"He was always into recording LPs in a different order - he used to get tape recorders and make compilation tapes, rather than listen to a whole LP then I started to do that."

It's a strange beast, music. While some people are prepared to merely sit back and let it be the soundtrack to their lives, others have to get right inside it, and that fascination in mixing and meddling with music has become the essence Rob's life. At 13 he was playing bass guitar, at 15 he was in a band and at 16 he was on the point of being signed to Polydor, but was soon turned on to his disco destiny by the early M25 raves, where he discovered what he had to offer the global dance floor.

"I'd always been into all sorts of different music," he enthuses, "but I really got into house music - that harsh, electronic sound - stripped down and bare, but with some kind of soul to it."

It almost seems there was a day in the late 80s when everyone lay down their guitars and invested in decks:

"I just started to buy records again,  instead of spending my money on guitar strings and going down the pub," Rob recalls. "We'd play records, mix tapes into them, play things off CD - I didn't realise at the time but it all came from seeing my Dad do the same thing."

Like many people finding their feet, Rob would play anywhere that would have him - but even at the dodgier gigs he would use the experience to sneak in some of the good stuff, hits of the 70s followed by what Rob calls "all the house music hits of the day".

A chance visit to Manchester also led to a night at the Haçienda - that was enough to persuade Rob to move north, quickly finding his way to the early Blackburn raves. Unlike the well organised parties in the south these "acid-house parties" were more earthy and jammed wall-to-wall with energy. It was these experiences which steered Rob towards his eventual career as a full professional DJ.

Links to Fantazia

Rob Tissera played at the Fantazia event:

Fantazia & Ark Live in Leeds 1994

The set from this event can be bought here