Huxley Interview: I love Liverpool

Image: Huxley

Circus’ run of form over the past few years is showing no signs of relenting. The Liverpool stronghold has been at the forefront of peerless electronic music exploration in the UK, managing to catch the zeitgeist of house and techno at its most effervescent and in recent months showing an ever growing eagerness to put on DJs who bring another sonic aesthetic; bass.

Genre fusion experts such as Scuba and Julio Bashmore have appeared in the past year, adding a rumbling growl to Yousef’s panoramic vision of '21st Century House Music'. Liverpool’s November event (as we highlighted here) has continued that ascent by booking two DJs who’ve certainly taken a shine to the far reaching bass music canon in their productions and DJ sets; Midland and Huxley.

The latter’s fusion of garage and house has been one of the most eye catching uses of the sound in the past three to four years. His undeniable swing and inimitable prowess in delivering a real low end swagger to a classic house groove has caught the attention of both clubbers and fellow DJs alike. Another confirmed admirer has been current pantheon of panache Rinse, whose evolution from grimy pirate to national tastemaker has been reflected in their willingness to embrace house music artists like Huxley operating outside the box.

We caught 60 seconds with the DJ ahead of his show to discuss the Rinse connection, his experiences of playing in Liverpool and his delight at the slow permeating of underground dance music into the pop charts. 

You’re playing for Yousef at Circus in Liverpool shortly. Having played at the club before and at Abandon Silence and the Shipping Forecast in the past, how much of a relationship are you building with the clubbers of Liverpool and do you look forward to the shows?

I love Liverpool and love playing for Yos!

Where else have you been playing recently, and what other shows are you looking forward to in the near future?

I’ve just come back off a US tour and squeezed in shows in France and Holland this past weekend – what I’ve most been looking forward to is a holiday, which I leave for today. I’ll be rested in time for Circus.

Dance music in this country has just seen another Number one record on the singles chart with MK’s remix of Storm Queen. How positive a thing for underground dance music is it seeing people pick up on music which is closer in origin to whats happening in clubs than previous successes, particularly given the success of Duke Dumont and Disclosure?

It’s a massive positive to see underground music push through to the mainstream – particularly with Defected as they work really hard.

If you had the chance to create your dream number one, working with three chart topping musicians dead or alive, who would you select and what would the record you end up creating sound like?

This question would take me months to answer properly – my favourites change day to day…

You've been hosting a monthly show on Rinse throughout 2013 (stream his September show with Luke Solomon above). How has that been for you and do you think Rinse are keeping the spirit of radio alive in electronic music?

Rinse is amazing. They’re great people with real passion about what goes out on the air – I love doing the shows for them, there’s a real sense of history there.

You've released music on their label. have you any plans to release more music with them and what artists on the label have you been playing in your sets over the years?

Right now I’m working on an album – I’ve got no labels or timelines in my mind, just pure studio focus. As for other Rinse releases, I’ve played a lot of stuff from the label and followed it pretty avidly, especially this past year or so.

What production news can you let us know about at the minute?

I’ve got a single dropping on Aus in December called the Inkwell EP, which I’m really hyped about. 

Finally what else lies in the future for Huxley?

Immediately, some serious rest... then back to the studio grind.

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