Kiddstock Spotlight #3 - Kutski: Exclusive interview and new mixtape!! Kiddstock Spotlight #3 – Kutski This guy really needs no introductions.. Turntabalist extraordinaire, PFA superstar, Radio One presenter and icon of the underground dance scene... However, despite his undoubted and escalating success, this is a man who continues to remain true to his roots and his pure, unfaltering love of music. So, Kiddstock is now only a mere couple of weeks away, at which you’ll be gracing not one, but two of the arenas with your presence! Not only will you be joining the elite of tech dance and hardstyle in Ground Zero, you’ll also be treating the Pandora’s Box revellers to an ‘80’s/90’s turntable party massacre’ set. Which are you looking forward to most and why? That’s a tough one ‘cause obviously I love thrashing it out to an arena backed full of ravers going mental, but I also my quirky underground shit so I’m just as happy playing all kinds of random music with a close intimate crowd of musically like minded people!! Ask me which was best after the event ;o) Kiddstock 2007 was a roaring success, and 2008 is on track to exceed all expectations for a second year. What do you think it is about the event that is so special? Its a non-corporate bullshit approach to a festival. It doesn’t have to look the most impressive, it doesn’t have to have the top 100 DJ’s roster nor does it need magazine adverts or posters on every street corner. It’s the music we all live for, for other people who live for it! If you actually look at the event, it’s values are plucked from the original raves of the early 90’s in a festival scene that is dominated by corporate sponsors that would trade their musical integrity for ticket sales on a whim. The fact that the event was such a success last year was a testament to our scene, and hopefully this year will be even stronger! Looking back to Kiddstock 2007, where you smashed the Kidd-Tagious Tent to bits. What was your personal highlight of the event? I’d actually driven up to the event on my own in blistering heat, with no aircon, from BOURNMOUTH where I had a gig the night before. I was pretty pissed off by the time I got there, but getting out of the car in the fresh air, seeing all my mates, and the atmosphere in the whole place just completely changed my mood in an instant. I’d say it was the atmosphere that made the event for me. Everyone was so friendly and chilled out, but completely up for the party too!! Sounds weird to try and explain, but if you were there you’ll know what I mean!! Your fans love your 80’s/90’s party sets, and who could forget your now infamous ‘Shit Mix Tape’! What was it that gave you the inspiration to start using 80’s and 90’s music in your sets? Do you have some kind of loyal affinity to the era? I’ve always loved that stuff, as it was what I grew up with, and as a DJ I always think, “if I like it surely others will too”!! So I just bashed out a CD with some of them ideas for my own amusement and it just snowballed into this crazy cult following. It’s wicked cause when I talk to people about it, although they are complimentarily about the mix, it never feels like ‘fans’ as such, more like just talking about things I like with people that have shared interests and tastes in music!! I think everyone still secretly loves the music they grew up with, I’m just stupid enough to admit it lol… Following on from there, what was the best thing about the 90’s in your opinion? Clearly Thundercats!!! I can’t believe you even have to ask!!!!!! Despite your undoubted success over the past couple of years, you maintain your refusal to be pigeon-holed and known for only one genre of music. Your proven track record and talent spans not only across the entire hard dance spectrum but also into hip hop, d&b, breaks and dubstep plus much more! How do you foresee yourself pushing the boundaries next? I really don’t know!! I think the day I start planning things like this out is the day I’ll loose my creativity!! I mean “shit mixtape” was just a concept I knocked together when I was buying loads of old records off ebay. My latest urban mix “street education” was just an idea when I was listening to loads of good urban (street music) that I knew hard dance heads probably wouldn’t know about, but I thought they may like, so I did that as kind of a lesson in the music. I just work on things as and when they come to me so fuck knows what I’ll come up with next when I have too much spare time on my hands lol… Working with so many different genres of music, which is closest to your heart and what’s your preferred choice for when chilling at home? I go through phases. Like every few months I’ll have a DJ Shadow phase where I’ll be listening to all his albums and mixes. Sometimes I’ll be well into my D’n’B, sometime classic hip hop, sometimes all the old happy hardcore and gabba from the 90’s… At the moment I’m listening to loads of ragga and dubstep. Artists like Plastician, Caspa and Rusko. I don’t think I could say one genre is closest to my heart, its just music in general that I love. (Fuck, that sounds like an Oscar speech) <b>You take great pride in your mixtapes which you have been producing since 2002. Which do you feel most proud of?</b> Hmmm… hard to say! I did one called Eclectism years ago. As the name suggests, it was a really eclectic mix of music, and this mix got support from DJs such as Yoda and got reviewed in the biggest hiphop magazine HHC which I feel really proud of. Obviously “shit mixtape” has gained a mystifying cult following which I’m really flattered about. At the moment I’m quite chuffed with my new one “Free-Range Mixtape” which I’ve had nothing but positive feedback as far!! 2008 yet again sees you with club and festival dates all over the shop! Do you have one particular ambition for a venue/gig you’ve never played before? After an alcohol fuelled day out at Dance Valley in Holland, me, Alex and the Donors pottered off to Sensation Black, which to say was SICK would still be a massive understatement!! We were sitting at the top looking down and where like “shit, I need a piece of this action”!! So to get one of the big Q events at Ajax stadium would be schweeeeeeeet!!!! Lastly, my goldfish named Kutski died last week after a very happy two years. If you were to name a pet after someone, who would it be and why? Ahhh I’m flattered and sad to hear, but two years is good for a goldfish!!! I always like to give animals surreally human names for comedy value. Like, it is my ambition to get a cat and call it “Alan”! My friend has a dog called Billy Flecture… and his surname isn’t even Flecture, he just felt he should give his dog a surname too which I think is amazing!!! If I had to name a pet after someone it would probably be my best mate and manager who passed away earlier this year, Alex…. and on my previous comedy naming, “Alex” would still be a pretty funny name for an iguana or a bullfrog or something! >>>Click here to visit the Kiddstock microsite!!<<< >>>Click here to download Kutski's latest mixtape - Free Range!!<<<
