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ARTICLE
Of course, the recent pandemic put a halt to all that and the events of the last 16 months have hit me as hard as any other DJ, with dates cancelled due to restrictions on venues. But slowly things are beginning to get better, my diary is starting to fill up, and I recently performed my first live DJ set to an audience.

The venue was the Jam House in St. Paul’s Square, Birmingham, where I have been the resident DJ for four years. A normal night would see me playing a wide range of music styles including soul, disco, pop, dance and even a touch of reggae, filling the dancefloor with partygoers. But all that was to be put to one side – my first DJ set for over a year was to see me enter new DJ territory.

The venue had spoken to me about the strict guidelines they had to adhere to when facilitating a live audience. The brief was simple. Everyone was to enjoy themselves but without dancing or singing. How hard could that be? Well, as it turned out… not as easy as I thought!

The Jam House had hosted a ‘sit-down’ event before (back in September 2020) and the time was right to do it again. The DJ booth was repositioned from its usual setting high up in the Gods, to the main stage with tables and chairs set up close by. I was now within touching distance of my audience and could work closely with them to ensure I got the blend of music exactly right. I could see their eyes; their facial emotions. I could hear what they were saying. I was no longer playing floor-filling anthems from my elevated position above the audience. I was slap-bang in the middle of them – whilst remaining at the required distance, of course.

The venue opened at 5pm with a mix of ages gently flowing through the doors. I pride myself on having a particularly good knowledge of music but that was really put to the test with this event. I had to create a set that kept the customers happy, kept them interested but also deterred them from getting too excited. This was going to require a big effort.

My first tune was ‘When I Think Of You’ by Janet Jackson, which perfectly set the tone for what was to follow. This beautiful track from 1986 has a soft beat, cool piano riffs and smooth vocals – it was perfect! Other soul classics followed, including ‘She Loves You Back’ by Luther Vandross, a personal favourite of mine and a wonderful scene-setting track, but one that is often overlooked.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 108, Pages 72-74.
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