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► Conek 4 Interview
UWIC Band of the Month
December: Conek4
By Jake May
Conek4 has been DJing for the best part of 12 years. He has regular slots at some of the coolest venues in Cardiff, including Ten Feet Tall, Buffalo Bar, and Clwb Ifor bach. He played his first live show at the age of 13. He is through to the finals of One Mission DJ competition. And best of all, Conek4 is UWIC student John Barr. Retro caught up with John to find out some more;
First things first, how did you get into DJing?
I got into DJing through my brother, who at the time loved what was the early dance scene of the early-mid 90's. His enthusiasm for this new sound caught on instantly with me. I loved it, so I decided to take it to the next level and get a set of decks for Christmas in ‘97 and begin playing these new sounds myself. I got some vinyl from my mum with my decks, which started my vinyl addiction. Much of it was early hardcore from Holland and Scotland. Crazy, crazy stuff! Although I still appreciate it, I’m glad my tastes have developed. My first gig was when I was 13, by then I’d been DJing just under 3 years and was confident as I’d been an apprentice to the established names in my area and had learnt a lot. People were shocked to see a small 13 year old get behind the decks and play as good as any other who'd played there; I got a lot of praise and it was a great confidence booster.
You seem to be most interested in Drum n Bass kinds of sounds. Presumably you didn’t get into this through hearing your Granddad play it around the wood fire on Christmas day. How did you get into more electro stuff?
Yet again, through my brother. He'd been studying in Sussex at the time and came back with a DJ hype tape from New Year’s Eve '99... I’d never heard anything like it, I was gob smacked! It was amazing, plus a lot of the stuff I was playing then was losing its flare and becoming quite monotonous and formulated. Everyone in my family warmed to the sound as well, and I knew this was the direction I wanted my sound to go. It was tough as Northern Ireland has a poor drum and bass scene (even though drum and bass' biggest producer hails from the country-re-calibre), but this wouldn’t stop me and my friends. I knew others would share my fondness of this sound, so if the clubs didn’t let us (in), the outdoors wouldn’t stop us. We started illegal raves and people started to take note and the response was amazing.
Your focus has mostly been on paying live, but recently you’ve started to make more of your own recorded material. How is that coming along?
Yeah I’ve started producing in the last few months. I should have started along time ago but I’ve always been quite focused on DJing and the art of turntablism. It’s coming along nicely; I’ve an addictive personality so I tend not to do things in halves. I spend as much time learning things to help my skills and knowledge grow so I can produce to the best of my ability and live up to the benchmark set by Ireland’s other big producers’ calibre. I’d die a happy man if I could produce tunes half as good as his. But yeah at the minute I’ve a few dubstep pieces up and am currently working on some drum and bass stuff which hopefully will be finished by the end of winter. You can check the tracks on SoundCloud (at soundcloud.com/conek4).
You recently won the first round of One Mission’s DJ Competition. How did that come about, how did that night go, and how confident are you going into the final?
I don’t mind competitions but it can feel a bit like being in a goldfish bowl, though I thought it would do no harm. The other guys who I played with I have the utmost respect for; high quality DJs and producers - Maxx Roach and Kzss. It was a close call by the judges, but I won my heat. I was very pleased but the fun is mostly in meeting other people who like the same music and who helped ease the competition atmosphere by joking and talking about tracks. It was a pleasure - plus the guys at One Mission are always accommodating and very down to earth with a healthy enthusiasm for the scene.
You go to University in Cardiff, but you are originally from Ireland. How do the two places compare in terms of music scenes, and how would you rate Cardiff’s electro scene as it is today?
Yep I’m from Ireland, as anybody who has met me will tell you as they struggle to make out what I say. In terms of music scenes, Ireland’s is pretty poor for the average Dubstep/DnB lover, borderline awful. Other than the illegal raves we were doing, there wasn’t anything else for the drum and bass fan in the area/country. That was basically my main reason behind my move to Cardiff. Cardiff’s scene is amazing and is growing very quick; you have Bedlam, Aperture and Neuropol. Aperture (who I recently did a gig for) and Neuropol ,which both run weekly, are filled with residents who produce high quality tracks - and the DJs are very good; Dan Marshall, Magenta, Lung, Kzss, Maxx Roach, Substance (Ali Davenport), Ransom, Mr Ben etc. The list is pretty long. You also have Cassette Quality who I have residency with; they put on good nights with healthy home-grown DJs like myself, Killer Tom etc. The main thing about Cardiff’s scene is it’s a community. Everyone is very close and it’s warming as an outsider to be welcomed by so many. It’s made Cardiff become my second home.
Do you see DJing as a potential career, or is it more of a thing to do on the weekend for you?
Yeah I’d love to, I hate work. I’m very lazy when it comes to employment and really my heart lies in music. Music for me is a way to vent all my emotions good or bad. I hope in the next few years to make it a full time career and be able to use my influences to make good music which others can enjoy. Overall I’d just be happy and content if people enjoy my sets and the music I produce. That would be better than any sum of money.
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UWIC Life
What course is it you study and what year are you on?
I study English and Popular Culture and am in my 2nd year.
How do you manage to juggle being so busy DJ wise, and still do well in your course?
(It’s) very hard sometimes, I just try and keep motivated. I DJ when I can and basically try and reach a good medium between the two, so neither has to suffer.
What advice would you give to UWIC students looking to get into DJing?
Get involved. Get in contact with anyone at One Mission and don’t be afraid to approach them; Cardiff’s scenes door will always be open. It’s down to you individually to make the effort and step up, it’s definitely worth it.
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To find out more about John and his work, head to his SoundCloud page at soundcloud.com/conek4, or search “Conek4” on Facebook.
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