Exclusive Erol Alkan Interview

Resolution

We had a quick chat with Erol leading up to this Fridays show
at the Music Centre.

How did you come about being a DJ?

God it was such a long time ago. It kind of happened by accident really. I went up to promoter down at the local indie club (Automatic, an early nineties club in Leicester Square), telling him, he should give a set. Me and my friends were quite bored of hearing the same music all the time across all the clubs in London and I told him I could do something different. He reluctantly gave me a set the week after that and the week after that and the week after that. It’s been kind of going on for 15 years since really.

How old were you when you started?

I was 17 at the time.

Your DJ sets have been known to encompass almost everything from indie, rock, dance and hip-hop right across the board to obscure 80’s numbers. What has influenced your musical style?

I just started doing what I liked more so than trying to have a career in this. I suppose a lot of DJ’s feel that they have to find their corner and work on it…like funky house and they want to be the best funky house DJ. To keep my interests up I need to be able to flutter between the different things I am into. I just found my own niche and was never into just the one style. It has never been forced, I just don’t see any other way of doing it really.

What motivates you to play the songs that you do?

Many factors really. If I find a load of records that work well together, I will run them in sequence. I suppose looking at where your party is at in the moment and where you want to take it. I don’t think one song ahead, I think five songs ahead. I kind of know what I want to play at heart, so it is just a matter of joining the dots really. That’s how I do it, that’s my secret…I probably shouldn’t have told you that.

What’s this I read about you DJ’ing with your feet?

Ohh God…it’s just something I started doing as a party piece for a laugh. I climbed up onto a rope and just start scratching the record on the turntable with my feet. Let’s put it this way. It’s in no way equal to anything that turntablists can actually do. There are melodies in it…somewhere, and it was in time. It’s just a bit of fun really. The cool thing is if it comes off good, you look amazing.

You have a very accomplished Myspace page with over 11,000 friends on it. Did you design it yourself?

Yeah, I did it myself, I can do these things. It’s pretty simple really…I used to be a programmer in a previous life. HTML, Machine Codes and all that…I am into it. I am a nerd at heart really.

How valuable a tool is Myspace for someone like you?

It has become very valuable and it has helped. For someone like me who kind of doesn’t really assume that I have “fans” it’s important. If people are into what I can do or what I can offer well then that’s cool you know what I mean. Maybe the Myspace thing is a way of interacting with those people a little closer. The thing is the way I see it is just like a big party that has rolled into town and all these people are invited. At times like these when the world is just a mess, you just want to let your hair down and escape from it. That’s what it is all it is about for me. Obviously, it’s about the music as well. A form of escapism I suppose.

Who are some of your more famous friends on it?

The Klaxons, they are really famous. There are a few a few people on it like Daft Punk and Justice as well. I haven’t trawled through and seen who else is on there but a few names pop up there where I kind of wonder is that really such and such.

If your hobby becomes your job apparently, you need a new hobby. Have you taken up any recently?

I don’t really necessarily want to be seen as a DJ. It’s not a career for me. I don’t see it as a job. Fair enough, I earn money from it but it isn’t my job. I work with bands, doing producing and remixing. I do a few other things on the side. I am committed to what I do. I don’t see it as a either a job or a hobby, I see it as a necessity.

What about stamp collecting or Yoga?

Oh, man I would love to get into stamp collecting. I would love to do something as nerdy as that. I am really looking forward to the day when I can just sit back there and admire my stamps or go train spotting. Definitely, something I aspire to.

You have recently remixed tunes for the Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand. How do you decide what remixing projects to take on board?

To be honest with you I don’t just remix anybody, I remix people who I know or people who I have a relationship with. I like it when a band asks me themselves, so it is coming from them as opposed to a marketing guy. All the bands that I have done, I know them all. I know Paul from Franz Ferdinand for a while, I DJed at his wedding years ago. I also know Ed from the Chems, then the Scissor Sisters from when they played Trash (Erol’s Monday club night in London) about four years ago. Up until this point, I have pretty much just done remixes of material that I felt I could do something new to the song.

How do you handle request for music you don’t cater for?

It’s never been a problem really as I tend not to play in clubs that people would come up to me and ask for Shakira like your local pub or spots bar. I don’t tend to get asked for requests in that sense. If someone came up looking for a request that was off the scale but inspiring that’s a good thing. Sometimes the more tiring request are the things that are too played out. It’s difficult because you don’t want to be above it or so far removed form an audience. It’s about striking that balance between familiarity and the excitement of something new.

You are regular and popular feature on the Irish Club scene, who or what do you feel you can attribute this too?

I’ve playing over there for about four years now. The first to bring me over were Cyril and Cian from 110th Street in Galway. I have always had fun playing there. Gareth in Derry. I played there last week and it was great fun. I have been playing in Dublin with Arveene the last few times I was over. It’s all being great fun. I’ve also played Shine in Belfast. Doing what I do you have to strike at the heart of where those young charismatic energetic people are. I didn’t want to come over and play soulless big clubs. I love playing the Temple Bar Music Centre, which holds about four or five hundred I think. I always find the Irish crowd are very interested and excited about what I do.

You have quite a distinctive dress sense. Is this “Trash” look achieved by trawling through thrift stores or paying for high fashion designer labels?

Oh no, I don’t own anything designer at all I am really rubbish with clothing. The reason it looks all broke and falling apart is because that is exactly what it is. I am still wearing the same jacket I have from ten years ago…the same with my jeans. I have never had a designer tear in anything. I just dress whatever I feel comfortable in. I don’t see myself as a fashionable type. I don’t feel like one anyway. If somebody actually pointed out somebody and said, that is what you look like…I would probably disagree.

The recent “It’s All Gone Pete Tong” film seems to have created a greater awareness amongst clubbers and DJ’s about the dangers of being exposed to excessively high volumes. How do you deal with this or is it even an issue for you?

Oh man, I have tinnitus for years…since I was a child. I used to go to bed wondering why I still had that high-pitched noise in my ear, it sounded like the TV was on when I closed my eyes It has got worse through clubs and stuff. I have had tests and I do try to wear ear pugs but they just make me feel detached from the music. I find it difficult to DJ with them on. It’s hard because I really have to feel the music to work with it. I haven’t got a solution for this problem either. It frightens me some times.

Where do you sit on the Vinyl vs. CD debate as a DJ format?

I use both when I am out DJ’ing.I get the best out of both worlds. I wouldn’t choose one over the other. I do think CD’s have one up on vinyl especially with things like the CDJ 1000 and how you can utilise them. At the same time, though your CD’s can get scratched up pretty easily through general wear and tear. I don’t see why I should have to choose one of the other. You tend to get a lot of that, people coming up to you “which do you use?” I use both thank you very much. People are very quick to put one thing up against the other these days.

What record never leaves your bag?

Spastik by Plastikman, it’s just like this relentless banger. If everyone hasn’t gone home by the end of the night this will certainly send them on their way.