A good day at The Office...

HOW did you get involved in the Juice competition?

First there was a competition my mates put me in for ages ago, which was at Bar Peru (now The Lounge). I came second in the semi finals for that, and I'd only been DJing for about eight months then. Then my cousin got me an application form for Juice, so I went in for that, and just kept getting through each week. It was brilliant, lots of people coming down for it. There was like a sea of hands at the end. It was great to play six or eight nights on the run.

What won the judges over?

I think a lot of it is about your attitude. If you go up there cocky as hell playing all the mainstream stuff, well you shouldn't be aiming at that, that's how I'd see it if I was judging. I think the attitude shines through the music. Mat Grant, who is DJing with me at The Office, came second in the Juice competition. I really thought he was going to win, he was brilliant. There were so many lads in there playing stuff you'd heard before, that you hear every Friday night.

What's your approach?

I don't want to be dictated to about what I can play, but on the other hand I don't play anything too personal. I never say that I'm good or bad at DJing, I just do it 'cos I love it. All I say is that I think I've got good ear for music, for putting on what people want to hear.

Where did you start clubbing?

We'd got to The Temple and Cream, Golden in Manchester and Gatecrasher.

How did you get into doing The Office?

After the Juice competition I sent come copies of my CD out and The Office got back to me, so I thought I'd have a look at the place.

It's a pretty good venue...

Yeah, it's the kind of place where you can have music in the background and still talk, but if you wanted to get up and dance you could.

What's the focus of the night?

I'll play something that has a familiar sample, something from the seventies or eighties, with funky bass guitars. Things just to get people moving. I like to keep it uplifting and funky but not mainstream. When I go out I don't want to hear stuff that I can hear all day on the radio at work, then again on MTV when I come home, and then you go out and its in your head again. It's totally overplayed.

You want people to come for the music?

Yeah, it annoys you when managers want you to play something more commercial. There are bars on a Friday night playing tunes that were playing four months ago, 'cos I was getting them all on promos and stuff. That's where I do think I've got a good ear for it. It's good because The Office like what I'm playing; the music is for a 20s to 30s funky crowd, not young scallies. I'd never consider us a rival of Juice, but I think the kind of people who like Juice will like this music.

What do you think about Bolton nightlife compared to Manchester?

When I went to bars in Manchester, I'd not heard any of the tunes - and all of a sudden I released that it didn't matter. You've got to respect the person who's playing, they know what they're on about. And it does create a kind of vibe. Its like, 'I dare you not to move to it'.

I suppose familiar tunes are like a comfort blanket?

Yeah, but I just think it's good to have a change for one night! In Manchester there's such a wide variety of people, that's how it should be. There's a way to be in Bolton and you can't be any different or act different. I don't agree with that. I just want to bring something new to Bolton.

So what kind of tunes can we expect?

There's a Thriller mix that I like, it uses the vocal and then builds and builds. Shiny Disco Ball, a housey version of It Just Won't Do and a tune called Bangra Nights that always goes off a storm.

And your dream scenario for the future?

It sounds really corny but at the minute all I want to be doing is playing music and having a room full of people dancing to it. Whether that's at a large venue or somewhere small it doesn't matter.

Mirrorball, every Friday night, The Office, Bank Street, 8.30pm to 1am, free.