Ryan: Hey Grant, Thanks for popping in to do Into The Vaults 003! You’ve gone from Manager at Cab Vol to resident DJ at FLY CLUB and now onto running your own night – ‘You Deserve To Dance’ every Thursday during the Fringe. Can you tell us about it?
Grant: That’s right! I’ve always thought about eventually turning my hand to promoting but I think with DJ’ing I was too pre-occupied with the partying side, now I’m a little more mature I thought hey why not give this a go.
Initially, YDTD was a concept I thought of after listening to a lot of jazz-influenced house music – think Chaos in the CBD, Cody Currie etc – and wanted to create a night that revolved around this emergence of music and 1920s jazz clubs. I soon realised this was kind of a shitty idea musically but you can still see the theme of 1920s in the branding of the night – shout to Paul Hempstead for nailing the artwork.
Musically I decided to just go with my hunch, I basically booked DJs who have been doing it for me the last few years. There’s a varied mix of headline guests to suit different tastes, and perhaps selfishly, my own style as a huge fan of all 4 as producers.
Ryan: We’ve been doing some research into the guests you’ve booked and two of them are making their Edinburgh debuts! Can you talk us through the thoughts behind the bookings?
Grant: Art Alfie plays 2nd edition on 10th of August – he played for the Lezure lads a few years back with fellow Karlovak boss Mr Tophat so essentially this is a solo debut for him! He’s been doing it for me producing with Mr Tophat and now solo as well. He had a killer release on Kornel Kovak’s Studio Barnhus earlier this year and his new EP on Karlovak is a belter too. I’ve included a classic of his and Mr Tophat’s towards the end of this mix.
Moomin has to be the pick of the bunch on the 17th of August. He’s been my favourite DJ/producer of the last two years, incredibly consistent and very credible selector too. His Boiler Room from 4 years ago is a classic. I think Moomin has been on the verge of playing Edinburgh for many years but it’s never pulled through, I feel quite proud I’ll be the first person to bring him here. I play his track ‘Valleys’ towards the start of this mix.
Deejay Astral has been making waves in the Lo-FI House scene after producing under the alias ‘Palace’ and making a name for himself, then re-branding! Check out his track ‘Say Yes’ – it’s suuuuuch a groover. He will bring it on the last stint 24th of August.
Also shout to Telfort, certainly no Edinburgh debut but I’m buzzing to have him play all the same. Sam’s mixes always deliver and his productions are rightly getting the attention they deserve. I’ve played a Julius Steinhoff version of his new track ‘Until Now’ in the mix. He’ll be headlining the first night on 4th August.
Ryan: It must be strange going from selector to promoter, what made you want to make the leap?
Grant: I really believe it’s a fairly natural progression. If you have a passion for music and dj’ing why not give the promoting gig a try – I had thought and thought about it for years, then it got to the point of me just saying to myself why are you not just doing it?! So I did.
Ryan: We’ve seen many promoters in the past get stuck right in behind the decks with their guests. Will we be getting to hear much from yourself during the Fringe?
Grant: I’ve not really thought about it! I guess I will yeah, I enjoy DJ’ing and not actually played cab in a good 6 months so it’ll be good to be back and spin a few tracks at the very least. Having said that, my main focus is numbers so I’ll be out with the PRs whipping them into shape and getting the Thursday Cowgate crowd through the door! My resident Paddy Dixon is more than capable of covering whilst I’m not about!
Ryan: You’ve done a mix for us to go along with the interview. Can you give us a little insight to your tune selection?
Grant: House grooves showcasing tracks from headliners of the span and a clever little surprise at the end!
Ryan: Thanks for coming along and we look forward to the first edition of ‘You Deserve To Dance’ in just two weeks’ time!
Grant: Can’t wait!