So, Yousef, you used to be Mr. Cream; now here you are turning out for Godskitchen. Is it all a bit strange?

I donﾒt think itﾒs that different at the end of the day. Godskitchen are all about the big one-off event, with lots of different arenas showcasing lots of different styles of music, which is good to have. Iﾒve definitely moved on; Circus [Yousefﾒs Liverpool clubnight] celebrates its third birthday in a couple of months, which is crazy to think about. Three years ago in September, I left Cream.

The fact Circus is going from strength to strength [winners of BBC Radio 1 Best Club Night 2004] could be seen as a testament to your passion for it..?

Itﾒs a lot more strenuous working for yourself. We do one offs which Chibuku [Shake Shake, another Liverpool club] at times of the year when thereﾒs strength in numbers; summer is generally very quiet so weﾒve got a massive party planned for the 30th, the day before Godskitchen. Richard McGuinness, who runs Circus with me, also runs Chibuku with somebody else so it works out really well.

Itﾒs not too much of a clash of music styles then?

Their parameters are a lot more broad than mine, they bring hip hop, drum n bass and techno into the mix...it works well.

Youﾒre still a fan of the upbeat house though, judging by your last release (ﾓWay of Lifeﾔ, out now on Carioca)?

I made that tune two years ago and it only got round to seeing the light of day now as I had to move around to different distribution chains. Thankfully, thereﾒs plenty more where that came from. Iﾒve made so much music this year its ridiculous.

Are you thinking of playing live at all?

Not this year, maybe not next year either to be honest. Iﾒm just heading to a place where I can establish myself as a producer rather than just churn out records for the sake of it. Iﾒve actually just made a crazy album with eight of my friends, including Paul Woolford, Onionz, Blak kat and Gene Farris amongst others. Iﾒm going to make sure that everything on the album is brand new; one track is techno, the next might be jazzy house. Its not really a groundbreaking musical masterpiece; its just good house music.

Youﾒre also fond of putting together your own ﾓCircus reworksﾔ on the B-sides of singlesﾅ

Sometimes thereﾒs a part of a track that I want to play, and it needs to sound a bit different to my ears and for the crowd so I put together a Circus rework; itﾒs the sound of the nightclub at a certain point on a Saturday night. I just worked on a Dutch track called ﾑAlrightﾒ which wasnﾒt really my thing, to be honest, so Iﾒve reworked into this borderline techno track with a bit of funk. Itﾒs a nice diary of the way the club is progressing; I started off reworking vocal Boris Dlouglosh tracks, now Iﾒve moved on to borderline techno. The music spectrum is broadening.

You started off as a new face in Cream six or seven years ago, anyone coming through the ranks at your club to potentially seize your throne?

From the moment I opened Circus I put a lot of effort into organising DJ competitions similar to how it all started off for me [Yousef won Muzikﾒs Bedroom Bedlam in 1999]. Iﾒm proud to be in a position to be offering people the chance to prove themselves, similar to what happened for me. Musically, the one thatﾒs head and shoulders above the rest would have to be Alex Wolfenden. Heﾒs making the most warped house music Iﾒve heard for years. Whenever I get stuck in production heﾒs the first person I turn to; his musical knowledge is second to none.

Thatﾒs what youﾒre finding a lot more with producers these days, a greater sense of musical theory. Itﾒs not just enough to hammer a few easy chords into a computerﾅ

Absolutely. The way I see it, if Iﾒm going to make a record that is going to stand the test of time, it needs to have a working melody, it needs to have a real song element that means something to you. It shouldnﾒt be disposable. Thatﾒs where Iﾒm aiming with my productions; Iﾒm not necessarily anywhere near there yet, but Iﾒm understanding musical structure more and more. Itﾒs always learning experience.

Are you going to be sticking around in Ireland at all after you play Godskitchen?

Iﾒm actually heading back home straight away to get ready for a tour of South America and then the States to co-promote a Renassiance mix album Iﾒve just been working onﾅ

What do they think of you in America?

To be honest I think America is one of the weakest places to play in the world, unless youﾒre Tiesto. In America they love ﾑthe superstarﾒ no matter what you do. As regards house music, only Derrick Carter is really doing ok over there. Its hard work, youﾒve got to keep on trying to crack it.

Finally, I just had to get this question in thereﾅwhat was it like in town when Liverpool won the Champions League?

Get in! I went to this sports bar in the city centre that was the ultimate place to watch this match; everybody poured out onto the streets afterwards- the party lasted two days. It was just chaos, the city centre was like tin of sardines. There was this amazing sea of red, everybody was hugging total strangers and swinging off lampposts. People think it just went off and then everybody went home, but there were thousands on the streets for days. It was very special.

Yousef plays the House arena at Godskitchen Global Gathering Ireland alongside David Morales, Kerri Chandler and Tim Deluxe to name but three. More information is available at http://www.novadance.com/godskitchen_global_gathering_2005_cork_ireland/