Liam Osler is a 15-year-old DJ and guitarist who hails from King’s Lynn in Norfolk, and who is known to local audiences as DJ L.I.AM. Liam first came to our attention in 2021 when he was the recipient of a special Pro Mobile award – Young Inspiration of the Year – for his enterprising work during the Covid lockdowns. We thought it was about time we got in touch with him to see how his DJ career is going.
Q: Liam, can you tell us how your DJ journey started?
A: It all started when Mum and Dad bought me a Tibo all-in-one DJ controller (which I still have) for my fifth birthday. It has a built-in amplifier, speakers and a few flashing lights. I had to stand on a box to reach the decks, but as I gained height it became easier for me to reach more controls. It kept the family entertained, especially my wonderful grandad,
Roy Beeby, who was amazed by the technology and how easy I found it to use. I wish that he could be here now to see what I have achieved.
When I was eight I won a Hercules controller in a BPM competition. Well, Dad won it really. But he let me have it. This had even more gadgets for me to play with and I slowly gained more and more confidence using different software, and started to realise that there is a whole world of music out there. It was about this time that I also joined the Scouts, which gave me some life and leadership skills that would prove useful when we went into lockdown.
Q:How did you develop your DJ skills?
A: During Christmas 2020 I enrolled with Virtuoso Online DJ Training and did an online mixing course with DJ Mark One, who toured with Texas as a warm-up DJ. For my 11th birthday, Dad bought me a James Hype mixing course from the Digital DJ Tips online DJ school. That taught me so much about the art of four-deck mixing and how to use a capellas for FX, and ultimately how to make a club banger track. I give this course 100% – he is just off the scale.
Q: Lockdown was quite a catalyst for you. Tell us more.
A: My primary school shut its doors in March 2020. After being told ‘you must go to school’ all the time as a kid, it was suddenly scary when nobody was allowed. Life changed overnight, for everyone. But my Scoutmaster Andy Nicol is a very positive, caring person, and he started a weekly Zoom meeting with our Scout group, which gave us something to look forward to. Seeing my friends online was very strange at first but it gradually became normal, especially with all the crazy things going on in other people’s houses.
As I was in Year 6, there was meant to be a leavers’ disco for my year group. My dad had done this event for many years, but due to lockdown it got cancelled. So, I decided to throw an online disco for all the leavers at my school. Word got around the other local schools and the momentum grew, leading to 19 of West Norfolk’s primary schools wanting to take part.
This turned into a highly publicised media event with the local council, radio stations and schools all spreading the word. On the day we would have had our end of year disco, I ran the online version through Mixcloud – aptly named The Socially Distanced Disco: Virtual End of Year Disco 2020.
Q: How did that go?
A: Well, what I was about to experience changed my future. The sun was out, with a gentle breeze that made the mirror ball twinkle as it was hit by the sunrays – yes, the setup was outside. My brother who is into gaming lent me what turned out to be a very rare Brio 4k webcam, which captured what I was doing for the 1500 people who joined the stream with their families. There was an average of four people per household, resulting in an audience of approximately 6000! That’s a lot more people than Dad gets at his local school discos….
The chat room was filled with children, their families, and the teachers, all excited and chatting to each other. I couldn’t believe it. It was then that I realised I had done something really special. After the event, I began to get awards for what I and my dad had accomplished (I have to give him some credit!).
It was so successful that the streaming carried on through lockdown. I had regular people joining my stream, and a local radio station noticed me and asked if I would like to officially open their new online station, called Fenland Youth Radio. It was September 2020 and there was still social distancing, so I had to wear a face mask, which felt weird. But this was a huge step for me. I got to meet the Lord Mayor of Whittlesey and several councillors too.
From launching the new radio station came an offer to do a weekly dance show every Friday night, which I loved doing because we were heading back into lockdown again. It gave me something to focus on and a way of keeping in contact with my friends. I’ve also made new friends around the world, and now have fans in New York, Texas, Germany, Norway, Orkney, and so many more.
In 2021, as we began exiting lockdown, I was asked if I would like to do a live stream event with two DJs called the Roscoe Brothers, who I didn’t really know. I checked them out and it turned out they were two amazing house DJs with a huge following.
Dad’s taxi took me all the way to a music studio just the other side of Cambridge, where I met Luke and Jake for the first time, along with Charlie Tee, who owns Studio Neon 64. I couldn’t believe what was happening – why had they chosen me?
As the night progressed, I realised how popular Jake and Luke were. There were now over 4000 people logged onto Mixcloud alone, and TikTok had a similar number watching us perform our dance sets. There were people from all over the UK, Europe and the world watching 12-year-old DJ L.I.AM, with my new logo designed by Charlie Tee himself (still with me today).
Q: You also did some work with your Scout group?
A: As we got to the end of 2020, Scouts decided it would be a great idea to hold an online New Year’s Eve party to raise money for the group. The donated prizes for the raffle were dropped off at my house. It was like the local corner shop: chocolates, wine, beer and unwanted Christmas presents were turning up at all hours. But the event raised a whopping £600 towards the upkeep of our Scout hut, which was falling apart. The Scouts also arranged a defibrillator fund raising event, which I was to not only DJ but also play electric guitar with my guitar tutor’s band, The Last Train to London (Georgie, who has toured Europe with T-Rex, has tutored me since I was eight). I played three songs with them: ‘Wild Thing’, ‘Shotgun’ and ‘500 Miles’. The reaction was incredible.
Q: And of course, you were recognised quite far and wide.
A: Yes, I was presented with the Scouts Commissioner’s Commendation Award for my efforts during lockdown, which was a total shock. We actually raised enough money for two brand-new defibrillators and we were donated another by Bespak in King’s Lynn. One has already been used, and it makes me feel proud to have helped make such a difference in our community.
I was also presented some Blue Peter badges: the original Blue, the Music badge, and two Silver badges for my community fundraising. I was then awarded Young Inspirational DJ of the Year 2021 by Pro Mobile, which takes pride of place in our studio.
Q: This must have been very exciting?
A: It gets even better! With all the media attention surrounding what I had achieved online in lockdown, I had been noticed by the Festival Too committee in King’s Lynn.
They hold an annual free music festival in the town centre that attracts thousands of people. They asked if I would like to perform at their first festival after lockdown. I was embargoed and told not to tell anyone apart from my mum and dad. That was the hardest part.
I was given my own dressing room and shared the stage with Judge Jules, although at first I didn’t realise who or how popular he was! The other thing I didn’t realise was just how much practice I needed to do before the event. Talking to journalists, chatting with radio presenters, having my photo taken…was all totally surreal.
On the day I had to do an early sound check with my new Denon Prime 4 DJ controller. During that, Fleur East came over to catch up and I had my photo taken with her.
I went to my room, tried some of the complimentary food and drink, got changed into my gear, and went to perform my set in front of thousands. I was the youngest solo artist or DJ to have ever performed at Festival Too in its 37-year history.
After my set I met up with Amber Prothero and did an interview with her for my radio show, which was brilliant fun. And then I got to meet Judge Jules and have a chat and photograph with him. He even did a jingle for my radio show – “This is Judge Jules, make sure you listen to DJ L.I.AM on Fenland Youth Radio every Friday night!” How awesome is that?
A few weeks later I was asked if I would like to perform with DJ Judge Jules for a second time, along with DJ Howard Donald from Take That. I also got to interview Howard and found out about his love of dancing and cars (his favourite being a Mercedes Gullwing). I also realised how popular he is, with a huge line of ladies waiting outside to talk to him.
I was then presented with the High Sherriff of Cambridgeshire Award for outstanding commitment and dedication and exceptional contribution to Fenland Youth Radio and my Scout group, and also for enhancing the life of the community through my actions.
I was really shocked to receive this award and was given time off school to go to the presentation ceremony, and was presented the certificate by the High Sherriff of Cambridgeshire herself.
Q: And you also appeared at BPM?
A: Yes, I applied to perform at BPM in Solihull and got lucky. I got to perform a 45-minute set in front of other DJs, which was very hard – much harder than the festival! I felt I was being examined by not one but hundreds of older DJs, but I did it and felt it went really well, and I got lots of praise for following my dream.
Things went a little quiet for me and then in January of 2023 I was asked to perform again at Festival Too, but this time with Example as the headliner. I practised and practised until I knew exactly every rise and drop, and marked my set out using Denon’s Engine DJ software.
I mark my first cue beat, my second marker is where the vocal comes in, the third is just after the drop, and the fourth is my transition out. Throw in a few active loops, a bit of FX, and you have a 30-minute, 20-song power mix. This is where I take the most energetic part of a song and mix it with others to get everyone up. With the rise of TikTok, people need faster stimulation, so by mixing in and out at two-minute intervals it gives the audience what they want.
The stage was massive, with huge line-array speakers and video screens either side, and lighting and effects behind me. There was a video crew pointing cameras at me, as well as sound and lighting engineers, stage crew, and security, because this time there was an estimated 10,000 in the audience. The energy was unbelievable.
I walked on stage and said, “King’s Lynn, make some noise!” – and they did. It's special to hear a massive crowd respond to my actions; the words I spoke over the mic and the songs I was playing were just so amazing. I was buzzing on adrenaline and forgot that I was nervous. My set was 30 minutes but seemed like a lifetime.
D-ream & Liberty X performed while I went out in the crowd and had more pictures taken. Towards the end of the night, I got to stand stage-side to watch Example and DJ Wire perform an epic set. This has taught me the amount of energy and precision that is required of a headlining act… maybe one day!
After taking on the advice of Judge Jules and Howard Donald and many other DJs, I have now started creating my own songs and mixes using Ableton Live and uploading them to all the well-known music platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal.
This year I performed at the Breast of Friends cancer charity ball, which raised over £26,000, and at the Purfleet Trust, which helps the homeless, who raised a whopping £13,000. It is so rewarding to help others in need, and possibly the best part of being a young DJ.
Q: What a journey. What about the future?
A:My dream is to produce a big hit song and DJ at TomorrowLand or Vegas with the world’s best DJ producer, James Hype, or perhaps a guitarist. Who knows where the future will take me, but it’s exciting.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 129, Pages 54-57.