The deadline was super tight but the levels were crazy high. Last week we held a quick DJ competition for our boat party this Saturday October 21. The results blew us away.
Hypey feedback to each entry was provided over on YouTube but there could only be one winner and that’s Halley with this bumping contemporary tech/neuro vibe…
Halley is a Chelmsford-based DJ who’s spent the last four years cutting her teeth and fine-tuning her style on the radio and live streams. At one point during lockdown she was running as many as five shows a week!
Flexing a versatile style, but with a beady eye on the futurist minimal and tech sound, Halley’s eased back on the shows to make room for music production studies and can now be found focusing on her shows on SkankOut and Bassology.
This Saturday she can add 1 More Thing to her growing list of events as she joins the likes of flowanastasia & Tyr Kohout, Ragga Twins, Sydney Bryce & Tones, Agman Gora & Hanka and the Rough Tempo crew!
Get to know…
Congratulations!
Thanks! I was listening to the mixes over the weekend and everyone brought their fire game, didn’t they? I can’t believe I won!
Your mix rolls! There’s a great dynamic and energy to it. Tell us your musical journey. You’ve been doing this for a few years now, right?
Yeah I’ve been DJing four years now. It was through my partner I found out about drum & bass and started going raving. He was always mixing on Tracktor and I’d be looking over his shoulder. At one point I was like ‘I need a hobby’ and asked him to teach me. I started on Tracktor and doing little half hour mixes, getting feedback and working on them.
Then I needed a controller. My patner’s old one was shot to pieces and I couldn’t afford a new one. But then a friend linked me to a thing Riya was doing. She had a competition to win her old one and said she’d give it to the person who gave her the best reason. So I got in touch and told her I’d just had a baby, I couldn’t afford another one and I was just getting into mixing. She picked me as the winner I got her controller, signed.
Oh cool!
Yeah and off the back, that’s what got me doing radio shows and live streaming. So it kick started this whole thing.
And now you’ve won this comp!
I know! They’re the only competitions I’ve ever won in my life. But yeah if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have been able to stream or anything because I just couldn’t afford it so I’m massive grateful to Laura for that.
Sick! Love this! Do you mix with your partner now? Or have you overtaken him?
Haha. Nah I have overtaken a bit. He’s been mixing for years and can mix vinyl and all that but he’s still a massive influence as he recommends tunes or classics or playlists and things like that. But I’ve kinda run away with it all.
Haha. You do a lot of radio shows don’t you?
Yeah I have done a lot of radio shows. It got quite crazy at one point and I was doing five radio shows a week, but I’ve calmed that down now and do Bassology and Skankout. I love radio. It’s the best support network I’ve ever had. We chat every day and support each other shows. It’s a proper little community. All the shows I’ve done have been through connections on previous shows. The people and the community make it happen, really.
Had any on-air nightmares?
Oh all those early streams! I look back on them and I can see how nervous I was. I look petrified, like I’ve seen a ghost! That was quite a journey to go on; not just to mix in front of an audience but be on a camera.
Yeah! It’s a unique way to come into DJ culture. Was all this during lockdown?
I got into it just before lockdown, 2019. It was so easy to get a radio show during lockdown, that’s how I ended up doing five. But I scaled it back to make some time for production alongside the DJing. Coming out of lockdown I went back into college to do an NVQ Level 3 in music tech which I’ve just finished. I got a distinction in that so I’m going to start a degree in music business and production in BIMM London.
That’s awesome. You’ve not had a release yet, so what do you think a Halley track will sound like?
That’s right. I’m at that stage where I’m on the progressive up. Every track sounds better than the last but they’re not releasable standard yet. I’m taking a year before I do my degree to work on my sound design and build up my own sample library and start to build my own sound before I put it out into the world.
Yeah take your time!
That’s right. It’s a creative process I need to go through. And I need to be patient with the technical ability as I know that takes time. I’m really inspired by Alix Perez, Imanu and Buunshin and how tight their production is and how high their quality levels are.
Yes! How about playing out? Have you had many club shows?
Yeah I’ve had a few local sets and done a few things for Bassology but always on the look-out for opportunities to play out more so really excited for this one.
It’s a sick line-up, but what would your dream line-up be?
I know they’re no longer together but SpectraSoul would be up there. A huge inspiration. And Workforce is now. Perez of course. SP has ben a staple MC in my life. Riya, obviously. Hadley is a mate of mine. I’ve know him for years so he’d be on the line-up. Halogenix. Subantix. A few back to backs thrown in for good measure. Yeah that would be the dream.
Nice! Any shout outs before we see you Saturday?
The Skankout crew for sure. They’ve been so helpful and inspiring. Taking the time out and helping me with my set-up and being so supportive. I play with them weekly and really love doing my show with them.
Collective energy! That’s what it’s all about
Totally. That’s music in a nutshell isn’t it? Everyone connecting, leaving their troubles at the door and helping each other to have the best time they can. It’s a whole other world isn’t it really?
