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Gary Holden AKA DJ GRH is fast becoming one of the most
respected figures in the hard dance scene, playing gigs at some of the top
nights in the UK and abroad and having just released a track on Tidy Trax
with Paul Maddox. We caught up with him to ask him a few questions and for
him to tell us what he has been up to.
Biography ( interview below)
I finished off 2002 with a superb
accolade – Mixmag featured me as their ‘Tip For The Top’ which has
brought me a lot of work. Couple this with the fact that ‘New York, New
York’ (my debut, a collaboration with Paul Maddox) release on Tidy Trax
(backed with a superb OD404 mix) and things are going very well.
Response to ‘New York, New York’ has been phenomenal : even at pre-order
stage it was Bangingtunes.com’s best selling track; MTV Dance have asked
Tidy Trax to feature the track; the track features on CD’s such as
‘Insomnia 3’ and on the Mixmag cover mount CD for February 2003 etc.
I have already been playing abroad this year - just returned from
Finland where I played 2 gigs that reflected my versatile style. Played
in Tampere where I played an uptempo funky / hard style (think Trade
Lite material) and then onto Lahti where I played a euphoric, driving,
hard trance set to a very appreciative audience! Further international
work and production is lined up, with next track ‘Detour’ now completed
(already looking like being a good success, for example : Tidy Trax have
snapped it up to sign it!; Anne Savage was the first to hear it and has
requested that it be featured on her new forthcoming compilation) and
trips to the USA (a booking taken of by Tidy Trax Management for myself
and Karim) (another USA trip to play for Fevah USA) next in the
pipeline.
Good bookings continue to come in with the Tidy Weekender, Hard House
Academy, Riot!, Convergence and so forth all lined up in the next few
weeks. My several residencies at places like Base (Leeds), Addiction
(Manchester) etc hold diary space alongside gigs all over the UK. I have
just completed a good course at the Leeds College Of Music that has
given me great stead in production on Cubase - whilst wanting to work
with superb producers such as Paul Maddox still, I do want to engineer
myself of course. I have just sold about £2000's worth of old records
and a new purpose built PC and home setup studio is in the process of
being built :)
Interview
1. How, why and when did you get into dj'ing?
I've had decks for something like 8 or 9 years now. However, it was only
at the end of my University course that a friend pushed me into entering
a DJ competition at the Student Union. I went on to win and gained my
first residency at Religion in Huddersfield :)
2. You dj a wide variety of musical styles, how would you describe your
dj'ing style?
Versatile :) I listen to a lot of different music.
3. What dj's and producers have inspired you the most since you started
dj'ing?
Andy Farley is an admiration. A nice guy and a superbly technical DJ. I
am also inspired by the younger guys coming through too - the Olly P's,
the Guyver's of this world. Fair play to them :)
4. What is your favourite track of all time and why?
Too hard to say - I have so many different favourites. Richard F's mix
of 'Georgie Porgie - Life Goes On' holds a fond memory - it never fails
to kick off where I play it and it reminds me of happy sessions in Trade
Lite in London.
5. You have spent a fair bit of time in Holland playing at HQ and Dance
Valley, how did that come about and what is it like to play over there?
I won the Energy UK DJ competition in April 2000. This is a very
substantial net award and I used it to market myself. UDC in Holland
were sent a promotional package and have continued to re-book me time
and time again :) It's superb playing out there - the Dutch are
fantastic people. I played to about 7000 people at the Impulz Festival
out there, after Yoji Biomehanika - that was awesome!
6. What are the clubbers in Holland like compared to those in the UK?
Quite different. They don't dress up as 'try hards' or 'cybers' but they
are just as up for a good party. They're lovely people - I have many
friends out there now :)
7. What other countries have you played in and what plans have you to
play abroad in the future?
I've worked in a lot of different places - from Holland to Ibiza, from
the USA to Scotland, from Finland to Wales. I have already been playing
abroad this year - just returned from Finland where I played 2 gigs that
reflected my versatile style. Played in Tampere where I played an
uptempo funky / hard style (think Trade Lite material) and then onto
Lahti where I played a euphoric, driving, hard trance set to a very
appreciative audience! Further international work is lined up. Trips to
the USA (a booking taken of for myself and Karim) (and another USA trip
to play for Fevah USA) next in the pipeline.
8. You have recently released a track on Tidy Trax with Paul Maddox
called, "New York, New York." How did that come about and what are your
plans for production in the future?
The first time I stepped into a studio, I will be honest – I knew that I
would have to gain the assistance of an engineer as I do not have the
capabilities to come out of the studio with a QUALITY piece of material
by myself (since then, I have learned a lot from Paul and also have now
completed an Intermediate Cubase course at the Leeds College of Music).
I met Paul Maddox and become good friends with him. Despite immense
piss-taking, I think he’s AMAZING at what he does. His attitude, skill
and determination are something that I admire and his success is nothing
more than justice. We’d talked about working together on ‘my’ debut
single for some time – agreeing that it should be a break from the norm
– something to turn heads. ‘New York, New York’ is written by both of
us, engineered superbly by Paul with lyrics written and performed by
myself. To write a track that actually means something close to my heart
is quite fulfilling – indeed ‘NYNY’ is more than a piece of hard house
madness. It personifies me and my style. I am obsessed by New York City.
I have visited three times now and there is no place on earth that gives
me such amazing rushing feeling of adrenaline. My last visit to the city
was at the end of my University placement year (I lived in the US and
Ireland for a while) and it is this visit that I wrote NYNY about. The
whole track is ‘confusing’ – it epitomises the crazy world that is NYC.
The slowing down ‘hip hop style’ break signifies the cool nature of the
city – its’ a fucking cool place to be without a doubt. The lyrics are
split into three parts of my life : before, during and after my visit to
NYC. A city that, undoubtedly, changed my life. Response to 'New York,
New York' has been phenomenal - it was best selling track on
'Bangingtunes.Com' even at its pre-sale stage; MTV Dance have requested
the track from Tidy; it featured on compilations such as Insomnia 3 and
on the Mixmag covermount; I have had requests to play it from everywhere
from Base in Leeds to Impulse in Lahti (Finland) on my travels - super
stuff. Its great to be appreciated for the meaning and thought that goes
into my output and to move away from the common thought that 'hard house
is unintelligent'. Just received the news that 'Detour' has been snapped
up by Tidy Trax - my second track and the second one to be signed by
them Anne Savage was the first to hear it and has requested that it be
featured on her new forthcoming compilation. I'm chuffed. After the
success and hype of ‘New York, New York’ (Tidy Trax), we know we’ve had
our work cut out to produce something else in the same train of
‘different thought’. Originally, we opted for a more ‘familiar’ sounding
track, but still with differing elements to other hard dance records.
Since then, we took that track apart and created something with
differing sounds and overall different result (even though we feel its
different to other material) – hence, we took a ‘detour’ to get where we
wanted to be. I have just completed a good course at the Leeds College
Of Music that has given me great stead in production on Cubase - whilst
wanting to work with superb producers such as Paul Maddox still, I do
want to engineer myself of course. I have just sold about £2000's worth
of old records and a new purpose built PC and home setup studio is in
the process of being built!
9. How can you see the hard dance scene progressing in the next 12
months?
Its so hard to say as, I think its fair to say that, the scene has been
so unstable recently. We're definitely seeing a move towards more
intelligence hard dance music. There's a whole host of new breed
bubbling under at the moment, assisted by the likes of Mixmag. Whether
or not the scene is ready to utilise these guys alongside the existing,
big money, big players is another matter.
10. Did you ever think that your dj'ing career would take off as much as
it has?
No. In a word. You require a combination of hard work and good luck. I
can only put the hard work in, but luckily I got strokes of good (and
bad) luck along the way. It's weird though - one of my friends (Kym) has
always said to be that I'd make it and she said it with such
determination and belief. Its comforting and driving.
11. Where are your favourite places to play in the UK?
Base is top of the list. Ermm....Riot, Frantic, Sundissential was
wicked, Milk, Parlez Vous?, Housewives Choice - there's LOADS!
12. What tunes would you advise people to look out for in the near
future?
Anything by 'Olly P' aka Olly Perris. This guy is only something like
18, he's a lovely lad and a FANTASTIC producer - mark my words, I said
it with Maddox and I'll say it with Olly, this guy is gonna cause some
serious waves.
Many thanks to you Gary and good luck with everything in the future.
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