D J  P R O F I L E : S I M O N  F O R E S T I E R O

The architect with designs on the dancefloor

I guess you could say good things come to those who wait. It would seem that the patience is starting to pay off for SIMON FORESTIERO. After spending over a decade in further education, Simon is currently getting props for his sets in the lounge at what is quickly becoming the country’s premier funky house nights: BABOOSHKA @ CODE in Birmingham. It’s been a long time coming....

As he points out, "When I started DJing, there was no such thing as a superstar DJ - just people who loved music and spent every spare penny on buying records and playing them out. I guess I’ve come into DJing from a different route to the one most people get into it nowadays - I started in playing 7"s (remember them?!) in a youth club on plastic turntables when I was 15, then into pubs and clubs and didn’t actually have a pair of decks at home until a few years ago!"

He feels that learning to programme tracks and mix in front of a crowd as opposed to locked up in a sweaty bedroom has made all the difference to his style.  "Slick mixing was, and in my opinion still is, secondary to playing great tunes that can take a crowd through highs and lows in the course of a set.  I love to add my personality to sets by a combination of scratching, beat mixing, accapellas and effects but, at the end of the day, I like to think that primarily it’s what I play that people appreciate most."

So, from humble beginnings in a Milton Keynes youthclub in 1986, Simon used spinning vinyl as a means to finance his way through sixth form and then eight-and-a-half years at university in Manchester. "I decided after finishing uni that it was really a ‘point of no return’ in terms of my DJing - I’d always done it as way to provide money for my studies while doing something I loved, but had to make a choice which way my career was going to head. I decided to throw caution to the wind and give DJing a proper crack. That meant putting my career in architecture and design on hold and committing to it full time."

Warm ups for PETE TONG(’93), NORMAN JAY(’94) and Dorado Records’ ROSS ALLEN(’94) while he was still a student and a season in Kavos, Corfu(’98) were great experience, but what really set the wheels in motion for Simon was ‘Vain Glorious’ in Whitefield, North Manchester. It was after being given the chance to play by JASON HERD (a co-promoter of the night), he held a weekly residency there from July 1999 in which he was billed with the likes of FULL INTENTION, Retro’s PAUL TAYLOR, JAY FLOYD, GREG FENTON, LEE HUSSEY, JOHN KELLY and DANNY WHITEHEAD.

This exposure led to an increased demand for his brand of original sets. Musically, Simon draws from various sources which are reflected in a huge and varied record collection. "If I ever have to describe what I’m about musically, ‘eclectic’ is a word that normally crops up. Milton Keynes was hardly a hot-bed of musical originality, so I grew up on a diet of mainly pop music as a kid. Nothing at all cool ever got played at my house - except for a the odd slice of Elvis. I spent all my cash as a kid on music and found myself more and more buying at the funkier end of the musical spectrum."
 

His mixed-up brand of funk, jazz, 2-step, funky house, soul, pop, RnB and hiphop beats proved a hit with the glam-house crowd of Vain Glorious and its sister
all-dayers, Ultima - which subsequently led to collaborations with Café Mambo and Retro resident DANNY WHITEHEAD. These included Ibiza sets at both MAMBO and BAR M in the summer of 2000 as well as regular guest spots at Danny’s ‘High Society’ funky house night at Juice in Bolton.

The contact with JASON HERD from his time at Vain Glorious resurfaced when he played on the same bill as US House-God ROGER SANCHEZ at SOIRÉE: a one-off gig promoted by both Jason and Robo- his partner in Manchester’s hugely successful ‘2RISQUÉ’ night in Manchester. Y2K continued from strength to strength when Simon joined Jason alongside DANNY RAMPLING and GRAEME PARK in the main arena on the opening weekend at CODE in Birmingham for the Godskitchen boys’ first foray into the world of all things funky.... BABOOSHKA. The year culminated with a bang when he played a seven hour set in the VIP lounge at the huge New Years Eve event at GODSKITCHEN.
 

Since then, along with webcasts on bpmradio.co.uk, he has made the top lounge at Babooshka his own.  Combining beatmixing, scratching and effects trickery with a funked-up eclectic musical selection, his name has been gracing flyers billed alongside ERICK MORILLO, BOB SINCLAIR, FULL INTENTION, SEAMUS HAJI and STONEBRIDGE.  With 2001 now in full swing, gigs to come include include the VIP lounge at the MINISTRY OF SOUND’s Saturday night: ‘Rulin’ and the funk room at 2Risqué’s boat party in May as well as spots on the 4danceclubs.com UK & International tours later in the year.

It’s taken a while, but it looks like the student turned architect is finally building the DJing reputation he deserves.

Recent Press

"Babooshka has captured the essence of 'fuck me, it's funky' clubbing by installing the floor quaking talent that is Simon Forestiero in the upstairs bar....Forestieroinflicts serious aural pleasure with his eclectic snazzy grooves"

"...phenomenal DJ Simon Forestiero keeps the vibe sexy in the lounge with an eclectic selection of hip hop, raregroove, r&b, funk and soul..."

For further information / interviews / pix or bookings please contact:

     SIMON FORESTIERO
A:  PO BOX 689, MANCHESTER, M60 2QH
T:  07720 467 963
E:  simon@got2befunky.com
W: www.got2befunky.com *

*Simon’s diary and availability is accessible online through his official website