It’s quite feasible that if you had the technology you could quite possibly pinpoint DJ Ollie down to a venue somewhere on the globe and at any time of the day – regardless of season or political climate – lost behind a stack of tunes deep in the mix, flanked by rabid crowd: he simply channels that unstoppable, unerring, unsleeping spirit at the core of D&B.
He’s now gone a step further and channelled some key remixers for a new ep. We’ll get to THAT but first about the typical Ollie Live Experience…
What things have you been drawing? What’s your set typically comprised of these days?
I always try to cover the full spectrum of D&B, there is so much scope in this music to keep my sets varied.
The trick is to find the best of each sub-genre.
I’ve been playing a lot of stuff from artists like Frankee, Modified Motion and Faction, Dimension, Subzero, Break, P.A., Samy Nicks and Rekwest, Serum, DC Breaks… a little bit of everything!
And the schedule seems busy as ever…
I’ve been very busy on the DJ front lately: of course I was out at Innovation In The Sun where I played at the foam party and on the final night. Since returning from Spain I’ve did my own Pressure Front event down in Kent, the amazing One Dance Festival on London’s Streatham Common.
Then the next few weeks will see me playing for Pure Science at their last ever event at Wonderland, Eksman’s Birthday Bash at The Forum in Kentish Town, Rewind! in Vauxhall and the Captivate Festival down in Dover.
So what tune is in your head right now?
I can’t get that new Rene LeVice tune out my head “Oh ha oh Hotblooded!”
Have you changed over time would you say?
I don’t think so, I’ve always had the same outlook musically, just to play music that I’d want to hear if I was in the crowd.
And have crowds changed? In terms of what they want/dig/react to?
Crowds will always change but the reason people go out doesn’t: they simply want to have a good time.
It’s my job to select the right tunes to help them enjoy themselves. DJing isn’t necessarily about having the most upfront dubs, it’s about watching the crowd and selecting the type of tunes that they are reacting to. That’s why I could never walk into a club with a pre-planned set.
I won’t knock the DJ’s that do that as it’s professional to be prepared, but they also need to be prepared to scrap that playlist and improvise should the crowd not be feeling their selection.
On to the ep. Tell us how the remixes came about?
The Remixed EP is an idea I’ve had in my head for a while. I really wanted to get some of my favourite artists to put their own spin on tracks that I already loved from the label’s catalogue and I must say they all did amazing jobs with the remixes they supplied.
I’m really pleased with all of them.
Can you take us into what’s here on the ep?
Firstly there are two brand new remixes, man of the moment Voltage has gone straight up militant with my track ‘Rise’, it’s quite strange hearing someone else’s take using samples I’m so used to hearing; I love what Voltage came up with.
Next up my boys Modified Motion & Faction and their take on ‘White Dragon’ by Sudden Def and Nuera: Modi’s been promising me a tune for so long, he’s such a talented guy, he turned this remix around very quickly. I’d actually say it’s more of a remake than a remix!
The other two tracks are remixes from Majistrate and Zen of original tracks by label regulars Stickbubbly and Ravager respectively.
Both these have been released before but despite getting airplay by both DJ Hype and Crissy Criss they both kind of flew under a lot of peoples radars, I thought they deserved a second crack of whip.
How did these artists come to be part of it all, did you invite specifically them?
Yes, I specifically targeted artists that I thought could do justice to the original track. My original of ‘Rise’ for example is quite a roller, right now Voltage is king of the rollers so who better to ask?
I’m lucky that I’m in a position to pick up the phone and ask someone like Majistrate or Modified Motion to do a remix for me, as you can imagine they are extremely busy people.
I’m glad they all bought their A game for me as it’s made this project something I’m really proud of.
OK any more things we should look out for on the live front from you and the label?
I’ve got so much lined up on the label, forthcoming singles from both Modified Motion and Faction and Samy Nicks and Rekwest, visit the new site to see everything label-related.
Loads of big DJ gigs coming up, Pure Science in Maidstone, Innovation In The Dam, also my Pressure Front event will be hosting the after party for Mojo’s 2nd Birthday on August 29… the line up for that is crazy!
Finally you can catch me hosting the Innovation Podcast every month and on Rough Tempo Radio every fortnight. Visit djollie.com for links, dates, social media, bookings and everything else.
The Remixed EP will be available from 10th August on all good download stores.
direct-recordings.com
Colour live Ollie pic Jonathan Owen.