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Rest of the interview....
Skrufff: When you are doing a ten hour set, does that involve loads of pre-planning?
Danny Howells: "No real planning in the sense of what you are going to play though a lot of planning in making sure you have got every area covered. If I go away on a trip and I know I have a few long sets coming up, I need to make sure I have got some ambient for the beginning of the night, some super deep house, some jazzy house, some sort of afro infused house and some techno, progressive electro, some minimal; enough tools to allow me to do ten hours but without boring myself.
There's a couple of times when I've done long sets and you get six hours in and think 'I need to switch it up a little'. With the right crowd and when they have got faith in you, you can let rip sometimes, you can go into drum and bass or you suddenly start playing hip hop in the middle of the night. Not to get the reaction but to give myself a certain jolt. It's a long time to play and your energy level can dip and sometimes you need something to give a bit of a kick. If suddenly you whack something crazy on in the middle of the night it suddenly wakes me up a little bit. It's a better way of prolonging my energy than doing anything else."
Skrufff: Howe do you handle toilet breaks, is it basically about putting on a long record and running to the bathroom?
Danny Howells: "Actually I've done twelve hour sets where I haven't pissed all night even when I've been drinking loads, such as in Montreal, because it was a really hot night and you sweat it out. I got to the end of the night and I was like: Shit I haven't left the box once. Sometimes you are dancing around a bit and maybe laying off the beer and having a few tequilas or drinking water, sometimes you find you just sweat it out. If I do need to go to the bog I just stick on some old pop classic."
Skrufff: How easy is it for you to look after your health?
Danny Howells: "As far as the partying goes, when I'm actually playing, there was a few occasions last year where I got too drunk at a few gigs and really let myself down and let the crowd down and felt really bad about it. Especially when I was going through my tequila phase ˆ you think you are alright, then suddenly you are not alright. As far as the partying goes, I'm out every weekend and if I accepted everything that was offered to me I think I would be dead in weeks. It affects how I DJ as well. It doesn't help me out if I'm DJing. I try not to go too crazy in the clubs, for my partying I like to get a few friends around if I've got a weekend off and go a bit crazy at home."
Skrufff: Do you ever play completely stone cold sober?
Danny Howells: "A lot of times, yeah, though I like a drink when I'm playing. I always quite enjoy a drink but there's been some times when I've had a really bad hangover and I've done sets where I haven't drunk anything but water. I'd rather not talk about that. Don't tell anyone that, it's a bit embarrassing."
Skrufff: Were you wearing make up when you met your girlfriend?
Danny Howells: "I've got a confession. You're going to hate it. I haven't had the eyeliner out in ages. She stole it off me. Remember we did that interview when I chatted about wearing make-up? Everyone picked up on that because it was in the sleeve notes, but it was exaggerated a little bit because I didn't really wear it out that much. A few times I did do it and it had a greater impact than I imagined. The old gothic night in Miami with the black eyes and Cure T shirt, everyone responded quite badly to that. I'm letting my natural beauty shine through right now."
Skrufff: Just because you've got a girlfriend∑.
Danny Howells: "I finally got a girlfriend after years of trying to find one∑."
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FTW
