DAN AVERY
A breathtaking blend of early techno with funky house, Daniel Avery’s debut album may make him the world’s hottest new DJ. Interview by Marc Andrews
DNA: A lot of the music on your album sounds perfect for a gay sex club! Dan Avery: Yes, I know [laughs]. It is sexier and I hope it has an edge. I think that’s cool that you think that. Have you played many gay clubs as a DJ? Yes, I’ve played lots of gay clubs around London and they are some of the best nights I have ever done. The gay crowds are just so up for it and there is no pretension. I have also played at Berghain in Berlin a few times, too. Give us a quick background tour of your past. Ok, I’m a London-based DJ and producer. I’m currently a resident at the Fabric club and my first baby, my album, has just been released. How long did it take for you to get Drone Logic together? I’ve been DJing for ten years. As a producer I’ve been working only for two years so it’s been pretty quick to get to this point. I always enjoyed DJing and the feeling you get when you can affect a room with one record. I have loved doing that and then it all happened organically that I started to make my own music. Is the music on the album music that you would play as a DJ now? Yes, that’s what I play now. I started out as an alternative DJ playing post-punk records and new wave – I would play Blondie next to techno and then go into electro house, which was big back then. I liked to think of myself as a techno DJ, which I still do. Define what techno means these days? That’s a big question [laughs]. For me, techno represents an underground strand of dance music that has been around for years. It’s not necessarily darker music, but more the underbelly of dance music. You use some vocals in your music, but only very sparingly. All of the samples on my album are original vocals. I’m not interested in just using other people’s stuff. I’m enjoying
The gay crowds are just so up for it and there is no pretension.
being a DJ more than ever now that I can play my own music too. I can take the crowd in more of a different direction. I’m not that interested in playing as a live artist – I don’t really see that as being so important. What’s a failsafe track that gets the crowd up and dancing? I hate to have say this, but it’s actually one of the tracks from my album – All I Need. It seems to have had a huge connection with crowds. I nurtured and perfected that track playing it in different clubs so it’s a very honest record and that’s probably why the crowds love it. Any plans to come play in Australia? Yes, definitely. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll be doing some of the festival circuits in Australia. It’s been a long time coming but I’m really up for it. I’d love to play for some gay audiences in Australia too while I’m there. Are we likely to see you get your top off for that then? [Laughs] Since it will be summer in Australia I might just do that.