Interview: Judge Jules

Interview: Judge Jules

25 October, 2008 | 8.42AM

• Written by: Ellie
• Filed under: Music News: dance4life, judge jules

This year, as well as having a residency in Ibiza with his Judgement Sundays night, playing numerous festivals and presenting his weekly BBC Radio 1 show, Judge Jules has managed to find the time to design his own collection for the clothing label Heroes & Villains and has also become an ambassador for the HIV and AIDS charity Dance4Life.

He took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Beatportal about these new ventures, his new artist album and what he thought of the Ibiza season this year…

So what’s it like being a designer for Heroes & Villains?

It’s a new thing for me so I can’t compare it to anything else I’ve done, but it’s selling well so I’m very happy with it.

You’re known for wearing quite loud, eccentric clothes when you DJ, but where did you get your inspiration from for your own designs?

Well, I’ve always been a bit of a shopaholic and obviously as a DJ I get to travel to different clubs where I see lots of people wearing funky clothes.

You’re big into your charity work, but how did you get involved with Dance4Life?

They approached me and asked me to be an ambassador and because Dance4Life is related to dance music, it seemed an obvious charity to get involved with.

Your new track ‘Electronic Snare’ features on the Dance4Life compilation. Did you produce it especially for Dance4Life?

‘Electronic Snare’ is one of tracks from my forthcoming artist album ‘Bring the Noise’ which will be released in January.

So what can we expect from your third artist album?

It’s a varied sound because I think that the reason dance albums don’t sell sometimes is because every single track has the same style and the same bpm, so that’s something I’ve tried to avoid.

What was the last record you listened to?

At the moment I’m listening to Chill FM. I think it’s nicer to have on around the house on a Tuesday afternoon instead of banging dance music!

If you think about it, chill out music is quite similar to trance music, it just doesn’t have the beat.

What’s your all time favourite record?

DJ Misjah and DJ Tim ‘Access’.

Who do you think will be the next big thing in trance?

A tech-trance artist from the island of Orkney called Will Atkinson.

He started sending me his own productions when he was 13 and he’s very consistent. He’s now 18 and living in Glasgow and lots of people are playing his music.

How important is DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll to you?

That’s a difficult one. The highest I’ve been is number three but I think I’m currently number 20 and it’s made no difference to my work load, crowd pull or enjoyment of the game.

But then again, I think that in the more obscure parts of the world, it’s a calling card for DJs to get recognised.

Apart from your Judgement Sundays night in Ibiza, what’s your favourite club to play?

I’d say Gatecrasher because my residency there had the biggest impact on me career-wise.

What was your highlight of 2008?

Judgement Sundays has been absolutely phenomenal this year and I’ve done 25-30 festivals, most of which were outstanding, but I’d say the best thing was getting my Radio 1 show back to a sensible time.

And finally, how do you feel about Ibiza’s ban on daytime clubbing?

I think if you’re the type of clubber who goes clubbing for 48 hours without sleeping then you will have found Ibiza a little disappointing this year, but personally I’m not really into after parties.

I’ve never been to DC10 (mainly because my Judgement Sundays night finishes on Monday morning and I’d have to be a robot to go out clubbing after playing my set) but I did go out socially this year and I don’t think it’s been watered down at all.

Judge Jules’ handmade clothing collection is available online at www.designerwear.co.uk and you can catch him performing at the Dance4Life UK event in November.

• (0) Comments
• (1501) Views
• Judge Jules on Beatport