| ostrich |
Q & A with HEIDI
Having grown up in Canada, you moved to England in 2000 and now
reside in Berlin.
How did you end up in London, and how did everything come together
when you guys set out to open Phonica Records? One of the finest
record stores in London, Phonica continues to help build a community
of local DJs, music producers, connoisseurs and artists alike. Was
this something you guys were aiming to achieve?
Well I always had a fascination with England. I was so in love with
the music coming from there when I was a teenager, I just thought I
had to go and see if I could get involved with it. I was really into
the indie/showgazer stuff...lets just say my path changed when I
stepped foot on British soil. I started working in a now defunct
record store called Koobla with Simon Rigg, and a few years later we
were approached and asked if we would be interested in opening our
own shop. That’s how Phonica was born. We were always about pushing
underground electronic music. We were really scared because Koobla
was "the shop" and we didn't know if our customers would follow us.
They did...in droves. Within 3 months of opening it was a huge
success. 7 years on it’s still going strong. I'm really proud to have
been a part of that.
You landed a monthly show on BBC Radio One called ‘In New DJs We
Trust’. Your past guests have been Andrew Weatherall, Matt Tolfrey,
Seth Troxler, Matthew Dear, Dixon, Magda, Konrad Black, etc. In
Europe, these acts wouldn’t really be considered ‘new’, although if
your show aired in Canada it would definitely be relevant. Given this
platform, what did you initially set out to do?
Radio 1 is a very mainstream station. The music I play and the guests
I have on my show are the opposite. So you have to think that
probably 85% of the people who listen have no idea who those people
are. Some of my guests are big in the electronic scene but if you
asked an 18 yr old kid from Newcastle or Sheffield, England who they
are I bet they would say "Who?" Even though we think these people are
massive in the grand scheme our dance world is small. My job is to
reach those people who listen to David Guetta or Lady Gaga and try
and change their minds. To bring this sort of music to a larger
audience and let them hear that there is great music being made and
it’s not in the top 10 charts. To most people who tune in to radio 1
this music is very new to them. The people who listen again on the
i-player they know what they are looking for.
If you hadn’t chosen the path to pursue your passion in music
and DJing, what would you have done instead? Were your parents
supportive of your decision from the beginning, or did they try
to lead you into a different profession?
If I wasn't DJing I would love to be a park ranger in Canada. I love
the outdoors. I need to be in transit always. I would die if I was
chained to a desk. As for my parents.....not sure they care about
anything...except smoking weed and drinkin beer. Ha!
Asides from family and friends, what's the thing you miss
the most about Canada?
Poutine and good pizza. Pizza in Berlin sucks the big one.
We will be celebrating your birthday in Montreal!
If you had just one wish, what would it be?
hmmmm......to have Prince sing me happy birthday
whilst jumping out of a cake naked. |
|
|
