Interview: Doorly

It was that one unread email flashing at a suspiciously speedy rate that made that day a rather momentous one. More than two years later Martin Doorly marks that fateful April morning as the one that really kicked him into gear. 

Unbeknownst to Doorly, Radio 1 had been listening, and were so impressed with what they were hearing that an invitation to record a live Essential Mix seemed only natural. Prior to accepting Pete Tong’s request Doorly was doing little to no production work. Quickly after, that soon changed. 

DJ Doorly creates sets that master the art of genre-bending; his fingers fuse with the decks to create a fluid sound of dubstep, electro and techno. Heavy on the bass, his productions are riddled with live instrumental so often accompanied by an onslaught of acapella. The UK genre-hopping master browses the aisles; not one to get bogged down in particular ‘sound’. 

Here he talks to Jasmine Phull about Michael Jackson, Chilly Gonzales and the digital revolution. Of course.

You launched Ibiza’s ‘Reclaim The Dancefloor’ a couple of Summers ago. How was that role compared to your producer role? What was the biggest hurdle?

Well I’ve been a promoter in the UK for about 7 years so it was nothing new to me, but I suppose the biggest hurdle was also the key to our success there, bringing new sounds to the island. It was a touch ‘sell’ to start with but it quickly swung round and being the only night of its kind in the launch season it gave us a real edge.

You inadvertently started your career after jumping in for a no-show DJ. What would you have been today if that DJ had turned up for the job?

God knows? It scares me to think about it to be honest, I have a degree in English so maybe working with you as a journo?

Did you have to experience ‘struggle’ to get to where you are today? Is that an important factor in making a ‘great’ artist?

Yes of course, especially these days and with the digital revolution; everyone is a DJ and or a producer so there’s A LOT of competition for attention. But I truly believe that good talent rises to the top. Music and performance are so individual that there’s always room for fresh talent to come through; it’s an industry that can never saturate. A healthy struggle is vital to sort the real talent from the pretenders.

Explain how you source the tracks that you play?

It’s a never ending process; I try to sit in the office for an all-nighter once a week hunting down new tracks, but it's like being a junkie - you never feel like it's time to stop and go to bed because there is so much great music out there to be discovered. I do struggle to make that time more these days, as much as I did starting out, but it’s helped by the fact that I know so many of the artists well now so they send me their music early and directly. I always listen to the key shows on Radio 1, Rinse FM etc to see what’s popping and I LOVE hunting down more obscure and undiscovered stuff on the blogs.

Describe the feeling when you’re in the DJ booth playing to thousands of revelers? Have you ever got so caught up that it affected the set? 

Nothing compares to the feeling of a sea of faces going mental to something that you made! I don’t get caught up by it or nervous anymore, I just really really, really enjoy it when it’s my turn to step up!

Do you use a Mac or PC? Why?

I use both actually, I have a Macbook pro that I take on the road with me and use 80% of the time to be honest, and I have a stupidly powerful PC at home and an iMac. The PC is just still there from before I bought the Macs and I only really use it because I haven’t had time to transfer everything off it, plus I use a few PC only programs on it which aren’t available on Macs and I have two big matching monitors for it so it's great for production, and finishing stuff up in detail that I’ve made on the road. I Use Ableton so it’s compatible on both. Having said that, I’ll probably never buy a PC again now.

What’s the most expensive thing you ever bid for on eBay?

Probably my Technics 1210s like 10 years ago, which were about £800. I’ve been bummed on eBay a few times by dodgy sellers so I wouldn’t usually buy mega expensive stuff on there to be honest.

Is there something that’s missing in the music industry that was there 10-15 years ago?

Nope! Things have just changed, things have gone, but for a good reason. And so many amazing new things are going on now to totally outweigh any dinosaur ideologies of the past.

One track that makes you feel elated?

Recently, Chilly Gonzales. 'You Can Dance' has been that track, I just cant stop listening to it. It’s so happy! And 'Church' by the 2 Bears

One great - recently deceased - artist?

I can only think of Michael Jackson to be honest, who else has died recently that united everyone on the planet regardless of what music they were into?

Interview by: Jasmine Phull

Doorly news, events and info

Catch Doorly at Spectrum's 10th Birthday party at Ewer Street Warehouse, with Pendulum, Ms Dynamite and Skrillex. Tickets are available through Skiddle below. 

Tickets are no longer available for this event