Prolouge
(Interview by Maxine Poole at Frantic)

A pure music addict, Justin Bourne popped onto the scene back in 1996 after purchasing his first pair of decks at the tender age of 15. Justin went on to perform his unique dark driving hard house sound in venue’s such as Camden Palace alongside legends like the Tidy Boys and Andy Farley.

Justin didn’t stop there with the DJ-ing, after getting the bug he has gone on to become one of the finest names in production with his latest releases being cained by Glazby and Farley.

In advance of him tearing the roof off the foyer at Brixton Academy playing the last set at Future on 25th, I caught up the lovely chap to find out how it all started and just how excited he is about one of the best events of the summer!

Interview

Maxine - Hey Justin, how you doing? Looking forward to Future on 25th?

Justin – I’m really good thanks. I can’t wait for next week as Brixton Academy is always an experience. I’m especially fond of the Foyer and I’m playing last set so it’s going to be a bumpy ride, lol.

Maxine - You have been on the scene for 14yrs, when was your first big break?

Justin- I’d say my first big break was around 1996 when I started playing gigs with DJ’s like Jon The Dentist who was a big name at that time within our scene. Before 96 I was playing House & Hardcore. My gigs at Cheeky Little Monkey in 99 were a massive turn for me as I was playing alongside people like Steve Thomas, Andy Farley, Ian M, Tidy Boys etc on a regular basis. Whilst playing at Camden Palace for Mind Over Matter I was spotted by Frantic who asked me to play for them and five years on I’m still a regular which is a great achievement for me

Maxine - Who would you say has been your inspiration throughout your career?

Justin – Pete Wardman. He’s got the whole package. Great tunes, mixing, stage presence, a true talent and he’s a cool guy aswell. It’s quite strange as I used to go and see Pete play whenever I wasn’t DJ-ing and now he lives less than 10 miles away from me in the south so we meet up down the pub.

Maxine - You have seen the scene change over this time, how would you say your style has changed from when you first started to today?

Justin - When I first started I was playing early Rave stuff which I loved. I was so hooked on music at that age, I’d spend all day with my walkman on or on my decks at home. I used to have street parties down my road when my mum used to go away for the weekend. The neighbours hated me, lol. I played Hardcore but ditched that when it went really cheesy and moved onto House. I had a couple of residencies playing House but when I stumbled across DJ’s like Tony De Vit, Pete Wardman, Steve Thomas etc I soon wanted to step it up a gear so I started playing harder, which lead me to bookings playing that style. I tried to keep both going for a while but then stopped the House so I could concentrate solely on my real passion, Hardbag/Hard House. In the Hard House scene I used to play a lot more funky kind of music from what I do now. I do miss a lot of those tunes but they just aren’t fast or hard enough for me to play now. It would be classed as a warm up set. My close friends that have known me since school have a laugh as when they were listening to the real hard stuff back then like Lenny Dee & Lofgroover and Acid Techno stuff by Choci etc I used to love the funkier stuff but now I’m playing 150 -160 bpm hard as nails music and they all love their House.

Maxine - What would you say has been the highlight to date?

Justin - Playing at the best venues the U.K has to offer and travelling the world doing what I love.

Maxine - Any low’s/regrets?

Justin - None at all

Maxine - Did you always want to be in the music industry or did you study to become something else?

Justin – I’ve always wanted to DJ from the age of 12/13, that’s when I started clubbing. I bought my first pair of Technics decks on my 15th birthday (I’m nearly 29 now) and the rest is history. The DJ-ing side is more important to me than running a label and producing. I love it all but that’s my number 1.

Maxine - Do you play many international gigs and how would you say this compares to the UK?

Justin - Yes I play/played in Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, Norway etc. I’m back in Australia & New Zealand soon on two separate occasions and maybe Japan again at the end of the year, I’ve already been this year and it was excellent. Most places I find are quite similar to the U.K especially Oz/NZ they have the same type of crazy people that we do. It’s always an honour to travel to the other side of the world to play even though I don’t like flying, it’s worth the stress, lol.

Maxine - You have been playing for Frantic for the past 5yrs, what keeps you coming back:

Justin – The atmosphere, crowds and venues are always awesome. I’ve never had a bad time or even an average time at a Frantic event.

Maxine – Is this the first time you will have played at a WiLDCHiLD event and if so what are your expectations?

Justin - Yes it is the first time for me at a WiLDCHiLD event. My expectations are very high actually as I have many good DJ friends that have played and the feedback is always great. I’ve wanted to play for WiLDCHiLD for a while now so it’s great to combine this with Frantic aswell.

Maxine - Have you been in the studio recently, can we expect any sneak previews of releases at Future?

Justin – I’ve recently finished my Drop the Dime remix which is going down really well as it’s a bit of a classic. Glazby & Farley are caining it. I’ve also just finished a remix for Tripoli Trax which will get an airing. I’ll be pulling out all the stops for this last set in the Foyer.

Maxine - Future is being held at the mighty Brixton Academy, what excites you most about this venue?

Justin – The sheer size of the venue is breathtaking. The main room is just a sea of heads. The sound systems are always good and it attracts a lot of people so you know you’ll be playing to a full house whatever time you’re on.

Maxine – Frantic and WiLDCHiLD are putting on a star-studded event, who else will you be checking out on the night?

Justin - I’ve actually got another gig beforehand up north but if I get back in time then I’d check out Glazby and Alex Claver Live.

Maxine - How do you find the time to fit in DJ-ing, producing and running your label ‘Short Circuit’?

Justin – As it’s something I enjoy I find it pretty easy to be honest. I believe that hard work pays off so no time for slacking.

Maxine - Where do you see music technologies taking us in the future, do you think clubbers would pay to see a DJ play off of a laptop?

Justin – Yeah I think people would pay to see that. DJ’s didn’t used to be the show, the music was. Nowadays most successful DJ’s are the ones that have another quality aswell as the DJ-ing aspect. I’ve actually seen an American DJ in Tokyo playing all his tunes from a laptop. He had two blank records then just transferred the music from the laptop onto each record then mixed them as normal. Immense technology!

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