Q: Why did you decide to get involved with Croakheads?
As a relatively new DJ, I found it a bit overwhelming trying to navigate all the different events, communities, and collectives out there. But when I first stumbled across Croakheads, they immediately caught my attention. Firstly, I love frogs (who doesn’t?), and secondly, I really resonate with their mission to protect grassroots venues and independent promoters. I already had a couple of friends in the crew, so as soon as I saw they were looking for ambassadors, I applied straight away.
It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’ve met some of the most talented, humble, and genuine people through their events.
Q: What can we expect from your sets and mixes?
I’m obsessed with deep and techy drum & bass, but I have a massive soft spot for soulful liquid. For me, the sweet spot is finding that balance between dark, heavy stompers and melodic, uplifting liquid.
My tastes have definitely shifted since I first started DJing. Early on, I was drawn to specific styles (jump up… boo!), but the more time I spend playing out and digging for tunes, the more my ears have opened up. I'm constantly searching for new sounds, fresh takes on the genre, and underground producers pushing the boundaries. I love weaving back and forth between those different moods during a set, reading the room and giving the crowd a real journey.
Q: You’re talking about being drawn to specific styles… How did you get into the scene? How did you find that passion?
I guess I've always been around music. My dad was like a raver back in the day, he was always playing housey and trancey tracks around the house. I’ve always been into electronic music, but one day, one of my friends decided to ask me out to a rave, and we decided to go to Moondance. I had never been to anything like it before, and the first time I went, I fell in love with drum & bass. A month or two after that first event, I bought my own decks. I thought, I want to do this myself, it looks fun.
Everyone was having so much fun, and I really enjoyed this music. I listened to a little bit of drum & bass growing up, but I never really got into it until I saw it live. Seeing it live inspired me. For the first two years I was a bedroom DJ. I had no real intentions of trying to do gigs, but after a little while I started entering DJ competitions, and started networking with people. It just went from there.
Q: What grassroots venue has shaped you the most, and why?
This is a tough one, but I’d have to say Planet Wax. My first ever time DJing outside of my bedroom was at an open decks night there, and it was a proper humbling experience to say the least. I’ve played there a few times since, including a couple of Croakheads events which were incredible. It's the kind of place where you meet amazing people in the scene, make real friends, and learn so much about both the art of DJing and the work that goes into throwing events.
The guys who run the venue have no ego and are doing what they do because they love what they do!
My first gig I did there was a Circuit Sounds event run by Bluck and Anny. That was one of the competitions that I entered. It was the second DJ competition that I decided to enter and I got one of my first gigs from it. That was a really big eye-opener as well to see how it all functions and what it's like to actually play in front of a crowd.
Q: What are some events and promoters that more people should know about?
Definitely Croakheads! They're great. I'm also a big fan of what dnb family are doing. Diversion Audio as well, they've got some good stuff going. Proelium Audio did an event at Planet Wax which was great. I just really like the vibe of Planet Wax, I like the vinyl aspect. I don't mix vinyl but it's nice to dig through records and contribute to artists that way as well buying physical media.
Q: Is that something that you've been playing with? The idea of mixing vinyl?
Every time I go to Planet Wax I think, maybe. I could bring a couple of my records and just give it a go but I don't know. It’s the ease of access of DJing on CDJs and mixing on vinyl, it’s putting the level difficulty on hard mode. I respect vinyl DJs so much, it's incredible. I love seeing what they do. I think it's a money thing for me as well. I'll go down the rabbit hole buying loads and loads of records which costs a lot more than buying an mp3. But maybe, one day!
Q: Are there any goals that you have for your artist career?
I didn't really have a goal to become a big artist or DJ but a goal I've set myself is that I want to start producing. At the moment I'm just DJing, I'm a selector, I like playing other people's tunes. I've dabbled in production a little bit, but I haven't given it 100% commitment. I keep on making excuses but that's the next step for me as an artist. Finding my own sound in my own production and learning how to do it. That's on the bucket list.
Q: How did you come up with your DJ name?
It's a play on my last name. I googled my name, as everyone has done at one point in their life, and apparently it backdates to a Norman name Rodolphus. It's a funny name to tell people, and it's been spelled wrong on a couple flyers as well, but I like it.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing grassroots venues right now?
It's definitely the financial pressure leading to closures. Between bills, rising rent, and inflation, small spaces are getting hit from every direction. On top of that, people have less disposable income to spend on nights out, which makes it even harder for independent venues to survive.
These places are the absolute backbone of underground music culture, and without them, new DJs (such as myself) and promoters simply wouldn't have a place to start out and connect to people in the scene, which saddens me.
Q: Last but not least, what has been your favourite part of your Croakheads journey so far?
The Croakheads Y2K event was my first time properly meeting the Croakheads ambassadors and residents and the vibes were on point all night. Everyone was super welcoming and friendly and sick DJs too and this was the start of me joining the Croakheads family. Croakheads are also the reason why I will be playing my first ever B2B set with my good mate LVTHOR for the Space xcx event. It will be his first ever gig, so it'll be a huge honour to share the decks with him for it!
