One of the greatest DJs the world has ever seen that’s official, by the way says playing to 300 people in Perth can be more enjoyable thaen DJ-ing in front of more than a million people in Rio de Janeiro at New Year.
London-based dance guru Eddie Halliwell, who plays Perth’s City Nightclub on Saturday, told Rocktalk, “To be honest, whether you’re playing a huge festival or a tiny club, it’s just as enjoyable. Paul Van Dyke and myself took up one end of the beach in Rio and as far as you could see there were people dancing and bouncing up and down, having a great time. It was a phenomenal experience that I’ll never forget.
“I saw an aerial picture of the crowd the next day and it was absolutely unbelievable. But, in fact, sometimes the smallest ones are the best gigs to do. I do enjoy the big ones as well but sometimes you can be a bit detached, this tiny figure on a distant stage with a million anonymous heads in front of you.
“You can engage with the crowd at a small gig. You’ve just got to appreciate that they’re different but are all just as enjoyable as each other.”
Eddie returns to Perth after his last appearance four years ago, bearing the accolade of being nominated recently for dance magazine Mixmag’s Greatest DJ of All Time. He’s one of the most in-demand dance DJs on the planet and his own radio show, Fire it up, is going from strength to strength.
“I’ve got 10 million listeners, spanning from every corner of the globe. It’s amazing to be able to hit such a vast audience every week with the syndicated show.”
And on his nomination by Mixmag he would only say modestly, “It’s just great that people think enough of you. I feel privileged to be part of such a list and never expected to be in something like this at my age. There are some people twice my age. There are some serious legends in there DJs I look up to and admire.”
Last year, Eddie played in Ibiza, Brazil and Australia, all part of the burgeoning worldwide dance scene which at one time was restricted to a few sweaty venues in the UK.
Dance music has now grown to the point where the top DJs are in demand throughout the world and, in Eddie’s case at least, are able to plan their jobs around where the sun is shining at any particular time.
“England was the dance centre of the world but it’s just grown over the years and is still growing. In some places it’s just kicking off but Ibiza still has that special feeling because of the history. This year I took the first couple of months off to plan my schedule for the year ahead, but normally I would just head for wherever it is summer, where the sun is in the world.
“Brazil and Australia were last year’s highlights for me I love playing in these territories. Two real stand-out gigs were Green Valley in Brazil and Summadayze festival in Gold Coast both immense! But I’m looking forward to playing in Perth on Saturday. The Scottish crowds are always really receptive and it’s always a great feeling.
“I love playing in Scotland. It’s always a crazy atmosphere and the crowd tend to be very musically open minded, which is fantastic.”
Joining Eddie in the main room is Romania’s first lady of trance, Claudia Cazacu, who boasts an impressive discography with massive releases on the Spinnin and Armada labels and was the only female DJ to feature in the prestigious Top 100 DJ Mag poll.
Meanwhile City resident superstars Joan Thirwall and Alan Wyse will be warming up the main room with Sam Scott in the Mezz Room.
Tickets cost £15 and are available from City/Sportsters, Concorde Perth & Groucho’s in Dundee.