Wildchild 3rd Birthday interview with Little Gem
Reported by Terrible Tara
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Submitted 16-10-05 16:55
With Wildchild’s 3rd Birthday approaching we take time out to catch up with leading lady Little Gem. Gem is currently setting the scene alight with her no-nonsense, infectious brand of hard dance, from her beloved Wildchild residency to smashing it at Frantic, tearing it up @ Slinky and leaving them wanting more @ Sundissential.
Clubs a plenty and productions follow the same route, Gem having turned many a knob in the studio with some of hard dance’s finest producers such as Ingo, Gaz West, Nu Energy Collective’s K Complex & AMS, Tidy favourite Ben Kaye as well as her own solo productions to boot. Tearing up the clubs, locking down the productions and running the UK’s next big thing: Wildchild. Gem, we salute you BUT how the bloody hell do you do it??? We catch up with Gem to find out how…
Ok, first things first, how are you!?
I’m very well thank you. A little tired as I had a busy weekend with gigs, but it was all good and very enjoyable! And you!?
I’m good thanks! Ok, so down to business… I can hardly pick up a flyer without your name being on it, which must mean you’re a very busy girl at the moment! How are you finding your new found fame and what do you like best about playing all over the country?
Oh stop it, you’re making me blush! I’m absolutely loving where I’m at, at the moment. I’m getting to go all over the country and play some wicked gigs, so what more could a girl ask for! It’s just a wicked feeling to think that you’re doing something you love and getting to travel all over to do it! The thing I love most about travelling to the different clubs is meeting the clubbers as they all just absolutely love it and are always up for it! And I just love hearing all their different accents!
And what’s the worst thing?!!!
The worst thing is definitely the travelling to gigs! It can take ages to get to some clubs and all that motorway driving can get soooooooooo boring! The drive to Truro for Tranzaction was one of the worst I think, it’s so far down in Cornwall it’s virtually to Newquay! We got stuck in loads of traffic on the way down there and I think it ended up taking us about 6 hours. I then had the pleasure of getting back to London for 3am for another gig that I had to get to! Luckily my driver had a fast car, and plenty of tunes to bang out!!!
Do you prefer playing to a London crowd or elsewhere in the country?
I must say that it’s always very special playing to a London crowd, as I’m obviously a London girl, but it’s also wicked playing elsewhere as they’re always so responsive and up for it.
You’ve already played at and will be playing at some of the biggest promotions in the country, including Slinky, Wildchild, Sundissential, Frantic, Storm and Dance Academy, as well as playing for most other promotions in and around London. What big events do you have coming up that you’re most looking forward to?
Well I’m obviously very excited about the Wildchild 3rd Birthday which is coming up on the 29th October @ SeOne. It’s looking likely to be one of the best events of 2005! There’s also the Sundissential 9th Birthday on 26th November which is going to be absolutely awesome and I feel extremely honoured to be playing at this, I’m very excited indeed! On the same night I also have More @ SeOne, so that’s going to be a very busy weekend!
What’s on the agenda for Wildchild for the rest of the year and 2006?
Something very exciting for the end of the year actually… we’re doing our first ever Boxing Day event, which is going to be awesome! It’s going to be at Heaven, which makes it even more exciting as we haven’t had an event at Heaven for ages! I personally love Boxing Day clubbing and have religiously gone out clubbing every Boxing Day for years. It’s a great way to see your mates over the Christmas period and an even better way to work off some of those excess calories you’ve consumed!!!
Next year sees us take on some awesome international tours which are going to be simply amazing and a wicked experience for us! We’ve also got some exciting plans for Ibiza, but I can’t say too much at the moment! And we will of course be hosting our usual array of superb UK events which will consist of some pretty big things, so watch this space!
We hear you’ve been doing some serious damage in the studio recently. Can you tell us what you’ve been up to?
Yeah, I’ve been doing loads in the studio recently! I’ve dabbled a bit in the past and did have a track feature on the Tidy Addict compilation album, but I really wanted to dedicate quite a bit of time on collaborating with some producers to bang out some serious tunage! So that’s what I did! I’ve so far been in with main man himself, Ingo, who proved to be the master craftsman I expected! The track has turned out very nice and a definite mixture of both our sounds which I feel is a definite must when collaborating. I’ve also been in with the very talented Ben Kaye of Tidy fame, where we put together a nice tuff, dark, hard trancey little number which I must say I’m very pleased with! I’ve been giving it the once over on the dancefloor and I’m very proud to say that it does go ‘off’!!! Next up would be the lovely K Complex from the Nu Energy Collective who has one of the plushest studios I’ve seen! We’ve put together something that I’d say was a little ‘tuffer’ than what Pete would normally do, but it’s still work in progress, so we’re going to trance it up a bit! I’ve also been in with AMS, another of those little tykes from the Nu Energy Collective, to work on a remix for the Wildchild album. The track ‘Alive’ is a wicked tune and one that I definitely wanted for the album, so myself and AMS decided to give it a little kick up the arse to make it even more special for the album! Myself and the lovely Lady Bianca also hit the studio a while back and we’re planning to get back in there soon to put the finishing touches to our track and to work on another, so keep those ears open!!
They are some of the scenes most prolific producers you’ve been working with there!! Tell us who was the best to work with, go on!!!
I couldn’t possibly pick the best out of them, they were all extremely talented and a pleasure to work with! I’m equally pleased with all the tracks and have been really enjoying giving them a spin on those dancefloors!
What are your future plans for your production career and what other top DJ/Producer collaborations do you have up your sleeve?
I’m really enjoying the whole production thing at the moment. I’ve got loads of ideas for other tracks and would really like to start experimenting and making some different kinds of tracks.
Regarding collaborations, I’ve got a few different ones coming up in the next few months. I’m going in with Kernzy & Klemenza, who I’m really excited about working with! I’ve been caning their ‘Back In Time’ since last year, so you can expect some serious filth from us! I’m also in with Gaz West of ‘Dark By Design’ fame, who again, I’m really excited about working with. I’ve loved and played virtually all his stuff, so it’s a real honour to work with him. Also on the agenda are Greg Brookman, Technikal and Garbo so it’s all looking pretty good on the production front!
You’ve recently mixed the ‘Hard Dance’ disc for the debut Wildchild album. How did you go about selecting your tracks for your mix?
It was actually very difficult to pick my tunes for the album, as I wanted it to be so special! I really wanted all the tracks to be tunes that I absolutely loved and that were a true representation of the sort of stuff I play. It did take me some serious time to get my tracklisting together, but to say that I’m pleased with the final result, would be an understatement! I love every single track and think that I couldn’t have got it any more ‘Little Gem’ than what it is! I’m just so excited about it being released and just can’t wait to see it there in the shops! I’m like small child really! I know that when I see it in shops, I’m just going to be running around like a kid!
Your disc is mixed with K90, did you have any arguments about any tracks that you both wanted to use!?
Luckily there were no discrepancies about any of the tracks we wanted to use!! Fortunately we both chose different tracks which didn’t conflict, so it was all good! Mark K90 is lovely and I was so pleased about my disc being mixed with him. It’s very exciting to have my name feature on something with someone as prolific and well respected as him!
Could you give us an insight to any of the tracks that feature on the album?
Hmm, now that would be telling wouldn’t it, hehe! Well without saying to much, I can say that my mix features tracks by… Lisa Lashes, Ingo, Greg Brookman… ok that’s enough for now! You’re just going to have to wait for the rest! Oh yeah, it obviously features the above mentioned remix of ‘Alive’ by AMS! But that really is all your getting for the time being!!!
Do you have a favourite out of all the tracks!?
Now that really is a difficult question! To be honest, I don’t think I do actually! They are all such wicked tunes I really don’t think I could pick a favourite!
The album is being launched at the forthcoming Wildchild 3rd Birthday, where you’re playing back to back with K90. Can you tell us what we can expect from you both at the event?
Well, the event is as you say, the launch of the album as well as being the 3rd Birthday so it really is a fantastic chance for myself and K90 to showcase the tracks that we’ve selected for our disc of the album. You can expect some serious tunage as well as some of that famous dancing from Mr K90! Oh and I might end up on the podium or something too!!!
You’re also playing another set in Arena 2. What can we expect from you in this set?
Ah well this set is basically a chance for me to bang it out of course, hehe!!! I am equally looking forward to this set, as it will be my chance to take things a little harder than my set with K90, which can’t be a bad thing now can it!!! Oh yeah, and I might end up on the podium!!
So with this event being the 3rd Birthday, can we expect more of the usual Wildchild shenanigans, parades, dancers and general naughtiness!!??
For sure!!! Of course!!! Without doubt!!!
There’s no way that we’d let our 3rd Birthday pass without making sure that it goes off with a bang! We’ve not only got one of the best venues in the country, nearly 100 of the worlds finest DJs and fantastic sound and light systems… but we’ve also factored in ‘the midnight track’ whereby a classic tune is going to go off as we see in our birthday! This and the usual giveaways, sweets, fruit, lollipops, chewing gum, space hoppers, goody bags, as well as a few new additions, it’s defo going to be the best WiLDCHiLD to date!
Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the event?
I always get asked this question, and most of the time I never get to see anyone that I want to, as I’m always running around like a blue arse fly with a million and one things to do! This time though, I’m definitely going to take time out to see Nu NRG Live as these boys are absolutely wicked! I also would love to check out Greg Brookman’s ‘A.L.I.V.E’ pa, which I know is going to be outstanding! Also on the list would be Lisa Pin Up, Organ Donors, JFK, Agnelli & Nelson, Ilogik, Scott Bond, Ronski Speed B2B Brisky, Alex Kidd B2B Charlie G, Garbo, Phil York B2B Jason Cortez and some of our very own Wildchild Cadets… Glen Gavin and Stewart Hill who I believe have some top stuff up their sleeves, as well as James Condon and Chris Hawkes who will be flying the Wildchild flag for us without doubt! Oh yeah, and Reecey boy of course!!
We all know you’re a bit of a party girl, so where will we find you after Wildchild?
Yeah, that’s me — party girl Gem!!! You will of course be finding me at none other that TWIST of course!!! It’s the official WiLDCHiLD afterparty and I think I’m as excited about this as I am the actual event, hehe!! I’m playing back to back with Garbo, which is going to be, shall we say, fun!! Reece will also be there in force together with the usual suspects that are Danny Gilligan, Red and Blue and Tommy Four Seven, as well as Guy Hornsby doing the Wildchild thing in the funky room! Wow, how exciting!!!
… and there’s talk of a pre-party too! How much can we take in one weekend!
Yes, it’s true! We’re kicking things off with a pre-party at Belushis which is literally just round the corner from SeOne. It’s a great chance for everyone to meet for a drink before hitting the club. And with promotions including… Turbulence, Chemical Reaction, 123, Puzzle Project and Prehab and DJs Dan Madams, Stevi D, Seany Sean, Dave Mac, Ben Bennett, Mattie C, Sascha, Cameron Shaw, David Murtagh, Gary Optim together with myself and Chris Hawkes, what more could you want for a free party, woohoo!
So basically it’s going to be one huge weekend! How are you going to cope!?
Well it had to be really, what with it being our 3rd Birthday and all that! I’m going to make sure I have plenty of sleep before the weekend starts and take my vitamins like a good girl!
Well, I for one can’t wait for the 29th! Thanks for your time Gem!
Me neither! See everyone there!
Big thanks to you too xxx
All photos courtesy of Little Gem.
WiLDCHiLD 3rd Birthday & Album Launch
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On:
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Saturday 29th October 2005
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At:
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S.E.One [map]
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From:
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20.00 - 06.00
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Cost:
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£14 / £17 / £20
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Website:
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www.wildchild-uk.com
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Ticket Info:
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***Earlybird £14.00 Tickets – SOLD OUT!
***Saver £17.00 Tickets – ON SALE WHILE STOCKS LAST!
***Standard Price tickets – £20.00!
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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WiLDCHiLD present “The 3rd Birthday - REACH FOR THE LASER” & Debut Album Launch on Saturday 29th October 2005 @ The Awesome SeOne Centre
Come and celebrate 3 of the very best with London’s favourite WiLDCHiLD!!!
WiLDCHiLD – It’s what clubs were made for!!!
With Slinky, Sundissential, Passion, Storm, Trance Generation, Cyberkitten, Tranzaction, Big, BBL – Bigger Better Louder, Kinky U & more!
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Flyer:
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