straight and narrow I knew I had to make a good tracks, I had it all planned out.

So why did you base your track around Sweet Dreams?
It was a mixture of things really, I had a base line put together, the studio that I had wasn’t really good, I had one keyboard that’s how I did my demo. I made 500 white labels and it created a buzz.

How did you get the money for doing that?
I borrowed it from Blackmarket Records, the guy there had a lot of faith in me, he hadn’t seen me for months and he knew what had happened to me, I told him all about the track, he said when you’ve sorted it out I will lend you the money, so he gave me the break and it went from there. The record got to number 23 in the national charts. After I did the track in my own little studio I was asked to go into a big studio and it sounded brilliant. I remixed the remix which I had done at home.

So what happened from there onwards?
I took some of the money and began to build my own studio and I made a track called ‘Atmosphere’ and it was put on Dave Darrels label called ‘Love’ it was a bit Trancy, after that I did a track called ‘Never Leave’ then I did ‘Rolling Thunder’ and ‘Outer Rhythm’, then the ‘Second Voyage’ on R and S. I’d write a track then choose the label to suit the music, after ‘Never Leave’ it was the Outrage Label with a track called ‘Flux’ then the ‘Family EP’ and various others.

What have you got planned for the future?
I’m doing the ‘Fifth Symphony’ on the Fanac Label, them maybe another project with Rand S ‘The Forth Voyage’, but for now I’m concentrating on my own label. I’ve got some tracks coming out on Warp, but they will not be out until next year. I’ve got to name them and there is loads of other remixes to come out.

The direction of the music that you are bringing out, is it all Trance or Ambiance?
Well I want it to be varied really, on the first rotation, it’s got what I call ‘a full blooded side’, full blooded Techno not Euro or anything like that, music from your heart, and on the other side very up tempo Trance. I love my Trance, it has got feeling to is as well, it puts you through a journey, Ambiance is the same, it’s very emotional. I’ve done Ambiance in the past with tracks that last 20 mins to half an hour.

You are obviously very open minded, would you ever do a track that is extremely hard?
If I got up one morning and felt really pissed off about a f***ing tax man or whatever, and I want to get my aggression out, then I’d get it out in my studio, but if I feel really happy and my son is making me smile then I’d do something really melodic.

So you write your music around what you feel in your head, so every piece of music you make is a statement as to what is going on in your head?
Yeh exactly.

Have you ever worked in other jobs other than DJ’ing?
Yeh I’ve had loads of jobs. I’ve worked in clothes shops, as a porter in a luxury apartment where I met loads of important people, Roger Moore, Uri Geller, top arabs, I’ve had loads of good tips.

So how did you lose that job then?
Well what happened was I started to creep into other rooms, I got away with some diamonds and loads of other things. The thing is, I didn’t get nicked for any of that, I got the sack for coming in late.

Do you regret any of those times back then?
No because I was really young and really eager, I was and still am a really eager person, also sometimes it’s the only way to learn. I know now how to deal with things. If I hadn’t gone through it all I wouldn’t be as knowledgeable as I am now.

Who inspires you musically?
My dad, also Charlie Parker, a big Jazz musician, nobody can play the saxophone like he could, he was playing like Techno music, running it at 160bpm and he was playing that live. Rowen Atkins, Derek May, Carl Grey on the Techno scene. Techno is what is happening now and Techno has still got the Jazz edge to it because it’s random and it’s feel, it’s expression that’s why I jumped on it.

Tell us about R and S and how you got signed up with them?
Out Of Rhythm were good friends of mine and many others, so I brought an EP ‘The First Voyage’ to Out Of Rhythm and they couldn’t cope with it at the time, they couldn’t fit it into their schedule. Brian G was working at R and S at the time, he told me to give them a call so I started out a meeting and ended up staying over there for over two months. I did the ‘First Voyage’ within the first weekend. I learned a lot from R and S and I will always respect them to this day.

Look into the future and do you still want to be making records, or have you got any other things you want to go into?
Yeh, I still want to make music, I’m also looking at sound tracks for movies, or the audio visual’s. There is a definite market out there for it. I’m getting older and you have to do things whilst you are young, but you are never too old to do anything.

Techno came from Jazz years ago and forty years from now Techno will be like Jazz. All the people that lived in this era will re-live their memories. Jazz is coming into the music scene a lot now, and it’s good that the British notice this and are opening their minds.

When did you start DJ’ing?
I’d say I started when it was Reggae, 12 years ago maybe.

So how did you get into mixing did you just buy a couple of decks?
No, a friend of mine had a couple of decks, I just went round there and used them, put two records together and it started from there.

What was your first ever Techno event that you ever did in Britain?
The pirate club in Camden about three years ago, the place was always packed there the clubs had a real good buzz.

What was your first major event?
Technodrome in Scotland.

What was your best one off event?
That one is really hard to answer, because you can have a really good venue, good lights, sound, atmosphere, but I might not be feeling too good at the time, or the little thing might put me off. I used to have some really good nights out in Germany, at a club called The Warehouse.

When you have played in any of the clubs or events, have your ever really messed up?
Yeh, I’ve really messed up a couple of times.

What sort of places and why?
I’ve tried to blank them out of my mind, but I have just got over it now as I have my own studio. But if I’m in a club, and the mixer isn’t right or the needle jumps, I get really pissed off at the slightest little thing, and I lose sleep over it tossing and turning thinking, “how could I have done that”. I’ve got to get it right, it effects me really bad. But now I’m so experienced I have learned to take my time on the decks and take it easy, and not be like an animal or like an eager little kid. Listen to what you are playing and respect the people dancing – they have paid to get in and they are the ones who are paying me to do my job.

Do you ever get nerves before you go on the decks, or are you always confident?
Listen, a DJ has to have a piss every time before he goes on the decks, and if somebody tells me that’s not nerves they are full of shit. Sometimes it depends on the club where you are, sometimes you feel alright. I don’t really look at the crowd when I first go on I just like to do my thing, get myself comfortable and then I look at the crowd and get them going as I warm up I warm up the crowd, I’m always confident though.

Yeh, so you know you are good?
I don’t know I’m good, I just practice a lot, the more you practice the more confidence you get. When I was a kid, whenever I was out of beat on the drums my dad used to give me a smack on the legs, telling me to keep in time, so even then I couldn’t afford to miss a beat.

Which DJ do you most respect?
There is a few really, Colin Favor for his long duty for being there so long respecting music. Grooverider for his versatility and his continuity, Fabio for his grace with the crowd. Frost because he’s coming from the same place as I am and Oliver Bonzio because he’s the guy that takes you through a fucking journey. I can see that they all have deep emotions in their music, the dedication and belief, and Frankie Valentine for his persistence and his dedication, he’s at a record shop for every single day for hours on end, he may not even have any money to buy the records, but he loves the music.

Apart from all the main DJ’s do you respect the ‘up and coming’ DJ’s that have to buy the records and try so hard to get on when everyone keeps knocking them down, or any other DJ who hasn’t made it?
I respect a few, ‘Nipper’, I’ve heard him a few times and he’s been cutting them well, although I haven’t heard of himi for some time, I heard him last year up in Scotland and he was dropping them in like flies, he was really good.

It’s hard to say really as I never get to play with them. I’d rather hear ‘up and coming’ DJ’s in a club, not on a tape, that is how you know what a good DJ is.

What do you think of Knowledge in London?
I think it’s a good club. Jane Howard, she’s alright but if it wasn’t for Colin Favor that club wouldn’t have done anything. Brenda Russell and not Loftgroover. I play there once every two months, I can’t commit myself to any more, I have so much more to do.

What is your favourite PA?
Speedy J and C.J. Bolland, he puts on a good show. An outstanding demonstration, Speedy J, he made the 909 tour, now that he is sick you wonder if this is the first loss of a Techno producer. Lets hope he just gets better.

Personally I think that the MC’s ruin Techno music, what do you think?
I think that MC’s should say a little then shut their mouth, just before the last record say that the DJ is coming off, they should be listening to the music and seeing who’s coming on. At the end of the night they can say “Right we’ve 10 minutes left, lets go f**king mental”. That’s all I think they should do, just give out information to people, “Information Bureau” we should call them. They shouldn’t really rabbit on during techno, a language within itself.

If I don’t like the MC that’s on with me, I tell them to shut up or get off. If they don’t do either I just unplug them (you know who you are).

Do you prefer DJ’ing or making tracks?
I like both really, you can’t get better than having a beat you acquired and sitting back and thinking “Yeah that’s bad”, and you can’t beat the buzz you get from the ravers.

Do you get a buzz when you hear other DJ’s playing your music?
Yeh, definitely. I really like that. That’s when I sit back, listen and take it all in. They are expressing themselves in my music, like you express yourself when making it. I produced a couple of tracks that my girl was listening to, “In Detroit” and she says “you’re feeling the same things as me”. I feel this is a great way to get onto someone else’s wavelength.

Is there anything you don’t like about the current techno industry?
Not enough people are listening to it. I want it to become more popular, but not commercial. Breakbeat is still underground, all the young kid’s don’t understand techno, they just think it’s all boom, boom, boom!! It’s not about that, it has feeling to it. A lot of the kids don’t listen to the music, they go because all their friends have gone there.

Would you say your rise to techno fame has been easy?
No way.

What has held you back?
At one time I was very arrogant and had a bit of an attitude, but I over came all this and calmed myself down. I also calmed down on the decks as well.

You mentioned earlier about being in the studio earlier in the week, how much time do you spend there?
The whole week really, 90% of my life is spent there and the other 10% spent buying and playing records. If I spend too much time out of the studio I feel almost as if I can’t function properly. When I play an event and look out to the crowd, then into my record box, it’s as if I can’t seem to find the right records and everything seems so disorganised. I need my studio to function, but I also spend a lot of time travelling, as I’m always on the road.

Do you like the constant time battle, having to get events on time?
Yeh! Actually it gives me a real buzz, it’s what it’s all about, rushing around constantly.

What do you personally feel the future holds for techno?
Well, hopefully in around 40 years time I’ll go down in history along side many others as a musical pioneer, just like Morris Davies and Mozart.

Do you think it will always be techno or is the music set to change?
It will grow, it will change as well. Also it will turn to be even more mad and will definitely progress for the better.

Can you tell us a little more about your label?
The label was set up due to having bad news from other labels. The label gives me the freedom of being able to put out my music, and other artists material that was purposely made for my label, to avoid working through Mr “Big”, making big debts in the process. Instead the artists can approach me, and their music can be put out through the underground to the real music lovers. In my view there’s too many people that have made good music, but never had their music made a hit or properly listened to. These people deserve that right. The “No 2 Rotation” that’s due for release from it’s makers Point Zero, will really create a big impact. George Kelly, who is currently involved in making breakbeat music, is soon to write some full blooded techno and trance music for my label, under a different name. There’s many others which include a guy Gerald.

What are your views on the Orbit at Morley in Leeds?
The Orbit is my personal favourite of clubs in England, I love it’s atmosphere and its crowd.

Don’t you have your own night there?
Yeh, every 6 weeks I arrange the PA and help with the DJ line up. I recently performed there live, that went down really well.

Where do you buy your records?
I go to quite a few shops, Fat Cat, Unity, Blackmarket, Frankfurt, Delirium. I tend to travel all over for my music.

How much would you say you spend on an average weeks buy?
It varies, at one time I’d buy records just for collection but too much room was taken up! The amount I spend obviously depends on the amount of new music I buy, I can spend around £120 to £140 a week. A few weeks back there was a high amount of good music released and I spent over £200.

How much music are you personally sent?
On a good week I’ll get around 11 records where as some weeks I’ll get 5 or less, but the quality does vary.

Are there any final words you’d like to say?
Just to the party goers, keep going out and having a good time, keep listening to the music and buy it!!