For our 58th episode, Jon Bevan has stepped up to the platters that matter and has put together an eclectic, all wax mix of under the shelf gems. Catch our interview with Jon below.
Hi Jon, this interview’s been a long time in the making. How are you? I always like to kick these off by asking our guests to tell us about themselves. What does your DJ journey look like? When did you start playing records and why?
Hey, Liam thanks for having me on! I picked up some decks and a mixer for £100 from a newsagent advert when I was 17 and taught myself at home by making radio shows. I’ve DJed around Manchester since I came here at 18 to study. I presented a “proper” radio show more or less from then until last year. I started putting on nights in 2013 and more recently have been DJing regularly at Soup Kitchen.
You’ve put on several events in the past with names like Sassy J and Suzanne Kraft. Running events is tough, what advice would you give to budding promoters looking to start a night?
I think starting out and doing everything yourself is a good way to begin, even if that means sweeping the floor and mopping up flooded toilets (which we seemed to do a lot). Not compromising on the booking is also important to me. So many of the nights that I admire take risks with bookings and even if it doesn’t always 100% work out for them it’s so much more inspiring that they took a chance on putting an artist across that they want other people to hear.
As well as being a DJ you’re also a medical doctor. With all the craziness going on right now with the pandemic it’d be great to get your thoughts on how dance music and club culture will be able to bounce back after the restrictions are lifted.
I’m not certain but I suspect it will take some time for confidence to build up again in the clubbing community. I think the toll on mental health is probably the most damaging aspect of the current climate and therefore its clearly important to check in on each other and support our friends where possible, both artists and staff at the venues we love.
I also hope that in time the situation forces a more local approach to music and clubbing, where trust is built with the promoters and there is an increased reliance on our local artists and low to mid-capacity venues to facilitate this.
What are you most looking forward to doing when the pandemic ends music-wise? Is it going to a club again or getting your dig on in a record store?
It would be really nice to hear my friends play out on a proper system again.
Can you tell me a bit about your mix? Is there a theme or story behind your selection or have you just pulled out some records you really like at the moment?
Many of the selections came about from moving flat recently and having all my records in a random orientation. I quite liked not knowing where anything was and consequently rediscovered parts of my collection. It was fun to slot these in alongside some new bits.
Are there any standout tracks in the mix you can share with us?
I really like Mystica Tribe’s version of the Vegetable Orchestra early on in the mix. Taka is based in Hiroshima and produces a unique take on dub techno supplemented with his talents on the melodica. I’d love to hear him play live one day.
Finally, have you got anything exciting on the horizon you can tell us about? I appreciate we’re deep into the pandemic so it’s difficult to get any music stuff up and running but if you’ve got anything exciting to plug let us know.
More recently The Red Line has been a newer creative output for me alongside Jack Sheen and Antoin (KMA) with a series of recent live events and radio shows. Stay tuned for further broadcasts in this domain. My man Cutwerk is also making some great music right now so keep your ears to the underground!
