Interviews
THE BIG QUESTIONS: ZOMBIE DISCO SQUAD
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- Interviews
- Big Q
With his new album ‘Brains’, Zombie Disco Squad has created what could well be the house music release of the year. Having answered the prayers of 4/4 DJs he now answers our Big Questions...
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A policeman.
What’s the worst club you’ve been to?
A middle-aged swingers bar (by mistake – I left pretty sharpish).
What’s been your worst job?
I worked in Rymans for six months when I had just left school at 16. I like pens. But not that much.
What are you obsessed with right now?
Breaking Bad. I just bought seasons 1–4 to take to China with me and I’m obsessed – who could know Hal from Malcolm In The Middle would know how to cook meth so good?
And what do you hate right now?
The idea of the DJ X Factor.
When and where were you your happiest?
I’m really over the moon every time I finish an off-kilter track that I feel really pushes house music forward. And when DJs and musicians I respect say they love it. This may sound arrogant (please don’t take it that way) but with the new album both have been happening a lot!
How do you describe what you do to someone who doesn’t know you?
I make house music and DJ (if they are under fifty). Or, as I explained it to my grandma (when she was ninety- something): “Imagine jazz with all of the players replaced by computers and I am the conductor.” In response she said, “Oh, like disco...”
Have you ever been arrested? And if so what for?
Never. Although I once got busted by an undercover drugs cop for skipping the subway in NYC. Then he showed me a photo of a massive inflatable penis (true story). I’m still not sure why he did that.
What’s the best record ever made?
New Order ‘Blue Monday’.
What’s the coolest thing in your house?
A painting my mum did.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
Don’t be a prick.
Who’s your all-time hero and why?
Prince. Aside from the amazing music, he has taken his short stature and girly looks and made himself a sex symbol.
What do you collect – apart form records?
Scars on my head. I’m up to six.
What’s your vice?
Coffee. Five a day.
Who was your first love, and what happened?
She was called Faye. I was eight. We played kiss chase; then I left the school.
What were you doing at 2pm last Sunday afternoon?
Watching Breaking Bad in a hotel in Bejjing. I’m currently on tour in China.
What’s your answer to everything?
‘Sure, no problem.’
On a scale of one to ten, how good are you in the sack?
Eight sober. Four drunk.
What’s your most prized possession that you’ve still got from when you were a kid?
A ‘Roland Rat’ annual from 1989. It was the only thing that survived a fire in my room when I was a nipper.
Have you ever had a homosexual experience?
Yes. Only a snog though. Blame the club night Nag Nag Nag.
What was your last treat for yourself?
When I finished my new album ‘Brains’. I went out and bought myself some foldable Ray Bans, a Kit-Kat and a cup of tea.
What’s your drug of choice?
Adderall. I wish you could get it here.
What can’t you live without?
Kick drums.
Do you have a recurring dream?
The record playing is running out and the other CDJ is broken. Loads of DJs I know have this one. There’s also a skateboarding one that is amazing.
What would you change about yourself if you could?
Add hair.
What’s the worst item of clothing you’ve ever worn?
Massively baggy skate trousers when I was 11. They looked like parachutes.
If you had a Tardis, what time would you go to?
Mid-80s Chicago.
What’s your lamest claim to fame?
I used to have Terry Wogan’s autograph.
Zombie Disco Squad’s ‘Brains’ is released May 28 on Made To Play Records
