DJ Interview - John Askew

Hi John, how are you doing and where in the world do we find you right now?
I’m good thanks. I’m in the office right now.

You are the founder and A&R manager of one of the most revered dance music labels ‘Discover’; a label which has truly defined itself by almost singlehandedly created a subgenre which is championed by DJs the world over, today. Along with assisting to launch the careers of guys like John O’Callaghan & Sean Tyas
Tell us a bit about the label, its conception/origins and direction?

I started Discover in 2001 with two friends of mine Pablo Gargano and Steven Lo Presti. They owned the Recoverworld label group and so they had a shit load of labels under one roof. I did a track for their label 'Telica' and it did pretty well so they asked if I wanted to start up my own label with them – aimed at releasing my own material and anything else I wanted to sign / A&R.
The Discover labels have always been an output of the music I like from new up and coming artists who I think have really strong talent.

You have been a long term resident DJ at the world’s most famous weekly club night, ‘The Gallery’, now hosted at London’s Ministry of Sound. How long have you been with ‘The Gallery’ now and how did this residency come about?
Well rather ironically I used to be a resident at Ministry of Sound many years ago before i left there to join The Gallery at Turnmills. So now after Turnmills shut down and The Gallery moved to Ministry everything has kind of gone full circle.

You travel very extensively each year to all four corners of the globe; where are some of your favourite spots to play? Where does your music get the best response?
My favourite places to play are Lebanon and Argentina at the moment but I am hoping to add New Zealand to that list in the next couple of weeks!

From memory, you were well publicised early on in your career with your legendary closing sets at many of the UK’s leading clubs & events; what do you think stood you apart at that stage as a DJ, and even today?
I don’t really know.. As well as playing all my own material and remixes I have always included lots of reworks and re-edits in my sets which nobody else has, so in that way my sets have a unique sound. I also don’t like standing there for 7 minutes between each mix like a lot of other DJs. I like mixing continuously with 3 or 4 channels of audio. It’s a tough question for me to answer but I think the best person to answer it would be the clubbers who have been to my gig in NZ in a few weeks.

The ‘Live As’ compilation series on Discover has proven to be popular and is a great, unique concept; being recorded live at some of the worlds dance music hotspots really sets it apart. What is next up in this series?
I have just released a studio mix album which has taken a lot of time and work to put together so at the moment there are no live albums planned as such but I did have a meeting last week where the idea of doing an album live from an event in Argentina was discussed and so I might follow through with that in 2010.

How do you think trance has evolved over the last 10 years? Both the music itself and within the clubs/scene?
The clubbing scene has gone up and down as the popularity of electronic music has come in and out of favour but the music has just got better and better. Ten years ago it cost a lot of money to buy the equipment you needed to make dance music but now all you need is a laptop and a decent writing programme like logic or cubase and you’re away. Because of this the market is flooded with thousands of talented bedroom producers from all over the world who can send you their music literally hours after finishing it via the net. There has never been a better time for music and I think the clubbing scene is seeing a huge resurgence as well.

A throng of new producers have come to light recently. Is there any that particularly excite you and why?
Activa, Gary Maguire, Sly One vs Jurrane, Adam Foley, Gate 42....I love all of these guys. Their music writing and production is second to none.

How do you like to spend your time when you are not busy DJing, travelling, running a record label and producing?
I have a radio management / syndication company which I work on 9 to 5 as well as all the other stuff I do. If i have any spare time I spend it my family and friends.

This is your first time in New Zealand, performing or otherwise; what have you heard about us? All good we hope!
Everything I have heard has been amazing and I can honestly say to you that no other gig in the last 6 months has made me this excited. I literally can-not-fucking-wait!!

In a nutshell, describe what Auckland can expect from your debut set on the 28th November @ OXYGEN.
A complete violation of the senses.


Thank you for your time, looking forward to it!


Catch John Askew for his first and NZ exclusive 3 hour set at Studio for OXYGEN on Saturday the 28th November.

www.myspace.com/johnaskew