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Top 100 DJs / 54. Matt Darey

2009
54
Matt Darey
Moved Down

54. Matt Darey

Style: Prog, house, breaks, electro
Best known for: My Nocturnal radio show.
Gig of 2009: Anywhere in North America - they get the radio show out there, so the crowds know me really well.
Tune of 2009: The Attic feat Oh Laura 'Release Me (Kevin Sunray Remix)' [Unlove]
Breakthrough DJ/Producer of 2009: Aeron Aether
The track that changed your life: Micky Finn 'Rough Justice' - it turned me onto dance music.
What makes a good DJ great: An ability to communicate with the crowd.
Most underrated DJ: Gabriel & Dresden back when they were together.
Biggest challenge this year: A gig in India where club culture isn't that developed. Fortunately they get my radio show, so they knew what to expect and it turned out alright.
Top tech toy: My Macbook, always!

If anyone is a global star, Englishman Matt Darey is. His Nocturnal radio show, and its bite-sized sibling, Nocturnal Sunshine, have been broadcast to 133 countries from Belarus to Bosnia, Lithuania to Egypt, for the last four years. The main show is a microcosm of a Darey set: stuffed with new music from a range of genres, it's what takes up the Leicester man's time between gigs at places like Cielo and Gatecrasher.

Whilst his early work was a litany of trance-tinged successes, with Darey employing a host of pseudonyms like Lost Tribe and Red Jerry, more recent output has steered away from the euphoric, and instead toward the tougher territories of house and breakbeat. But, to keep him enthused, Darey is changing direction once again. "I'm experimenting with a live indie-electro band, Urban Astronauts. You never know how it will work out, but so far so good!

"I really enjoyed 2009, but I'm really excited about 2010. I've started a new label and the first single is due out soon, I'll write and produce some more for Urban Astronauts and I've got plenty more gigs coming up, including a second one in India!"

Words: Kristan Caryl

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