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Interview with Lee Haslam Reported by tom / Submitted 11-07-02 22:01 Label manager at tidy trax and resident at Storm and Sundissential, DJ and producer Lee Haslam is emerging as one of the rising stars of the UK hard dance clubbing scene. Although he works at one of the biggest hard house labels on the planet, Lee is actually a hard trance DJ and with the creation of Tidy's 'tidy two' label he now has an outlet for his talents. His latest track, 'Music is the Drug' best noted for it's sample ' is due for release soon. Lee's London appearances include Frantic's Tidy Trax vs Nukleuz event and the inaugural Tidy London and he'll be back at the SE1 club when Tidy return to the Capital on the 3rd August. We caught up with him to ask a few questions for HarderFaster: HarderFaster: So Lee, tell us how you first got interested in dance music and subsequently DJing ? Lee Haslam: I first got introduced into dance music through a friend who took me to Hot To Trot over 6 years ago. It was my first taste of dance music and its culture but straight away I was hooked. Over the next year I went out more and more until I got to the point that I wanted to start DJing. I had been meaning to buy decks for ages and never got round to it. In 97 I had to go into hospital to have my tonsils out so I used the month off work wisely and bought the decks and just caned them ages. Eventually after 6 month my girlfriend got me a gig in her bosses club. After that I got regular gigs in my home time and things went on from there. HF: What are your responsibilities at Tidy itself LH: Basically I run the label side of things - the releases, albums etc. This includes manufacture, promotion, dealing with retail, distribution, everything you can think of really. It is my job to make sure everything gets out on time and that the Tidy product is out there. I also am involved with the labels A & R. HF: So how did your position at Tidy come about ? LH: I got the job because Andy Pickles saw me play in a club and offered me a job. First of all I worked for a Company called Mastermix, which is another sub company of the Music Factory Entertainments group [the company that owns Tidy Trax]. I used to do megamixes and even Jive Bunny mixes. Eventually after a year Andy brought me over to work for Tidy. HF: How does Tidytwo fit into things at Tidy ? LH: We set up Tidytwo as an avenue for the more trancier material. At the end of last year a lot of people were confused what we were doing. One week you would get something like Spacehopper and then the week after you would get Heavens Cry. There was no strategy to what Tidy was releasing, so we made the step of setting up Tidytwo. Now people can buy into what they like, if they like more German hard trance sound then Tidy2 is for them. If they like the hard house stuff then Tidy is for them. It just made sense to us as the music was getting so diverse. HF: We saw you at work in the Tidy tent at Gatecrasher Summer Sound System, great set How did you find it playing in a tent and what did you think of the whole event? Will Tidy be returning to GCSSS? LH: I thought it was fantastic, the best set of my career by far! The atmosphere was awesome and the feeling you get up there in front of 6,000 people is ridiculous. As for going back next year I can’t say at this stage but I am aware that Gatecrasher were very happy with our arena so fingers crossed HF: You describe yourself as a hard trance DJ; currently there seems to be very little good quality hard trance being released in the UK with most of the material being played in London clubs being from Germany and Holland. Where do you source most of the vinyl for your sets? Do you see mainland European trance as the next big thing or will there be a UK resurgence? LH: I became a hard trance DJ over a year ago really, slowly but surely the sound creeped into my sets because hard house was not exciting me anymore. I wasn’t enjoying my sets half as much as I am now. The power and the uplifting feeling I get from hard trance cannot be beaten. Unfortunately like you said there are not many key people in the UK that do play or produce this sound, which is good for me as I have found my own niche. I have recently finished my second track for Tidy, which is on Tidytwo. Its called 'Music Is The Drug' and for me it is the best thing I have done so far. I am over the moon with it and early reactions have been very strong. So for me production is very important. Other than that Tidy have just signed the Riot Bros. Two lads for Hull who produce some of the best hard trance I have ever heard in my life and they are only 17. These guys have had a release out on Tidy already, which did very well and there are lots of other original material to come over the next few months. So as you can see from all this I do play a lot of forthcoming Tidy2 stuff off CD and other than that German stuff. I buy my records from Tune Inn in Selby and Chemical Records in Cheltenham. HF: Who would you say your biggest inspiration has been when it comes to DJing and production? LH: Tony De Vit. I used to go down to Pulse and see him at SS all the time. He was an inspiration to everyone I think. A fantastic DJ and most of all bloody nice bloke. Never got above his station always kept in with the clubbers and made time for them, which is so important. He inspired me cause not only did he play really hard but he could build a set so well. He could start at 140 and his music would still sound and feel hard and fast. I often sit back and think what the scene would be like today if he was still around. Just before he died he was getting into the more melodic stuff like Signum etc. Its just so sad he left us when he did. HF: Which current producers of hard house and trance do you most respect and why? LH: I like S.H.O.K.K., DJ Scot Project and Riot Bros aka Guyver as well. HF: Your residencies (Storm, Sundissential, Blessed) and the majority of your sets seem to have been played in the North of England although you've played at events such as Frantic's Tidy Trax vs. Nukleuz and Tidy London. Do you believe there is a significant divide in the music being played in London / the south of England compared to North of the border? LH: I think there was but not any more. Frantic have started doing joint parties with clubs up north now and like you say we are doing bi-monthly’s down in London. Its all good really, there should be no divide as music needs to spread wider especially in these tough times. On a personal note I have seen an increase in gigs down south. Frantic have booked me quite a lot, and I have got gigs now at Slinky Bristol. HF: Do you still adjust the style of sets that you play depending on where the audience is from or do you just bang it out in your own style whatever? LH: Obviously if I play an earlier set I keep my sets down or likewise if I play last I will play hard. You have to be able to be diverse with your sound as otherwise you are going to lose out in the end. It has taken me over a year for people to accept me as a hard trance DJ which has been difficult and I have been given a lot of stick for the so called “deserting” of hard house. At the end of the day what I play is hard and is house music. HF: You played at the Frantic Tidy Trax vs. Nukleuz event... in your opinion who won? LH: Silly question... HF: Would you say hard house in the UK is dying or evolving into something new? LH: It's just evolving, music changes all the time otherwise it would have died years ago. If you listen to the early Trade albums and listen to the hard house back then, the stuff nowadays is totally different. Techno and the more trancier elements have appeared and everyone is crying out that its all over... why? Just cause it’s not got what they are used to its deemed as crap, when really they should listen and digest then make a decision. If you don’t like it fine, but it really pisses me off when people just slag other sounds off on websites or slag DJ’s off for playing something they don’t like. Obviously they haven’t got anything better to do... how sad is that! HF: Tell us about your current and forthcoming production work and when the releases will be available. LH: Well like I said earlier I have just finished 'Music Is The Drug' which featured on Extreme Euphoria. On the other side is a track called Your Serve. Both are out on Tidytwo on Sept 9th. HF: As regards Tidy London, the first event seemed to be a great success, for the 2nd event in August we're interested to see that there will be a Lisa Lashes vs. Lab4 live DJ set? How's that going to work? LH: I am not actually sure to be honest. I never get involved with the events side of the business. I just turn up and play. Whatever it is I am sure it will be spectacular. HF: What are Tidy's plans to develop the Tidy London event? Do you envisage it becoming a monthly club night or more like a quarterly thing? LH: At present it is bi-monthly and as far as I am aware it is going to stay that way. We are currently looking for a venue to do another bi-monthly event in the north so we can do alternate nights one month up north and visa versa. London was something we had wanted to do for a while but not got round to it but I think it has added another dimension to the Tidy machine and the first night was a great success so we will have to see what happens. HF: Hard house in Ibiza seemed to die a bit of a death last year as HQ's pulled their weekly night... we hear you'll be playing on the white island this year, whereabouts and when? Do you think Ibiza can support a strong hard house scene? LH: I am playing a few times. Storm on August 9th and then Tonic on August 22nd. I can't wait as it has been a few years since I have been to Ibiza. Tonic is part of a monthly Tidy night we are doing with them at Eden on Thursdays. The first one was last week and it went very well however I did hear that Ibiza was only just getting busy. I’m going out with Lashes in peak season so fingers crossed it will be a belter, plus that’s when I have a week off so I cant wait just to chill! As for Ibiza supporting a hard house scene that is a very difficult question. Ibiza is such a cool and fashionable place and because of the media Hard House is deemed as so uncool I think it just wouldn’t work on a weekly basis. Monthly would be good I think as it would be more exclusive... let's see what happens next year. HF: What can we expect from Lee Haslam in the future? LH: Bigger and better things hopefully! Like I said earlier I have now established myself with my music so I just need to push myself that bit more to get the gigs that I want. My goals for the rest of this year and next are regular gigs at Gatecrasher, Golden, Passion and Godskitchen. I think it is within my reach for sure so lets see what happens. I would also like to do more production, when I get the chance HF: A last question that we have to ask everyone, sorry Lee ! What are your top 3 dance tracks of all time? Signum – What ya got 4 me? DJ Hinx – El Viendo – Martin Eyerer Remix Carte Blanche - Veracocha HF: Any final thoughts, or any questions you would have liked to have been asked but haven't? LH: No I think I have ranted for long enough. Thanks for the interview, enjoyed it ! With thanks to Lee and Danny at MostWantedPR for their time Related Links: Tidy Trax Lee Haslams's HarderFaster DJ page Tidy London on 3rd August Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: Other Features By tom: Interview with Guffy Interview with Energy Dai Interview with Tara Reynolds Interview with Anne Savage Interview with James Lawson The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments:

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