Eddie Halliwell is possibly the most talented DJ within the Trance scene. He's regularly heard doing live re-edits of tunes, using a sampler to full effect, and scratching over tunes too. We managed to catch up with Eddie, at the Escape Into The Park 2007 festival at Singleton Park in Swansea, to get a rare and exclusive interview. Read on to find out how our interview went....
Carl: Right, we're backstage with Eddie Halliwell at Escape Into The Park. Thanks for joining us Eddie! Your "Fire It Up" tours have been travelling around the country with Fred Baker, Tylor Leigh and Barry Connell. What was your reason to do a tour rather than single bookings at various venues?
Eddie Halliwell: We just decided to do the "Fire Up Up" theme around clubs that I enjoyed playing at, and we just, sort of like, you know, the clubs that I enjoy doing, we've tried to bring a bit more to that and when we were doing a tour, we wanted to bring the DJ's I enjoy playing with, and, you know what I mean, bring more of the vibe to the clubs that I enjoy.
Carl: You're one of the only DJ's that can have a crowd chanting your name ten minutes before you walk on. Does that make you nervous, or do is fire you up even more - pardon the pun!
Eddie Halliwell: No, to be honest, the interaction with a crowd, when I get the vibe from them, it brings more out of me - and when I get that feeling, you know what I mean, its just the best..... its just the best feeling in the world to be honest, yeah!
Carl: When I saw you playing at Godskitchen recently, you had your CD's with you, but you also had a vinyl record for scratching with. Do you take that everywhere? Or is it.... do you still use vinyl at all?
Eddie Halliwell: I mean, to be honest, everything, the music that is sent to me is all digital these days. I do erm..., I carry various scratch tools around with me, but, you know what I mean, if there's a couple of turntables there, then we'll err... give it full fire. To be honest... do you know what I mean, everything is digital these days, and errr, like, you make the most of the equipment that's put in front of you.
Carl: Do you think you'll ever play vinyl again, or have those days gone now?
Eddie Halliwell: There might be a couple of after-parties tonight, you know what I mean, a couple of vinyls, errr, the vinyl might come out tonight - you never know! *laughs*
Carl: You've got a very unique style of DJ'ing - where did your influences and ideas come from?
Eddie Halliwell: Erm...On a technical aspect, people like The Scratch Perverts, plus one Q-Bert - i've always been into the technical aspect of DJ'ing. Erm... as club DJ's go, Carl Cox has always been an inspiration for me, you know, people like that - he's a living legend!
Carl: Erm... you're one of the very few DJ's that have got all of those skills - is some of that natural ability or have you just spent hours after hours, week after week, learning all of that?
Eddie Halliwell: Its a lot down to practice... *laughs*
Carl: You incorporate your own edits of tunes into your sets, but so far, we've not heard any productions from you - does production interest you at all in the future?
Eddie Halliwell: I mean... the production side of things definately interests me, but to be honest, it's DJ'ing that's the number one priority in my life - and thats.., and thats what I want to dedicate all of my time to because, to be honest, DJ'ing is what i've always wanted to do. Production is something I want to do in the future.
Carl: With most of the big club nights going monthly now, do you ever see yourself returning to some of the smaller brands again in the future?
Eddie Halliwell: Errr... definately, I've played err.. various gigs over the last year that have been smaller venues, you know what I mean, but to be honest, it's like tonight is Escape Into The Park - a big festival - I love the atmosphere and the vibe that's created by festivals, erm..., but to be honest, I love the intimate environments of the small gigs - that that can create you know?
Carl: You're still quite a relatively young DJ really....
Eddie Halliwell: Relatively.... *laughs* Young at heart......... *laughs*
Carl: Yeah definately.... *laughs* You're younger than me so..... *laughs* You've had Ibiza residencies, headlined at clubs all around the world, you've got your weekly Radio 1 show - what's been the hghlight of your career so far?
Eddie Halliwell: Errrr..... *sighs* There's been so many different things that have gone on, erm.... I'd say... erm.... i'd say, erm.... the nearest thing is, after the Radio 1 residency, getting a weekly show on Radio 1 is a highlight for me, yeah!
Carl: Erm.... whats next for Eddie Halliwell? Is there any more "Fire It Up" tours? Any CD's? Ibiza tours - things like that?
Eddie Halliwell: There's plenty in the pipeline, but... all I can say is, we will give you full fire! *laughs*
Carl: And finally... Who are your big friends in the industry? Are you close to anyone in particular?
Eddie Halliwell: The closest people to me are my family. You know?....
Carl: Right, thanks for your time Eddie - thanks a lot!
Eddie Halliwell: Thank you!
