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From the smoky haze of late-night clubs to the sun-drenched terraces of Ibiza, the name Michael Gray goes as far back as 1990 when the ‘Brits 1990 Dance Medley’ stormed the UK charts. Fast forward through the ‘M’ project to 2004, the track that seemingly soundtracked everyone’s weekend – the ubiquitous and undeniably catchy ‘The Weekend’. A global smash that not only climbed the UK charts but also conquered the US Billboard.
Michael has continued to evolve, launching his own Sultra Records, exploring new sonic territories, and even earning the coveted #1 spot on Traxsource’s Top Artists of the Year – not just once, but twice! His recent collaborations with Dr Packer have reignited classic disco sounds for a new generation, and his official remix of Jamiroquai’s ‘Space Cowboy’ proves his ear for timeless grooves remains sharper than ever.
Not to mention, a brand-new album, ‘Optimism’, has just landed this year. Michael sat down with one of his very first mentors, Paul Dakeyne, to delve into his career, his inspirations, his Twitch channel and radio show for the Mi-Soul network.
Q: Let’s go back to the early days. When did you first get that DJ bug?
A: When I was about 11. I started doing discos at our church hall once a month which my parents organised. DJing to 120 under 16s was one of the biggest buzzes ever. I did school discos wherever I could and knew exactly what I wanted to do – just DJ.
Q: Was DJ to megamixer, remixer to producer and then solo artist, a very strategic career path, for you?
A: Starting off, all I wanted to do was DJ at a nightclub. I used to buy publications like Record Mirror and Disco International magazine religiously, and I would look at all the clubs, all the lighting and consoles and thought “I’ve got to be there”. It completely took over. I didn’t know, obviously, at around late teens and early 20s, that I wanted to end up producing and writing records until I got to mastering the Megamix side of things. I suddenly realised, “hang that, I could make my own track here and there”, albeit a bit rough around the edges, but you gotta start somewhere. It’s something that I enjoy today just as much as I did then – nothing’s changed.
And we’ve seen some changes. I mean, beforehand, we’d be sitting in studios way bigger than what we’re in now. I think you must have been about 20-22, I was around 19, and I’d sit and watch you work the 24-track and I learned off you how to record, big 2-inch reels of tape going around and stacks of keyboards and outboard and we had to learn a lot. People probably don’t realise that we’re a different generation, kind of doing everything ourselves and having to learn everything. Maybe we’ll get a keyboard player in to do stuff that we couldn’t do, but generally we had to sit there and learn how to engineer everything. I think, however, that’s paid off, because now I can sit in the studio and I don’t have to pay someone to come and program or engineer for me.
Q: Let’s have a brief overview of the production of ‘The Weekend’, your biggest crossover hit.
A: OK, so the idea I put down with Shèna. I got her to sing “I can't wait for the weekend” where Oliver Cheatham had sung this ad-lib at the end of ‘Get Down Saturday Night’. I also got Xavier in to record vocals, to really pull the...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full access to this article and the last year of articles, reviews and play lists via the Pro DJ App
Michael Gray’s ‘Remixes Volume 1’ is now available via: mastermixdj.com
Michael has continued to evolve, launching his own Sultra Records, exploring new sonic territories, and even earning the coveted #1 spot on Traxsource’s Top Artists of the Year – not just once, but twice! His recent collaborations with Dr Packer have reignited classic disco sounds for a new generation, and his official remix of Jamiroquai’s ‘Space Cowboy’ proves his ear for timeless grooves remains sharper than ever.
Not to mention, a brand-new album, ‘Optimism’, has just landed this year. Michael sat down with one of his very first mentors, Paul Dakeyne, to delve into his career, his inspirations, his Twitch channel and radio show for the Mi-Soul network.
Q: Let’s go back to the early days. When did you first get that DJ bug?
A: When I was about 11. I started doing discos at our church hall once a month which my parents organised. DJing to 120 under 16s was one of the biggest buzzes ever. I did school discos wherever I could and knew exactly what I wanted to do – just DJ.
Q: Was DJ to megamixer, remixer to producer and then solo artist, a very strategic career path, for you?
A: Starting off, all I wanted to do was DJ at a nightclub. I used to buy publications like Record Mirror and Disco International magazine religiously, and I would look at all the clubs, all the lighting and consoles and thought “I’ve got to be there”. It completely took over. I didn’t know, obviously, at around late teens and early 20s, that I wanted to end up producing and writing records until I got to mastering the Megamix side of things. I suddenly realised, “hang that, I could make my own track here and there”, albeit a bit rough around the edges, but you gotta start somewhere. It’s something that I enjoy today just as much as I did then – nothing’s changed.
And we’ve seen some changes. I mean, beforehand, we’d be sitting in studios way bigger than what we’re in now. I think you must have been about 20-22, I was around 19, and I’d sit and watch you work the 24-track and I learned off you how to record, big 2-inch reels of tape going around and stacks of keyboards and outboard and we had to learn a lot. People probably don’t realise that we’re a different generation, kind of doing everything ourselves and having to learn everything. Maybe we’ll get a keyboard player in to do stuff that we couldn’t do, but generally we had to sit there and learn how to engineer everything. I think, however, that’s paid off, because now I can sit in the studio and I don’t have to pay someone to come and program or engineer for me.
Q: Let’s have a brief overview of the production of ‘The Weekend’, your biggest crossover hit.
A: OK, so the idea I put down with Shèna. I got her to sing “I can't wait for the weekend” where Oliver Cheatham had sung this ad-lib at the end of ‘Get Down Saturday Night’. I also got Xavier in to record vocals, to really pull the...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full access to this article and the last year of articles, reviews and play lists via the Pro DJ App
Michael Gray’s ‘Remixes Volume 1’ is now available via: mastermixdj.com
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 131, Pages 22-27.
