Charlie Hedges interview: Joining the party

From the airwaves of Kiss FM to British Airways' in-flight entertainment, Charlie Hedges' musical reach is constantly growing, and now it's about to stretch even further - she's partnered up with Skiddle to bring you a brand new Weekends Matter podcast.

The show will still bring you the hottest tracks, but this time round Charlie's at the steerling wheel, bringing with her an abundance of extras and powerful guest mixes. Ahead of the January episode launch, we delved a little deeper to find out more about her and the brand new podcast.

Hi Charlie, first up, for anyone who is unfamiliar with yourself as a DJ or presenter could you give us a little bit of background on your career? 

So, to keep it kinda brief, I've always been a huge music lover from as young as I can remember and I always wanted to be a DJ and work in the music industry. Age 13 I applied for a freelance job as a journalist for what was at that time a magazine aimed at over 25s. The cheek of me asking at my age, and with no previous experience either, but they took me on!

I'd call up celebs' PAs and management teams in my school lunch breaks and I was lucky enough to interview some cool people who gave me a chance. One of those was a presenter who was on KissFM at the time called Streetboy, who from that point onwards would let me come up to the studio every now and again to gain as much experience as I could regarding radio.

Then, the week of me starting uni (I studied for a BA hons in Journalism at Harlow College) Bam Bam, another presenter at the time, offered me a tea making/runner job which I did every morning for the breakfast show getting in at 4:30am, finishing the show at 9am and then heading straight to uni. I did this for 3 years.

In this time I learned as much as I could, pushed super hard to get behind the mic myself as well as behind the scenes and at home teaching myself to DJ until I became a solid figure on the breakfast show. I learnt to DJ outside of Kiss and I pushed myself within the house scene. I have been lucky enough to play some amazing clubs, festivals and events to date - a direction which has been my my utmost ambition and passion for as long as I can remember.

What can we expect from the brand new Weekends Matter podcast?

You can expect me to share my biggest passion - upfront house music. We've got some incredible guest mixes lined up by some big, big names. I'll also be chatting to new and established artists around the world and keeping you guys up to date with events too via Skiddle.

I'm genuinely super excited that I can bring the vibes of my own DJ sets and house music to the table for not only you guys listening across the country but also across the globe too.

How have you found curating podcasts in the past and what do you enjoy about the process?

I love them, they're so much fun to mix. I get to be creative with the playlist, choosing a mixture of big club tunes and other 'none-club' tracks, but the important part is that they are massive house tunes still.

Some of the bangers I've got in the first month's podcast include new tunes from Doorly, Blonde, Crookers, Disciples, Sonny Fedora, Ilyus & Barrientos and lots more. Podcasts are an amazing way to speak to so many people that listen to music in different many ways, I'm really excited to get stuck into them.

Could you give us a little sneak peak and tell us a big track we can expect to hear in the January edition?

See, I got so excited I didn't even see this question and I've already pretty much answered it above [laughs] I'll give you guys one track not mentioned though.

It's a track which has been chosen personally by a legendary DJ who I'll also be speaking with on the first podcast. It's for a feature which will play tribute every month to some classic tracks. This particular person has chosen the old skool tune '2 People' by Jean Jacques, but I won't tell you who has selected it yet, you'll have to wait and see.

You've put together the guest mix for the first show, it's a great introduction to you as a DJ. How would you say that your DJ sets differ from the music you select for podcasts?

Yes I sure have and I hope you guys like it. I would say the two are very similar to be fair. I always say to people before a DJ set that even if you're not a house music fan, you'll hopefully leave knowing at least a few of the samples and tunes that I've played, which is a reflection of the podcast too.

The only difference is that when you're listening to the podcast, you won't be able to see me jumping around behind the decks, you'll have to come to one of my shows to see that.

How do you think your presenting role at Kiss FM has helped you to develop platforms like podcasts?

Presenting in general and having experience presenting has helped massively. I try not to script things, I just go with the flow and chat as if I'm talking to millions of friends, all together at a massive party and all listening to house music.

It's important to remember that a podcast is always more about the music than a straight up radio show, so that's something that I keep in mind when presenting each show.

What does your gig schedule look like for the next couple of months?

Well it's the first time I've been able to mention this and I'm super excited to tell you that I have my own tour kicking off early this year. It's my first ever full UK #CharlieSays tour. I can't wait to tell you all the dates, I will be being announcing them very soon.

I am extremely fortunate to have a very busy schedule over the next few months and I hope everyone reading this can come and join me at one of the dates.

You have a loyal following on your Soundcloud and your fans loved and supported your Charlie Hedges Presents shows, are you looking forward to bringing them a brand new podcast this year?

I have the best listeners and fans that come to my gigs, and I honestly mean that. I can't wait to show them and the current Skiddle fans the brand new Weekends Matter podcast and get everyone together to make one big house-loving, music-loving, party family. 2016 is going to be an exciting year and the more people that join the party the merrier. 

The Weekends Matter podcast will be available on Skiddle's Mixcloud

Read more: End of year round up: Charlie Hedges