Kym Ayres gets the HF grilling for Frantic presents Timeless Romance
Reported by benz
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Submitted 10-01-07 22:34
2006 saw the old empire of hard dance headliners begin to relinquish their power slightly (whether they liked it or not!) as recent newcomers to the scene saw themselves becoming headliners in their own right. The trend looks set to continue this year, with much-talked about talents such as Kym Ayres breaking through the ranks. Winner of the Eyecon DJ and DJLisaLashes.com DJ competitions and runner-up at the Tidy Weekender DJ competiton, it’s clear that she’s a cut above the rest when it comes to DJ’ing skills. Her first forays into the world of production saw her release a massive 2-tracker on Tidy with the help of Technikal, she’s a resident for the legendary Slinky and she’s just been asked to feature on every single date of the Tidy Boys’ forthcoming Big Night Out Tour. Not bad for a 22 year old!
While already a firm favourite around the UK, Kym’s London appearances have not been quite as numerous as her profile would suggest. With a slot at Frantic presents Timeless Romance coming up on February 10th at The Colosseum in London, she’s set to leave a lasting impression on the capital that should see her back down here in no time. Here’s what the lovely lady had to say for herself when we stuck some questions in her face...
Kym! You’ve managed to avoid the (full) dreaded HF interview treatment up until now. Where have you been hiding?
I haven’t been hiding, I just think you don’t like me. You hate me… don’t you?!
No comment. Do you remember what the first piece of dance music was that you heard that really grabbed your attention?
The likes of the Prodigy, Faithless, Sonique and embarrassingly SASH! first planted the seed to me becoming a dance music obsessive, but up until the age of 17 I couldn’t stand hard dance. You have my ex boyfriend and the Tidy FC album to blame for that one!
Did you have any other “phases” before getting in to dance music? I could definitely see you as a bit of a garage girl at some point.
I loved the cheese. You could usually see me bopping around the dance floor dressed as a schoolgirl downing Hooch and tequila shots (which I have actually recently discovered I am allergic to now).
When did you first pick up a deck, so to speak? Did you get it straight away or were there months of train-wrecks before it all clicked?
I started mixing 4 years ago. I’ll let you know when it clicks.
How did you first get involved with Slinky? Were you a punter before you were a DJ there?
Slinky to me is like the holy grail. I have been going clubbing there for about five years and was one of the original Slinky cybers (back in the day) so I’ve always been part of the furniture there. Slinky is somewhere I always wanted to play so having the opportunity to play both at the old and new venues has been absolutely amazing!
For many years Slinky ran with one room of trance/hard dance, and one of DnB (Cocoshebeen). Did this curious combination work then?
In a weird way, yes. We draw a lot of our crowd from Pompey and So’ton where there wasn’t any d’n’b nights going at that time and it was the perfect combo for a group of friends or a couple to come out raving to. The girlfriend was usually into the trance/hard house and the boyfriend could still go out with his mates and listen to some fat d’n’b beats!!
The 2nd room @ The Opera House was pretty big (450 cap) so it had to be something that drew people in for its own reasons. We tried house and garage for a year but it just didn’t work so we went back to what we knew did!
Were you sad to see Slinky leave the Opera House? How is it going in its new venue?
Of course, The Opera House was a spectacular venue but the Slinky atmosphere came from the crowd and the DJs. The move to Elements was scary at first but as soon as we opened the doors on the first night (17th Nov) we knew everything was going to be fine. The first two events were sellouts and you can’t really ask for more than that. Oh, except no complaints, and there were none of those either! So success all round really!
You must have been overjoyed with the reactions to ‘Bad Girl’ and ‘More & More’, your tracks on Tidy with Technikal?
No…. I’ve hated every minute of it. I keep getting asked to play big events like the Tidy Weekenders and Frantic. It’s really annoying. I’ve just been asked to support the Tidy Boys on their Big Night Out arena tour too. Horrid eh? (disclaimer — I’m lying… it’s amazing!!!)
What have you got planned to follow these tracks up and build on your very solid start in the world of production?
I have a few studio dates planned for the start of the year with quite a few people like Olly Perris, Sam Hudson and Chrysus to name a few. I’ve also had a few digital releases: ‘Self Destruct’ which is already out, and ‘UTC’, which is due out in Digital Assault soon, so it’s all going quite well really. I want to get in the studio loads in 2007 so I can take lots of days off work.
Good plan! You played a few gigs out in Ibiza with Tidy & Extreme Euphoria in 2006. Do you think hard dance will ever be a serious contender on the island or will it always just be a small niche?
Well Es Paradis was rammed so I’d say it was already a serious contender. Music comes round in circles. At the moment house and electro are really big, then it will be trance, then hard dance etc etc, these things come round in waves so yes, I think hard dance will take over the white isle again over the coming years.
You’ve also played out in Canada a couple of times, as have quite a few UK hard dance DJs. They seem to be lapping up the hard sound! Does it seem a bit bizarre to you that there’s a scene over in Canada? I can’t really imagine a load of Americans going nuts to hard beats myself.
They don’t have American accents you numpty, they have Canadian accents! They were a really good crowd and I had a lot of fun over there, they were really really up for it. It’s strange playing abroad ‘cause every country has their own type of dance. I’ve played in Norway too and they absolutely love it as well. They’re all nutters!
You know what I meant... North Americans! You are playing for Frantic once again at Timeless Romance at The Colosseum in London on February 10th — in The Girls Arena of course. Do you feel that you and your gal pals have any advantages in terms of DJ’ing over the guys, or vice versa? And I’m not talking about looks here, but more about psychology and habits etc.
Yes, we have the advantage of being able to do more that one thing at once. Girls can multi-task. Boys are rubbish.
Hey! I’m typing and thinking at the same time, isn’t that multitasking? There’s lots of hot new talent on the line-up such as MDA & Spherical, James Condon, Steve O’Brady, Tina Martin and so on. Who else would you like to see breaking through on some big line-ups this year?
There’s a few actually. I think things have been a bit stale recently new talent wise but there’s a lot coming forward now: Velos; Deano and Sam Townend; Michael Dow; The Colonel. I also saw the Funkedup DJs at the Tidy New Year’s weekender and they blew me away. Loads of new talent.
This isn’t your first time playing for Frantic. What have your other experiences been like?
The last time I played there I played bounce, which I don’t usually like but really enjoyed playing it. I played at Frantic Brings You More at the SE1, which was an awesome night and an awesome venue. I do believe I was playing before you Benbino — that was the highlight of my night.
I remember, everyone scurried off the dancefloor when you got off the decks! What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever had while DJing?
I’ve been asked to play S Club 7 before… but I didn’t have it with me.
What intimidates you?
Kittens, flowers, puppies, sherbert fountains, bunny rabbits, trees, teddy bears, rainbow drops.
What’s your “Golden Rule”?
If all else fails… run away.
Here’s a golden rule for you as well ya bugga… stop sending me interviews in Times New Roman… you know I hate that font!
I have no idea what you mean...
www.myspace.com/djkymayres
Photos courtesy of Kym Ayres. Not to be reproduced without permission. Or captioned with Times New Roman.
TIMELESS Romance
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On:
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Saturday 10th February 2007
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At:
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The Colosseum [map]
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From:
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21:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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£8 + BF Early Birds
£13 + BF Savers
£17 + BF Standards
More on the Door
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Website:
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www.myspace.com/franticuk
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Ticket Info:
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Ticketweb - 08700 600 100 / www.ticketweb.co.uk
Clubtickets - 0870 246 1840 / www.clubtickets.co.uk (Buy 5 get 1 FREE)
View Tickets - www.viewtickets.co.uk
Cyberdog Camden - 0207 482 2842
Never Enough Maria - 07813 684 399
Frantic HQ - 0207 247 4121
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Frantic’s glorious 10th year starts with a bang on New Year’s Day with our 0101 Party at Vauxhall’s intimate but perfectly formed Hidden – and you lucky people will only have to wait 5 weeks for your next installment of Frantic magic!
Frantic are teaming up with Nu Religion to celebrate Valentine’s Day and the history of the hard dance scene – with nothing but 100% solid gold anthems and 100% classics all night long. The line-up takes in some exclusive, rarely seen sets, headline-grabbing big names and the finest of the new wave of young, passionate hard dance DJs. We’ve got 3 cutting-edge live PAs from K90, Greg Brookman and the superb Eryk Orpheus, big hitters like Rob Tissera, Lisa Pin Up and Phil Reynolds, and the biggest new stars of the last few years like Cally Gage, Andy Whitby and Amber D. Excited? Just wait ‘til you see it in full! Be ready to relive some of the most exciting clubbing moments of your life.
A Timeless Romance will be held at The Colosseum in Vauxhall, South London – a venue which we have used previously but has now been updated to cutting-edge standards. The club has been extensively refurbished in recent years and now looks and feels like never before. Frantic will be decking it out with extra sound, extra lighting, massive lasers, dancers, pyrotechnics and décor throughout the venue to keep with our dress code theme…
We want you all to get involved with the Valentine’s lurve theme and show your support by wearing Red or White in your outfits. We don’t care what you wear – as long as youwear either of both of those colours! Spread the love with Frantic!
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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