When Covid hit Aubrey Fry's outdoor activity business hard he turned back to his first love - music. The producer wrote five tracks during the pandemic and taking a huge punt, emailed them to his hero John Digweed. Aubrey's love of music first began when he was gifted the legendary DJ's mix CD aged 15.

“It changed my life,” he said. “That was it - that’s what I wanted to do. Very soon after that, I bought my first set of decks and never looked back.”

After DJ'ing his way through the 1990s and early '20s, Aubrey moved into film sound before marrying his wife Clare and moving to Wales. He never lost his passion for music but didn't have time to pursue it.

“There’s absolutely no way that I’d be where I am today without the pandemic," he said. “Before it hit, I was running an outdoor adventure business. I simply wouldn’t have had the time to get back into writing music although the spark was always there.

A sunny shot of Sasha and John Digweed, Sasha in a white t-shirt, John in blackJohn Digweed enjoyed huge success with fellow DJ Sasha (
Image:
WireImage)

John snapped up the track for his compilation album and next invited Aubrey to release a three-track EP. Aubrey's career was taking off but with clubs shut as Covid rates soared around the globe, his music was limited to being played on the legend's weekly live podcasts.

“It was a huge achievement but I wasn’t yet feeling the full effect of the releases as everything was still so virtual," he recalled. "It wasn't until 2021 when my son was born that I wrote a track that would really set the club landscape alight and get the airtime it deserved.

A blue lit shot of Aubrey at the DJ boothAubrey fell in love with DJ'ing when he was 15 (
Image:
Supplied)

That track was The Loop, written by Aubrey in October 2021 with his son Hector sleeping in his lap. A song about the circle of life, it pays homage to Aubrey's late father who died when he was six years old.

“I suffered a lifetime of depression after his passing and in later life, I turned to alcohol abuse," said the DJ, who is three years sober. "The birth of my son in 2021 was the beginning of a new life not just for him but also for me.

"In January 2022, John Digweed was heading off on a seven-date tour around his spiritual home of Argentina and I decided to write a club mix of The Loop. He ended up closing every show with the track and I felt like I’d finally made it. His final show in Buenos Aires was the pinnacle as people shared tons of videos of the closing track, my track.

“After this tour, John went on playing The Loop on tour through central America and up through the USA. He did a show with Sasha at the Ultra music festival where they both closed their set with The Loop. My life was complete."

John in a black t-shirt hard at work in the DJ boothThe legend performing in Atlanta, Georgia (
Image:
FilmMagic)
Aubrey Fry looking down in a moody photo, wearing a black jumperAubrey's track The Loop pays homage to his late father (
Image:
Finn Beales)
“It’s a dream I’ve harboured for years but never really believed would happen," added Aubrey, who got to DJ with John last year. "I’ve had John Digweed and Sasha’s sound firmly imprinted on my soul for the last 25 years.

“After so long following their adventures around the world, it’s pretty humbling to be where I am today, and proof that you should never give up."

Aubrey will take over Cardiff’s District nightclub on Saturday, March 2 for a progressive house day party starring double headliners Guy J and Jody Wisternoff. The event is the first in a series of parties bringing some of the world’s biggest names in progressive house to the Welsh capital.