Novadance: So Paolo, youﾒre nearing the end of possibly the biggest year in your career so farﾅ

Paolo Mojo: Itﾒs a bit weird actually. I realised a couple of years ago I could only get so far out of the Bedroom Bedlam victory, and while the gigs kept on coming, I figured I needed to get more involved in the production side of things if I wanted to make it as an artist. I wasnﾒt happy working with studio engineers because I never had the time to co-ordinate how you wanted things- I was getting frustrated by not being able to express myself in the ways I wanted to. I just decided to take a step back from it all, and that meant for a while that my DJ-ing would suffer. My intention was to learn the dynamics of the studio and the music, and hopefully come back stronger in the second half of this yearﾅand thatﾒs exactly whatﾒs happened! A few tracks came out, and people like Pete Tong picked up on themﾅ

Like the remix of BTﾒs ﾓFibonacci Sequenceﾔ?

Yeah, that was a bit of a weird one. It wasnﾒt meant to be anything major- I didnﾒt even particularly like it myself. I donﾒt think Iﾒve ever played it. When you start getting into studio production, you start to experiment- maybe it isnﾒt always representative of what youﾒre about, but inside you think, ﾑYeah, that could work..ﾒ I sent it to a few people to see what they thought, and was surprised at the huge reaction it got.

And then there was the Essential Mix as well, possibly one of the best of the year?

Thank you very much. What I wanted to do with it- and I guess other people have done this before- was the opposite of most other Essential Mixes. People listen to them for a month or so, and really get into them, but you go back six months later and the tunes are all just stuck in a particular moment in time. I wanted to really put some thought into it- I tried to pick tracks that werenﾒt obvious, and really make them work together. I was trying to make something that people could come back and listen to in a yearﾒs time and would still sound relevant. Not ﾑremix of the monthﾒ kind of stuff, but something with real longevity.

Thereﾒs a lot of re-edits in that particular mix- is that something you like to bring into your mixes?

Yeah, now you can do things to tracks you could only dream about before- if the track has one really striking bit, you can take that to the forefront, and chop and change it however you want.

So youﾒre all for the use of digital technology- Ableton Live etc?

I do use Ableton, but not in a live situation, if youﾒll pardon the pun. Its like a musical sketch pad, you can just throw loops into it- but in terms of sound quality, I wouldnﾒt use it for production just yet. I donﾒt use it playing live either- I think that the physical act of DJ-ing is far more ﾓliveﾔ than a computer- youﾒre interacting more with a crowd instead of just looking at a laptop. Somebody described it really well to me- that it looks as it theyﾒre checking their emails. You canﾒt build an atmosphere- you need to be careful that all this technology doesnﾒt overwhelm the reason you are there, which is to ﾓrock the partyﾔ! Its important to make sure that the tail doesnﾒt wag the dog..

Howﾒs the label (Music Is Freedom) going?

Good. Weﾒve just moved to Amato (distribution), and the next single should be out in about six weeks time.

Youﾒre remixing a lot of the stuff thatﾒs coming out on the label- is that intentional?

Yeah, Iﾒm throwing my name all over the place. The reason I do a lot of the remixes myself is not just because its cheaper, although that is a big reason, but also when you have the studio there, and you have the track signed, its really tempting to just fiddle around a bit and see what you can come up with.

Howﾒs the collaboration going with Cass? (ﾓHereticﾔ, due out on Sabotage recordings)

Its kind of on hold at the moment- weﾒre both very busy at the moment, so weﾒre looking at early 2005 for the release of that. Itﾒs just on the shelf for a few months.

You donﾒt make that many appearances in Ireland, but you used to have a residency at Inertia in Derry, is that right?

Yeah, the six-hour sets were fun. After a while I think they decided to give someone else a go on the decks, and cut them down to three hours. I used to really enjoy it- the first two hours were generally really funky.. Iﾒm back up there soon actually which should be interesting.

Would you prefer it if you had six hours to play around with more often?

I like playing long sets, but sometimes it can be just as much fun to crack it out for two hours and then go off and enjoy the rest of the party. I donﾒt have a preference.

Well down here in Dublin, there is a little ritzy disco bar sort of establishment that happens to go by the name of ﾑMojoﾒsﾒ. Do you think people coming along to your gig will be disappointed by the lack of Brtiney Spears and S Club in your set?

(Laughs) It depends, we could arrange a photo shoot if you like to make the connection more explicit! With 16B, thereﾒs this place called ﾓOmidﾒs Pizza Placeﾔ on Uxbridge road, and we always have a good chuckle when we drive past. I certainly wasnﾒt aware that I owned a dodgy ritzy in Dublin. Maybe Melodica should relocate there for the nightﾅ

Speaking of Melodica, there have been so many different innovative DJﾒs playing there recently, from Zabiela to Jon Lisle last week- all bringing new styles to the table. What new musical delights can we expect from Mr. Mojo?

I wasnﾒt going to reveal my secret weapons, but here goes: gay Bulgarian ragga, Ukrainian line-dancing techno and Zambesi skaﾅ.

Okay-y. Well the ragga would probably go well with the ska- kind of along the same linesﾅ?

Yeah, but its Zambesi ska, so itﾒs a bit more tribalﾅ

The Ukrainian line-dancing techno wouldnﾒt work that well though; you might need to throw a few bongos in there somewhere?

Well that would be my experimental part of the set. My sets are predominantly 25% entertainment, 75% education, and the Ukrainian musical scale is so challenging-itﾒs a joy to behold.

Ri-ightﾅBack on topic, as a former Bedroom Bedlam winner, what do you think of the emerging underground scene? In this country, a lot of little-known Irish DJs are as good, if not better than some of the international guests who come over..

What youﾒve got to bear in mind is that the so-called ﾓSuperstar DJﾒsﾔ didnﾒt get there because they are talented. Anybody can be talented. But youﾒve got to work really hard to stand out. The whole world wants to be a DJ; itﾒs not a novelty any more. There are many people who are just as good as the next man- you have to look at other ways of forging a career out of it. Youﾒve got to find an angle; youﾒve got market yourself. The days of big DJs commanding ﾣ20,000 for a 90 minute set are gone- that is a good thing from everyoneﾒs perspective.

I think what people forget as well, is that dance music is more popular than itﾒs ever been. You read all these ridiculous articles claiming that dance music is dead- thatﾒs bollocks. Itﾒs bigger across the globe than it has ever been. In DJ magazineﾒs awards poll they had 92,000 votes this year thatﾒs 33% more than last year. In fairness, it may be Middle Americans or people from Chile voting for Tiesto or someone, but itﾒs all healthy for dance music in general. Anyone who tells you that dance music is dead must have his or her eyes closed.

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Melodica/Stylus/Rhythm Factory New Years Eve Party
In Associaction with PurpleMoon Records/Aquarius Sound Leixlip
Access All Areas- Tribecca Bar/ Club Nassau, Kildare St, Dublin 2

Featuring DJs:
Paolo Mojo (Music Is Freedom/Orcmusic/Bedroom Bedlam)
Mike Mooney (Melodica)
Eric Kristen (Melodica)
Jim Carr (Stylus)
Dave Fields (Stylus)
Rob Hatchell (Stylus)
Steve Wynne Jones (Novadance.com)
Eddie Brennan (Stylus Special Added Guest)

Open from 9pm- late
Admission E20 (E25 on the door)
Tickets available from PurpleMoon Records, Crow St., Temple Bar & Abbey Discs.
Ph. 01-6777349 / 01-6777349

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NYE Paolo Mojo With Stylus & Rhythm Factory
Tickets on Sale Now from Purplemoon Records & Abbey Discs.E20.