Refreshed, Thoughts on Music, DJing & Longevity

This piece started life as a long social media post some time ago. I’ve decided to refresh it and bring it onto the NuNorthern Soul blog because the themes keep coming up in conversations I’ve had both online and in real life. It’s grown out of exchanges with friends, fellow DJs, music lovers, and curious souls asking questions about my approach and experiences. These are entirely my own personal thoughts and feelings—there’s no right or wrong here. My hope is to share my thinking, spark discussion, and maybe pass on a few things I’ve picked up along the way from years of living and breathing music.

Listen to everything. Consume music like a Phat kid in a sweet shop—every genre, every era. At the end of the day, there are only two types of music: the stuff you like and the stuff you don’t. It’s all subjective, and you’ll never please everyone all of the time.

African Record Centre, NYC

Seek out the holy grails. Find the tracks that set you apart—the curveballs, the Balearic belters, the eclectic ammo. These will serve you far better in a long DJ career than any amount of turkey teeth, Ibiza final level boss haircuts, or carefully staged Instagram shots. If you’re chasing 15 minutes of fame and a life of reality TV, fake tans, and filters, then by all means, take that route—but longevity comes from depth.

Don’t fake it. If you hear a piece of music you don’t know, admit it and talk about it. You’ll learn more that way than by pretending. When I was at Potato Head in Bali, we brought Gilles Peterson over. After his set, Indonesian DJ Dea went on and played a selection that left Gilles genuinely blown away. He didn’t know a single track—and said so. That moment led to Potato Head hosting a stage at his Worldwide Festival in Sète, France, which I was lucky enough to be part of alongside Dea and Jonny Nash.

Even the most seasoned selectors don’t know it all.

Gilles lost in music at Potato Head

Go down musical rabbit holes. If the drummer on your favourite jazz album has ten solo albums, track them down. Listen. Learn. With streaming and YouTube, access to incredible music has never been easier—use these tools to open your mind. Trends fade; true class is timeless.

Vinyl vs digital. The ritual of buying, opening, and playing a record, reading the sleeve notes, and connecting with the music is something special. For me, vinyl is my private art collection—tactile, personal, and a way to connect the dots between musicians. Digital DJing, of course, offers flexibility and opens up creative possibilities. Both have value. But, for the record, there’s a special place in hell for those who don’t agree with me on vinyl.

Be emotionally connected to your music. If it doesn’t move you, it won’t move your audience. And remember—context is everything. A trashy Euro-pop track might sound dreadful in the frozen aisle of ASDA, but hearing it as the sun rises after a night in the Balearics is a completely different experience.

Take time to really listen. Not just skipping through tracks to see if they’re “usable,” but sitting down with an album, uninterrupted, hearing it as the artist intended. The photo below shows my old, basic set up from when I was living in Asia, it was important. I still do this in my old bedroom at my mum’s house on my audiophile setup when back in the UK—it’s a reset I find healing and inspiring.

Home audio set up Bali

Understand energy. Not every track has a 4/4 kick. Learn to feel the breakdowns and the space. In a DJ set, space is powerful—especially for sunsets. Change tempos like gears in a car. Life isn’t linear, and neither should your sets be. And speaking of sunsets—remember, you’re not the star of the show. The sun is. You’re just lucky enough to soundtrack her journey over the horizon.

Sunset at Benirras, Ibiza

Learn from others. Years ago, touring with Roger Sanchez taught me a lot about energy. Smaller, deeper clubs meant full tracks, long blends, building tension. Bigger rooms meant shorter mixes, extending high-energy moments, and fast transitions to whip the crowd up.

Evolve with your journey. Over time, I’ve transitioned from club DJ to sunset selector—a shift that aligns with my own ADHD journey. Clubs fed my need for constant stimulation when I was younger. Now, playing to the sunset gives me “good” stimulus—music, nature, connection—without the chaos. But whatever your path, protect your mental and physical health. Touring can be brutal on the body and mind if you don’t keep yourself in check.

Rest your ears. In Bali, I was sometimes playing two or three sets a day—up to 12 hours behind the decks. Days off with nothing but the sounds of nature kept me balanced. And now back in Ibiza and the summer of 2025 I am averaging about 30 to 35 hours per week on deck duties so I can't emphasis how important this is.

Look after your kit. Keep your software updated, carry backup USBs, spare cables, and, if you’re on vinyl, your own needles and slip-mats. Scan and store all your important travel documents too—you’ll thank yourself one day.

Learn how to deal with people. I’m naturally shy and geeky, and it’s taken years to get better at interacting with the good, the bad, and the ugly. My advice? Don’t be an arsehole. Be nice. But don’t be a pushover—stand your ground respectfully when you need to.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully it doesn’t come across as “teaching your grandmother to suck eggs,” but if it sparks a conversation or makes you rethink something, then it’s done its job.