Leeds house sensation Tom Zanetti caught up with Marko Kutlesa to discuss his hometown, his previous jobs, busy schedules and much more ahead of his UK gigs.

Last updated: 22nd Dec 2017

Originally published: 19th Dec 2017

Tom Zanetti's rise to headlining DJ status and massive success has not been any overnight journey. Having taken on a string of jobs since leaving school nobody could accuse him of having had an easy route.

With a young son to look after he's always been about the graft and he applied the same sense of dedication to his DJing and promoting. Co-founding the popular Insomnia nights in Leeds, he now co-runs a promotion company called Sleepin Is Cheatin which can be found organising parties and hosting festival stages internationally.

Initially inspired to DJ by his father, Tom has taken his own brand of bassline house to events like Creamfields and across Europe all summer, proving to be a popular figure. His first Ministry Of Sound compilation was one of the most successful in years and he has recorded several of his own much loved singles in 'Darlin', 'You Want Me' and 'More & More'.

Prior to Tom Zanetti's upcoming gigs, Marko Kutlesa caught up with the bass house sensation to ask him about his plans for Christmas, New Year and further still.

Your club night was called Insomnia and you own a company called Sleepin Is Cheatin. Just how late do you stay up on weekends?

Sometimes I don't sleep at all on the weekends, travelling from show to show, here there and everywhere. We've done over 140 shows this year and sometimes we'll be in a different country every night. From May to August I felt like I didn't really sleep at all.

You've had quite a few different jobs previously. Which one was the worst?

I worked in a warehouse, fixing wooden palettes from six o'clock in the morning to six o'clock at night. I basically had to take a palette from a massive pile of broken ones and hammer nails into it and then put it onto a pile of fixed ones. At the end of the day my right arm would be bigger than my left one. Ha!

You're a bit of a northern phenomenon. Did the success of 'You Want Me' open up more gigs for you in the south and how do their parties compare to ours?

Well, the reception we get is insane everywhere we go, all over the country and internationally. Obviously, coming from up north, I do find it pretty massive up here. But quite often, if I go down south, it might be the first time I've ever been in that place so the reception is different, but it's equally as big. It's all love everywhere.

Other than your own, what have been your top three tunes of the summer?

Camelphat & Elderbrook 'Cola', Fisher 'Ya Kidding' and '(Let's Go) Dancing' by Corrupt.

Other than the nights you perform at and promote, where else in Leeds did you like to party?

We run our parties at Mission, but when I'm not working I like eating out really. I like going to the Sky Lounge, a nice bar overlooking Leeds. With regards to clubs, I quite like going to Mint Club and Beaver Works. But really, if I'm not working in clubs I don't tend to go to clubs nowadays. I'm more likely to go to a bar, where I can get a table, sit down and relax a little bit.

You're playing Leeds, Wolverhampton, Rotherham and Manchester this New Year's Eve. That's a busy schedule, not much time for partying yourself, no?

Not at all. I won't be partying. I'll just be driving all night.

So you're doing the driving?

No, actually. I used to drive. For the last ten years I've not had a New Year's Eve off and I used to drive to all the parties. But, this year, we've got a driver.

What are you doing for Christmas?

I've got quite a big family, lots of nieces and nephews and my son. I'm getting my brother and sister, my nieces and nephews, my mum and my stepdad and they're going to come and sleep at mine on New Year's Eve. We'll get everyone to wake up together on Christmas Day, probably be about twenty people in my house on Christmas morning.

Your dad was a DJ. Are there any songs that you heard him play that you also drop or that you still hear and they remind you of him?

Yeah. Ruff Driverz 'Deeper Love'.

Your son is called Deaconn. Where does that name come from?

Deaconn was my great grandad's name, so it's taken from him.

You've done some reality TV. What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened spontaneously while the cameras have been filming?

Erm, probably having a dispute with Katie Price. That was quite embarrassing for me. The whole show was embarrassing. 

You take good care of yourself physically, but if you were ever running late and hungry, where's the best fish and chip shop in Leeds?

Oooh. I'd say Empire in Wakefield. Top food.

Would that be your first choice for fast food?

Oh, I don't know. I quite like KFC as well!

You've been in the studio quite a lot over the past couple of weeks. What is it you've been working on?

I've really been trying to do a few club tracks, things that I can play which are just going to shake it. I've been trying to go quite underground with this stuff rather than go for the commercial market. But hopefully it will be quite across the board, underground music. Quite bassline driven.

What else is coming up next?

We've got the second Ministry Of Sound compilation coming. The first one was really successful, it was number one on the album charts and went to number three in the UK charts behind Drake and Ed Sheeran for three weeks. So, the second volume is coming out in February, I think. I've got two more singles that I'm going to release that I've just finished up and hopefully I'm going to be collaborating with some big artists, some idols.

Do the two singles that are coming out have any guests on them?

Maybe so, yeah. There could be. I think one of them will have Katy B and D Double on it and on the other one we could be working with Predator.

Find upcoming Tom Zanetti events