“I play with CDs because I don’t want to stare
at a laptop when I’m partying with a crowd,”
says Mike Candys. “Most of the tracks I play
for only two or three minutes, just to get the
essence of them; which for me is one break
and one drop.”
Mike started out producing and remixing
for other DJs before leaping from behind
the scenes in the late-2000s with a slew
of nostalgia-fuelled, sample-laden electro
house tunes, made in collaboration with Jack
Holiday.
In 2008, they released ‘La Serenissima’ and
everyone sat up.
“It was our remake of Faithless’s ‘Insomnia’
that changed everything for me as a DJ,” says
Mike. “Suddenly everyone wanted to book
me as a DJ.”
Then, he says, the release of ‘One Night In
Ibiza’ and ‘2012’ stepped things up another
notch. “Since then my booking schedule has
been completely full,” he says. “Headlining
to 30,000 people at the Donauinselfest
Vienna festival this year has de?nitely
been the high point.” CLAIRE HUGHES
Have DJs’ fees got out of hand? “When DJs attract the same crowd as a big rock band I
think in?ated fees are ok.” Has dance music become the new pop? “De?nitely, because
of the collaboration between different styles and artists.” If you could be any animal
what would you b