DJ Paul Deighton (aka Mr Housexy)
You’re a familiar face, Paul. What’s been your best night in the capital?
Myself and Richard Murray played New Years Eve last year – double trouble, as they say. The place was packed out, it was just heaving. I’m looking forward to something like that again.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when you get off the plane?
Shower. No, I’ll probably go out, relax, try not to think about the gig too much, y’ know. You still get stage fright even in this day and age.
So what can we expect to hear?
The music’s going be quite funky and soulful. I tend to follow the seasons; I get a bit darker at winter, but at the moment it’s really summery – but with a twist.
What track is going to get the crowds moving?
It’s one of our own tunes – myself and Richard Murray – it’s a cover of Awesome 3’s ‘Don’t Go’. It’s going to be a monster. It comes out at the start of the month, but I’ve been playing it most nights and it’s going down really well. (Laughs.) Bet you knew I was gonna plug one of mine, didn’t you?
You’ve been around a bit, who’s the best DJ you’ve seen?
Morillo. He knows what to play time and again. He’s gone through it and always fills the room. He just ticks all the boxes, really.
What was your nightmare gig?
Give me time… there’s been a few (laughs). The worst thing that went wrong was I burnt a load of CDs and arranged them the night before to put them in different categories. I’d played all the tunes before but I burnt them, but when I got there all the CDs were corrupted, I only had 30 per cent of the records. There was enough to fill two hours, but at the end I just had two tracks spare. I got out of that one.
So why does Housexy make Smoove look like a little girl?
It’s perfect for the sunshine, isn’t it? It’s really good house music. It’s a totally different thing to Smoove. It’s a bit more classy.
Now’s your opportunity to finally put that young upstart Andy P in his place. What do you say?
If you want pure style and a bit more class, come to Housexy, if you want to just jump around (laughs and trails off)… you know what, it’s just too on top, all that nonsense. All the screaming and shouting, you know what I mean? It’s not my cup of tea. I get enough of that at home.
DJ Andy P (aka Mr Smoove)
Have you played the UAE before?
No, but I played out in Qatar at The Pearl in Doha. Yeah, that was a wicked night. The crowd was relatively new to the music and they were really going for it.
So what can we expect?
You’re going to hear a lot of R&B, a little bit of hip-hop, maybe some remix tracks. I like scratching and doing little tricks when I’m DJing so expect a little bit of that.
Tell us your guaranteed floorfiller.
It’s got to be ‘Sexy B***h’ by Akon, or ‘Hotel Room Service’ by Pitbull. Both are really up-tempo dance tracks, but ‘Hotel Room Service’ has got this fantastic sample from an old UK garage song, ‘Nightcrawlers’ – he’s taken that, flipped it around to create this massive track that’s smashing it in the UK clubs at the moment. It’s got a fantastic build up that will get everyone with their hands in the air.
You’re only 21, but you’ve DJ’d with some greats. Who’s your turntable hero?
I’ve DJ’d with Trevor Nelson in the UK, who’s kind of the founder of the scene, and also with Tim Westwood – they’re probably my idols when it comes to UK DJs. In terms of skill as a turntablist I’ve got to admire DJ AM [of the Beastie Boys], who sadly passed away recently. His mash-up style, scratching and turntable technique was unparalleled.
What was Westwood like?
His UK radio shows are very loud, he’s got this big bravado and that’s exactly what he’s like in real life. The first thing I saw him do was introduce himself to the camera with the words, ‘It’s goin’ off, it’s goin’ down, this is the place to be.’
What’s the worst gig you have ever played?
It was the second gig I ever did, for a party back in Bristol, England. At the time they were using some CD players that were substandard to say the least. The eject button was faulty, so when I played one of the tracks, halfway through, it literally spat out the CD and everything went very quiet. People just sort of looked at me, so I just had to jump onto the mic and save it with some chat.
So why does Smoove rule and Housexy drool?
It’s just got more soul! Paul’s gonna have everyone going mad with their hands in the air, just like me, but I’m gonna have all the ladies winding down low in the club. I just think there’ll be a lot more girls on the dancefloor at my night and that’s going to swing it for Smoove.
Housexy takes place on Oct 8 and Smoove on Oct 9 from 10pm-3am at Sax. Entrance is Dhs300, ladies and airline crew get in free. Contact 050 701 4162 for more info.
