Gina Star: 'I try to keep it very high energy'

Having been heralded as 'a name you will be hearing a lot of' by Mark Knight on the back of her blistering debut single, the LA based Dallas born heroine of big room house and progressive has continued to triumph with her unique approach to energetic big room dance music.

We chat to Gina Star about her latest projects, her move to Europe, and what she has planned for her return to Bitch.

Hi Gina, thanks for chatting to us! Are you looking forward to your arrival at Bitch on 22nd of Feb? What is your relationship with Manchester like?

Yes!!! I love playing at Bitch!! This will be my 3rd time, and I couldn't be more excited. Both of my previous visits were a huge success, the club is always packed and people are having so much fun! 

For those of us who’ve not caught one of your DJ sets before, what can we look forward to?

I try to keep it very high energy. I work hard to pick out the best parts of tracks so that its all killer no filler. I also play a lot of my own productions, I have a few new ones to test out next week :) 

You found great success in your hometown of Dallas, Texas, before you decided to move to the UK. What prompted the move, and how was your time living in the UK? 

I played a lot in Dallas and LA before moving over to England. I think you get to a point where you either have to go for it or move on, at least that how I feel. I really loved England... except for the weather! I learned a lot about dance music culture and I got to collaborate with some really great people. I'm now back in sunny LA, but always look forward to the visits.

What have been some of your gig/festival highlights thus far?

I had the opportunity to open the mainstage at the first ever TomorrowWorld in the states last year. It was such an awesome experience and it helped me gain a lot of exposure.  

Tell us about your relationship with Mark Knight’s Toolroom Records. How did that all come about?

I was doing A&R for a label in LA, so I got to know all the guys at Toolroom over the course of a few conferences and visits to Maidstone. They wanted me to consult on a few business issues, so I took the opportunity to move over to England and sink my teeth into the scene there.  Shortly there after, I produced “This Is Hollywood” which ended up in the top 10 on beatport, so things kind of took off.

You’ve enjoyed enormous success with your releases, particularly on Beatport. How has the experience been?

Its always nice to have releases do well on Beatport, especially because its mostly other DJs on that site. I've been trying to diversify the way I release music lately, to reach more people who may not be on Beatport. Giving tracks away for free and partnering with blogs is a fun way to do that. 

So what does the future hold for Gina Star? Have you got any new releases we can look forward to?

I'm always working on new music, I'll have a couple new ones here in the spring. One of them is a tougher big room track with cool inspirational vocals, and the other is funky electro song with a choppy sassy vocal. 

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 and what tune would you drop that would define the evening?

Since my head is in the Manchester vibe, I'd have to say Hacienda in the 90's playing The Beloved - Sweet Harmony

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