INTERVIEW: DJ DARA PART II

"I could write pages about why vinyl is my preferred format and not just for nostalgic reasons. The one thing I will say is that digital formats do not stand up to vinyl audio-wise particularly in the lowend. Despite my feelings, I am also a realist and know that technology does not go in reverse. Digital formats are here to stay. I just hope there will be space for geeky vinyl junkies like myself to still get our fix. But in answer to your question (finally) I don’t see myself doing the laptop thing anytime soon. That’s way too complicated for a man of my age. At this point my brain is full. To learn that, something else would have to go."

You're from Ireland by origin. Is there a difference between DnB fans from the UK and the US?

"Perhaps you should ask that question of someone from the UK, not Ireland. However, I’m guessing you mean fans from that area in general and the one main difference is the age of club-goers. I’ve always felt a huge obstacle for the clubscene in general in the US is the ludicrous legal drinking age. In my part of the world everybody goes to pubs, clubs etc from about the age of 16. I feel to truly experience DnB you have to hear it on a proper sound system in a proper club and, unfortunately, that is not possible for a large amount of it’s potential fanbase due to them being under 21. The one thing I will say about UK DnB fans is that they take great pride in the fact that the music originated there, in much the same way that Hip Hop originated here. At this point though, it truly has become international and many of the biggest producers at the moment are not from the UK. At the end of the day in DnB it all boils down to tunes. It’s not where you’re from, it’s what you’ve got."

How did you end-up playing in the States most of the time?

"I moved to NY in 1994 as my girlfriend at the time had family here and it was very easy to get a green card in Ireland at the time. To be honest, it was her idea, I just went with the flow. As it turned out I was in the right place at the right time. I had already been DJing for a few years and the jungle scene was just starting in NY. My first gig I played at Konkrete Jungle to about 10 people in a small bar. Incidentally KJ is now the longest-running DnB weekly in the world. 13 years and counting. At the time I put out a new mixtape every 6 weeks or so (some of which you can downloadl from www.goldenerajungle.com) and sold them in a few local stores. It never ceases to amaze me how far those tapes traveled. I meet people all over the country who have copies, even though I only did about 20 of each. A major catalyst for me was playing at an Ultraworld party in Baltimore in 1995. I was the only jungle dj and played between Adam X and Doc Martin to about 1500 people, which was the biggest crowd I had ever played to. I was glad I brought a change of undies with me that night. After that gig things really took off for me, and the rest is history."

  planetofthedrums.com

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