Doorly Interview: Fatboy Slim is my Hero... He’s the reason I DJ like I do

Wahey; Ibiza season is here. It’s been a very cold, very miserable few months since the Balearic paradise ended back in October but as a fella named Bob once sang the times, they are a-changin and it’s all about to kick off again over on the White Isle.

Ahead of it all we will have a flurry of interviews, stories, mixes and videos all Ibiza themed, and one in particular is this interview with Doorly. The Ibiza Rocks resident is one of the must-see DJs if you head to the island, and alongside that has a great new compilation on Southern Fried out shortly, as well as a killer new single on Toolroom and a flurry of DJ appearances over the summer.

Our editor Jimmy Coultas fired the questions and found Doorly giving out advice to Ibiza virgins, citing Fatboy Slim as his DJ hero and the joys of living in LA.

Hi Doorly! You’ve mixed the latest installment of the Southern Fired compilation. Can you let our readers know what the comp is about?

Yep I was basically given full access to the Southern Fried Back Catalogue and asked to mix a CD of my favourite tracks, including some special edits and new exclusive originals from myself.  I’m a huge fan of the label so I had a whale of a time and couldn’t fit them all on to one disc so I seperated them and did 2 discs, one jump up classic southern fried party style and the other much deeper and grown up. It’s an honour to take the baton from the Awesome 2 Bears who mixed the last Compilation, a CD that I have nearly worn out!

You’ve had a long and distinguished relationship with the Southern fried family. How important has that been in your career and do you see Fatboy Slim as a kindred musical spirit?

Fatboy Slim is my Hero and mentor above all others, He’s the reason I DJ like I do and someone I respect hugely so I’ve always been a massive fan of his label, infact so much so, like a couple of other lables at the time early in my career such as Subliminal and Defected I would pretty much buy any release without even listening to it because I just knew it was going to be GOOD! 

I would definitely consider Norm a kindered spirit basically because the fundimental spirit of what he does is what I have based my own vibe on.  Southern Fried gave me one of my first big breaks when I won a DJ Mix competition and got the chance to play alongside Fatboy Slim & Armand van Helden at an intimate 500 cap show, Still one of the most important and special shows of my career so far. 

Also of course I have gone on to remix and release on the label as well as become very good mates with all of the team there along the way.

How important are mix cds in this day and age? And what are your favourites from over the years?

The internet has made everything so disposable, and to be honest CD players are rapidly becoming extinct, my new macbook pro doesn’t even have a CD drive but in the same way with vinyl it’s so important that we still have special edition stuff on a physical product, it means so much more than a link and mp3 file. And hopefully it will get more listens over time. 

Just seeing a nice cd wallet or piece of vinyl that you love makes you want to listen to it, unlike an mp3 link.  I Love the fabricLive series, some seminal and timeless mixes are in my collection because of that series! My first ones were the old Ministry of Sound annuals mixed by Pete Tong and crew which were pure gold!

Also probably my all time favourites were the 2manyDJs ‘As heard on Radio Soulwax’ and DJ Yoda ‘How to cut and paste’ CDs. Both massively influenced me as a DJ, opening my mind genre wise and also with turntablism.

Ibiza Season is (nearly) here! You’ll be back at Ibiza Rocks, can you let us know what to expect from you and the event over the season?

I’m more excited about this summer than any before, I have a new run of shows at the amazing We Love… Space which is an event I have always chosen over any other to go and let my hair down and get stuck in as a punter and the line ups this year are mental. 

Of course I’ll be back at my spiritual home with my family at Ibiza Rocks as resident DJ and stage host and also playing weekly at their more electronic weekly party W.A.R. Plus a scattering of other shows and my own weekly Doorly & Friends boat party with some very special guests playing on the boat every week : )

What advice would you give to anyone experiencing Ibiza for the first time?

Pace yourself, do your research on what parties to go to before you get to the island, and make sure you leave a couple of recovery days free in between to go and see what a beautiful place it is away from the clubs. Look out for the free pre and afterpartys around the island where you will get to see some of the big DJs for free instead of having to pay 80 Euros. And make sure you go and try a Doorly Daqueri and chicken pitta at the Ibiza Rocks Bar in San Antonio!

And if someone could do one non club related topic on the island, what would you suggest?

Take the boat to Formentera, or if there’s enough of you and you want to treat yourself, charter your own boat.  It has some of the BEST beaches I’ve seen anywhere in the world and it’s the ultimate day trip.

Where else can we see you over the summer?

Plenty of Festivals, I’m most excited about Hideout festival, in my opinion it’s the best in the world right now, also Bennicassim and in the UK Global Gathering and Creamfields.  I have almost 60 shows in Ibiza this summer so I wont actually have time to leave the island all that much!

And finally, what else lies in the future for you?

I moved to Los Angeles in December and I’m having the time of my life here, I have a great studio and its always sunny so my music has taken on a new vibe and I have a more defined sound now, something I have always struggled with.  So I’ll be heading back there as soon as the season finishes! 

Release wise I have a couple of forthcoming EP’s on Toolroom records, a new collab project with Shadow Child and Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters on Southern Fried called “Avec” (Watch this space!) and also a load of other tracks finished and ready for release over the summer. 

I’ve been very quiet on the release front for the last 8 months or so because I really wanted to find a sound as there was too much chaos and confusion in the spectrum of music I was releasing before that and now I have found it so prepare to be pummled with Doorly music for the forseeable future!

Southern Fried & Tested 4 - mixed by Doorly will be out on July 1st.