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Glasgow, eh? So what's a mad Weegie doing this far south? What brought you here? Is there a Buckie/Pizza Supper convention on or something?
Before relocating to Glasgow I actually lived up in the North East home of the worlds most dangerous seagulls and famous for its deep-fried Mars Bars. I was hoping to start a franchise here. Do you think there’s a market? (Yes – Ed.)
Are you exclusively Hip-Hop / RnB and Soul or do you spin other stuff too?
I’ve always been obsessed with breaks and samples so ended up getting in to lots of funk, boogie, rare groove, Motown and Northern Soul. Also a big lover of broken beat, nu-jazz and soulful house.
I do a couple of music-based nights with a focus on quality called Soul lounge and Back to Love. The lounge night has a live performance element and Back to Love is strictly retro grooves; nothing before the 90’s really.
What are your earliest musical memories? Are you from a musical family? (Do you remember listening to Andy Stewart in the womb or anything like that?)
No. But I think I know all the words to ‘Donald, where’s yer troosers’. I was brought up by a Brazilian Mother who was into samba and boss nova, Dad was more of a band man he sang and played guitar, mostly Eagles, The Who, Crosby Stills and Nash, Pink Floyd and The Doors, that kind of thing. As I got older it was always Soul and Motown which I loved the most though.
What do you listen to at home / in the car?
Typically on rotation on the i-pod I’ll have anything from Curtis Mayfield to the Jimi Hendrix depending on my mood. I’m big in to Al Green, Otis Redding, Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye, Gwen McRae, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Jocelyn Brown, Ann Nesby. I also really like all the more modern neo-soul crew Like Rahsaan Patterson, Peven Everet, Maxwell, Jill Scott. I was always more into the jazzy and lyrical side of hip hop more on a conscious tip like A Tribe called Quest, Common, Mos Def , Roots, Guru. Not forgetting classic Brit soul like Incognito, Sade, Mica Paris and Soul2Soul. One of my favorite albums right now is Blanknotes by Dubai’s own Abri… I’ll stop there shall I?
And you're spinning records full-time or do you have other projects on the go?
Before coming over I was also writing freelance for a few magazines and newspapers. I also produced audio interviews and features for radio shows as well as filling in part time as a youth worker and dj tutor for kids with behavioral problems. I’ll do anything to avoid a proper job.
You weren't always a DJ though, were you? Pro footballer? Really?! Who did you play for? Any career highlights?
I started off at Aberdeen FC (no sheep jokes please) Went out to the US via Spain on to Hong Kong then back to the lower leagues in Scotland before hanging up the boots. Unfortunately, after a couple of operations and was told to find another career, which at the time was hard to take, but it’s what pushed me in to DJing. I never had any ambition before that to do it as a profession. It was just something I loved and discovered I wasn’t too bad at.
We've also heard that you've done loads of TV, extra and ad work? Tell us about that. How did you get involved in all of this?
My wife was doing a bit and put me forward I think. I turned up to my first job, spent 6 hours in make up, got shaved everywhere, painted gold and had stuff glued on my head to resemble Buddha, I then waited around all day in my loin cloth for a ten minute scene. Six months later sat down to watch it and they cut my part. I got to meet Apollo Creed though, okay not exactly Rocky Balboa but he was pretty cool in Happy Gilmore. I’ve done a few fun shows like Rab C Nesbit and River City with the odd spoken feature here and there. Children’s TV provided my friends and family with endless amounts of ammunition for insults. One day I was laughing at the cast for being singing vegetables the next I was a dancing referee in a tutu. Unfortunately that didn’t get cut.
Is there anything you haven't done yet? (I mean, ANYTHING?!) What's left on the list?
Until last week I’d never grown a beard. I became a real fan of stroking it while sitting in traffic. It’s now gone and I feel like I’ve lost some mojo. I decided recently to make more of an effort to say yes to different experiences so on my list right now is wake boarding, shooting, falconry and crab hunting. There’s actually a heap of really good stuff to do here outwith the malls and souks, which I wasn’t aware of before.
What are your plans for Dubai (then Global) domination?
Nah. I’m just happy being me doing something I love and meeting some great people. It’s been a challenge so far trying to establish myself here in Dubai. I’ve really had to start from scratch and work hard. Thankfully things are beginning to come together. Ideally I’d like to do a bit more with unsigned artists and help develop the local music scene but in the meantime I’m just taking it all and enjoying it in the process.
We strongly recommend you visit the website of this multi-talented Scot. If for no other reason than because he’s Scottish and that, in itself, is pretty cool. Go on. Take a wee look: www.djdavidcraig.co.uk |
