Eddie Halliwell Interview: Dance music as a whole is doing fantastic

Image: Eddie Halliwell

Eddie Halliwell has been a name synonymous with high grade dance music for over a decade. Since bursting on the scene at the start of the last century via his residencies with Gatecrasher and Goodgreef (we spotlighted that meteoric rise here), his ability to deconstruct and recreate music via his supreme technical talent has always made him stand out from his peers, particularly when allayed to his furiously energetic music style.

He's got a cluster of UK shows coming up, including his own Fire It Up in Newcastle and as part of the huge Composit Music party on March 8th with Laidback Luke, Fedde le Grande, Benny Benassi and more at Victoria Warehouse. We caught up with him ahead of that to gauge how excited he was leading up to the show.

Hi Eddie, thanks for speaking to us. Are you looking forward to your set at Victoria Warehouse on the 8th of March? With Manchester being so close to your hometown, and you having held a residency there at the start of your career  for goodgreef, what significance has the city got for you?

Oh yes! Looking forward to this, Victoria Warehouse is an excellent venue and they’ve put together a wicked line up. I always look forward to playing in Manchester, it’s a great crowd and I think the history Manchester holds with dance music makes the gigs extra special. It’s nice to play locally as it’s an opportunity for friends and family to come along 

Where else have you got upcoming shows in the UK?

Gonna be in the UK next weekend for Fire It Up at Digital in Newcastle, Oxygen in Swansea and then London for the Gallery at Ministry of sound 

For those of us who’ve not caught an Eddie Halliwell set before, what can we look forward to?

First and foremost some great music! Also plenty of energy and interaction from myself.

How do you feel that British dance music as a whole is doing at the moment? Are there any producers/artists that you’re really digging at the moment?

Dance music as a whole is doing fantastic and internationally the scene is the healthiest it’s ever been. There are new excellent producers cropping up every week! I suppose some people look at the scene being at it’s healthiest in the UK when it was seen as the ‘Dance Capital’ but now you have various countries which could carry that title, which is a good thing. If I had to look at a negative I’d  say music has become too disposable these days and many tracks don’t have the longevity they used too

On that note, what are your current top five records?

They'd be Pryda's 'LYCKA ', Nom De Strip 'I Cant Believe, my track 'Direct Dizko', Yves V 'Manga' (below) and Underworld vs Tom Staar 'Staar Cowgirl'.

And finally, Dream situation time... you can go back to any period in clubland history, and play at any club. Who would you have playing alongside you?

Hmmm… Carl cox and Daft Phunk at a festival in the sunshine!