"love music...love life"

da wiseguy's appreciation for music began at a very early age. His father was a dj in Canada in the 70's and he remembers always listening to music. "my dad was into a lot of things back then, disco, soul, Pink Floyd, the Beatles - and I remember looking through his vinyl collection with wonder" he recalls, "so the love began early on and, just stuck!".

When he reached his early teens, and his friends were spending their pocket money on sweets, he would be found in the local record store. "I used to love going into those shops...there were like heaven" he muses, "and of course, still are!" da wiseguy had ranging tastes as his dad did, but always found himself digging through the electronic and 'dance' sections. "I obviously didn't have the knowledge, but used to hang around in the shop and just listen to the stuff that the guys would play, waiting until I heard something that got me going. Sometimes it was the groove, sometimes just a drum break, but it was always about the soul of the record. As soon as I heard something I liked, I had to buy it." This has carried over to this day. "If I hear a track somewhere, and it clicks with me, I have to get it, I will track it down until I find it!" Then HMV opened a store locally and it broadened the spectrum considerably. "I was suddenly opened to a whole new world...I remember waiting outside on the first day...I must have been 15 or so...I just couldn't wait to get inside". He had about £40 saved to spend. It was gone within a few minutes.

"A lot of things turned me on, I was big into rap back then, but still kept an ear to the more electronic side of music." This is still very much the case, his sets are very much about the party vibe, which have a heavy influence on breaks and hip-house style tracks. "I will play anything that strikes a chord with me, but I think will rock the listener. And a combination of those two always works. I have found that the hip-hop house bootlegs always set the place on fire! Something old with a new twist always gets people movin' because they know the original but if it has a new twist, then it gets people goin' in a big way." So tracks like Mark Knight vs Stetasonic 'Talkin' All That Jazz' are always close to hand. "Bootlegs are the sort of thing that often come and you can just hear they were slapped together in an hour, but when they are done right, they work and continue to do so for many years."

His collection is wide, but the ethos is always about the connection with the people and the music. So whether it's a deep house set, something more soulful and funky, or straight up block-party house and breaks it always about the connection. "I have been to and dj'd at deep house clubs and warehouse raves and people go for it in much the same way when the dj works it right."

da wiseguy has been dj'ing professionally for about 10 years. a string of residencies at small north London pub/clubs and a chance meeting with the mean fiddler group's main man eventually led to a lot of work. "I was dj'ing for the mean fiddler group 3 to 4 nights a week, at their various venues across the city" he recalls. "It was hard work, because I would often be asked to fill in at a venue where the main resident was off, so I would walk in to somewhere not knowing what to expect. Some of the clubs would be expecting hip-hop when all I had was a bag of house, so I had to work with what I had, but made a serious mental note to always be prepared!!" And his attitude and ethos always ended up winning over the crowd. "There was some nights when there would be a queue of people by the booth asking for queen and u2 because I had been asked to to go a venue that usually played that stuff, but I didn't know, so just had to smile politely and get on with it. I thought I would get lynched one night, but ended up being one of the funniest nights! Pulled out a few bootlegs and people just went with it!" This finally led to a residency at one of their bigger venues, the cube bar, in Swiss cottage. "It was a big deal for me and my dj partner at the time, as kiss fm were doing the Friday nights and we had the Saturdays. So it was quite high profile. Then we'd often get called to dj at the subterannia in Ladbrooke Grove to dj till close there, so the weekends were manic, but fun."

He has played at venues big and small - sets at the Pod and Redbox and alongside the Soul Candy crew in the intimate Metropolitan in Dublin and from the mammoth club The Complex in Islington (now a shopping centre) to the smaller but stylish Ion bar in Ladbrooke Grove, and warmed up for big names like the Plump Dj's, Carl Cox, Bobbi and Steve, new kid on the block Jupiter Ace or just played at house parties for friends. But it's always about the music reaching out and connecting. "Obviously your set would change to suit the venue, and if you are warming up or not. Some warm up dj's will just jump on and lash it out. For me, it's about taking people on a little trip and enjoying yourself, because that will always come over in the mix, and as such, the music."

Currently living in Ireland. da wiseguy is currently presenting his "illicit grooves" radio show on Ireland's premier internet radio station, Power FM. "power has such a great name for itself, it's been around for so long and the line up is made up of some of the biggest names on the Irish scene, like the Bodytonic lads. So it's great to be part of it and spread the love across the planet!" He has had a very successful show, "Soul Surgery" on Jazz FM and moved to Nova where he played for 2 years, also hosting Defected's 'In The House' mix, the first in Ireland. Then fate brought him back to Power, where 3 years previous, he had his first mix on Irish radio. "I love doing what I am doing right now" he smiles, "love music...love life!"