Petrae Foy on Carl Cox, DNA, and having a Godskitchen Residency at 21

Manchester based DJ and Carl Cox favourite Petrae Foy will play at the first DNA at Sound Control on October 8th, with Jason Herd, Steve Mulder and more. Skiddle pinned him down for a chat about all things Petrae. 

Petrae Foy & PJC Project - Mercury MP3 by Petrae Foy

Hi Petrae! First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and describe the music you make.

Well I guess it falls under the Techno/Tech House banner really. I just make music that is what I consider good and a little different to what everyone else does. It’s jacking, funky, upbeat, electronic, warm, happy without the cheese factor, and hopefully makes you want to move. It’s a little in between Chicago House and Detroit Techno.

You’ve just returned from a period away from music. Are you excited to be back now, and what are your ambitions following your return?

A little nervous in some ways but taking the break was the right move at the time, I feel. I actually didn’t mean to take as long as I did but hey, that’s the way it’s worked out. I have many new ideas and a fresh approach to making new music that hopefully will be different again to what I have always done. If you listen to my releases the one before is always a lot different to the new one. Some producers tend to stick with a formula whereas I tend to just do what I think is right on the day. Music is in your soul if you are passionate about it, it’s with you forever and looking at what I have achieved over the years, I count myself lucky I have had the opportunity to do what I did so young no matter what the outcome.

You’ve been making music for many years and had success from a young age – for example, a two year residency at Godskitchen at just 21! What are some of your highlights from all the gigs and releases that you’ve had?

Warming up on my 23rd birthday for Carl Cox at Air in Birmingham was just class. I had all my friends and family there as it was the biggest gig I had done at that time. It obviously started a relationship and went on to help me secure worldwide gigs around that period of my career. I loved going out to south-east Asia a lot playing Zouk in Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, and the world-famous Double Six in Bali was just divine. Some of the larger gigs like festivals would include Global, Homelands, and Dance Valley. But I would safely say doing The Arches in Glasgow on New Years Eve 2003, and headlining a bill that pulled about 2500… well, words cannot describe how mad the Scots are, you just have to see that place go off for yourself!

Tell me about your relationship with Carl Cox. He seems to be someone whose support has proven invaluable over the years.

Carl… what can I say about Carl? What you see is what you get; happy, grounded, humble, and generous doesn’t even begin to describe how kind and willing he is to help others in anyway he can. It’s a fact him taking me under his wing and constantly bigging me up on his global show and having me do mixes for it definitely opened up a whole new chapter to my music. I remember the DJ Mag ‘Top 100’ in 2004 and him saying that I played the best warm up for him at that time! Seriously, you just don’t know how that can impact and motivate you. The better I got to know him and his crew the more you feel part of a family - not my words, but theirs! When I do tracks, Carl plays them at huge gigs and Ian [Hussey] or Carl always get me feedback or record footage for me and send it to me to make me feel proud.

I think I’ve been more fortunate to go to his private parties in Miami on the Sunday of the Winter Music Conference; you just get to see Carl play rare funk, groove and disco all night. The best thing is you see half of the biggest names in the industry there and when they are all pissed, it’s hilarious to see them all dancing to some of the classics that graced the dance floors that out parents would have been bopping away on.

Do you have a preference between DJ and producing? Or do you love both, but in different ways?

It’s hard to define what I love most. I love DJing and I love making music and seeing others play it and it go off, but I’ll cheat and say DJing your own music and watching it go off beats both.

Who are some of the acts on DNA’s line-up that you’re looking forward to?

There is a lot of new talent on that night so I’m gonna big up the smaller names rather than the obvious ones as I feel it’s right and would appreciate it myself. There is one guy most might not know of called Gav Callaghan. Seriously this guy really knows how to rock a crowd, he could mix milk and oil and still get it to blend. Danny Mac is also a talented young up-and-comer along with Jini Cowan and Pete Mobly, between them all I have been impressed with their style and music and I’m more than confident they are the future of the music industry. That’s why they’ve been booked for this epic night!

And what can we expect from your set on the night?

Well, I always like to make an entrance and it’s no surprise that I love playing and abusing the mixer. I’ll be scratching, cutting, three deck mixing, smashing effects, and playing music that the city is far from use to hearing from its norm. In short, expect the unexpected. Not all my tracks will be brand new; maybe some stuff you haven’t heard for a while but without the obvious tried and tested.

Words: Will Orchard 

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