Poetry series:'between the lines'
edward deacon -
S h i m
An Interview
Hello! Welcome to this Helicon interview… first of all, how would you describe your music?
As is the case for the music anyone listens to, it’s precious to me, it’s music I like, it’s something I can
enjoy in whatever capacity it makes me feel and it’s something that can be shared.
What is your earliest music memory?
Listening to my Mum’s tapes or CDs on car journeys. I was treated to some great music early on, be
it sing-along Jackson 5 to the more soulful Joan Armatrading (one of my Mum’s favourites). I can’t
even begin to imagine how many times we must have listened to ‘The Definitive Collection’ of Stevie
Wonder either. I really can’t knock what I was introduced to as a child.
How did you first get into DJing?
It happened in a serendipitous way in that I was put into the same flat in first year as my now close
friend Reece. He’d owned a controller for a while and had played at house parties, which meant we
could do the same in our halls. It didn’t take long for me to realise that our music tastes were very
compatible, and that DJing looked good fun. Reece taught me the basics and I took it from there,
starting out with largely disco and house.
What is the most memorable set you’ve played?
I’d say playing at the Love Inn for the ‘Disco Afrique’ night. I put a decent amount of time into expanding the selection of music I had for it, and it was a nice opportunity to delve into a genre like afrobeat that I liked but hadn’t mixed massively up until that point. It was great fun to do, and even better seeing people enjoy themselves.
A close runner up would have to be at a friend’s birthday party. A notable point in the night was
mixing in ‘Casbah Breakdown’ by Brad Shittt (one of Joey Negro’s many aliases) – an unreal funky
edit of ‘Rock the Casbah’ by The Clash with a killer sax part added – which seemed to go down a
storm. It was a very enjoyable to do as I felt I was getting as much energy back from the room as I
was putting in with the music.
Whose music are you into right now?
In the jazz sphere I’ve been really enjoying Alfa Mist’s ‘Structuralism’ and Ezra Collective’s ‘You Can’t
Steal My Joy’ – two albums released this year. I’ve also recently come across the producer
ItaloJohnson who makes some quality house tracks with a slight electro-acidy edge.
Best night you’ve been to?
A tough one, so I’ll give a few that were all good in different ways.
Seeing Folamour for the first time at the Island was a special experience. I love the Island as a venue
for its smaller size, minimal lighting, and solid sound system that makes you feel connected to the
artist your seeing. This, paired with Folamour’s breadth of incredibly danceable disco and world
music, with an indelibly soulful heart was amazing.
In a different vein, seeing KiNK do a live set at Motion was like nothing I had even seen before. The
way he performs with immense energy and such obvious enjoyment for what he’s doing, alongside
his skill, made for an amazing night that really gripped me.
I went to my first ‘Haar’ night run by the ever-charming Ross McGregor not too long ago, which I
thoroughly enjoyed. The concept he has behind Haar, which in his words focuses on ‘emotionality’
and ‘physicality’ to make a more thoughtful night out, is something I could feel being there from the
space he created and the booking he made. I’m certainly looking forward to the next one.
What can we expect from your set on Wednesday?
I’ll probably touch base with some house, lighter techno and maybe feed into a bit of nu-disco or
world stuff. We’ll see!
Link to Ed's Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/shim_brsfbclid=IwAR1zwcpkkDFDYt4fTPU3po_zdRjSKLw5VrRjPLqEmd5YRbNXeBw-G-KuFR4
