Like To Get To Know You Well - Si

Let's start at the beginning. What was the first record - single or album - you bought with your own money? HONESTLY! We know that hardly anyone starts off with something achingly cool like the Velvet Underground or DJ Shadow - we've all gotta start somewhere!

It was a compilation (if I’m allowed that?) – NOW 17 – bought it with my birthday money. It had some belters on there, Beats International, Happy Mondays, Depeche Mode, but some total stinkers as well..

How did you get into DJing?

I’ve just always loved finding new music and sharing it with other people. I grew up at a time when being a DJ was being regarded as a legit thing to do as a career, rather than one level down from glass collector or a cheesy compere. When I first started doing clubs like Pacha and Shindig, my dad asked always asked if I was on the microphone doing announcements all night. He couldn’t get his head round it!

What for you are the key cornerstones of a great DJ set?

Never start out at 100 miles an hour, build the mood and work out which kinds of tunes press people’s buttons, so you know where to go when the time comes to kick things up a gear – and always have a contingency plan or two up your sleeve.

What 3 records are impossible for you to leave out of any DJ set?

Rufus and Chaka Khan – Any Love, Dan Hartman – Relight My Fire, Chic – Lost In Music.

Tell us about a favourite wedding DJing experience of yours...!

Playing anywhere with the sun-setting is always magic. From the hills of Ibiza to the Scottish countryside, it just shifts everyone’s vibe up a gear.

What 5 artists best represent your variety and diversity of musical tastes?

Kate Bush, Masters At Work, Saint Etienne, LTJ Bukem, Roy Ayers.

What one track is your surefire guaranteed floorfiller?

The Human League – Don’t You Want Me

Do you think DJing a wedding differs in any way from a regular DJ set - and if so, how? - or do the core principles remain the same?

The nuts and bolts are the same, but usually a little accelerated from a club setting. The guests usually cross generations more too, so it’s often helpful to know in advance what your party-starting Aunty’s favourite record is.

What's the most unusual or memorable first dance record you've ever played?

Going from a live brass band to dropping The Man With The Red Face up a Mallorcan mountain and everyone jumping in the pool takes some beating.

What 10 albums would be your Desert Island Discs? It’s changes daily (and I’m including comps), today it’s:

• Coldcut – 70 Minutes Of Madness
• Grace Jones - Nightclubbing
• Madonna – The Immaculate Collection
• Daft Punk - Discovery
• Café Del Mar Volume 2
• Pet Shop Boys – Behaviour
• Soulwax – Nite Versions
• Bjork – Vespertine
• Michael Kiwanuka – KIWANUKA
• Laurent Garnier – Excess Baggage

10 absolute belters there! Do you have any big DJing no-no's?

No drinks near the decks!

Ha! Indeed. So, fundamentally, what can a couple expect from you as their wedding DJ?

Fun times and full-fat vibes!

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Thanks so much to Si for taking the time to chat to us - you can book his full-fat vibes for your wedding here!