Hizzle Guy Interview
Hizzle Guy is a young talented resident DJ of Subsplash and plays regular sets in his hometown of Brighton. He started DJing at the young age of 11 and is a self-proclaimed natural; teaching himself the techniques which has given him his own individual style and sound. With his incredible self-belief and determination he has propelled himself into the local scene and thus scored himself a record real with Prime Audio.
The Interview
So, Hizzle Guy, you've been a DJ for 7 years now, what inspired you to get into it, and how did you begin?
I've always been around musical people my whole life, my auntie was quite a big house dj, [she] always inspired me to be a dj. I always listened to jungle, drum 'n' bass, all of that kind of stuff so I just started out with garage jungle, dnb, started mixing that, learning to beatmatch, and a year or two later I was a pretty sick dj.
Did you find it a steep learning curve or were you a natural to begin with?
Nah I was definitely a natural. *laughs* Nah definitely, definitely a natural man.
You've played several sets in Brighton now as resident DJ of Subsplash, have you been exclusive to the Brighton scene, or have you played elsewhere as well?
I'm pretty exclusive to the Brighton scene at the minute.
So you've been strictly DJing drum n bass and jungle since you started, what made you decide to delve into dubstep?
I got into dubstep when I was about 16, my cousin showed me it. [Also] I was always into grime as well, [I remember] all the grime mc's were spittin' over that Skream tune - Midnight Request Line - and I was like ah, what's that music? So I was just getting into it from that really.
Since you changed over to dub step, what other producers have influenced your own personal style?
Well, I reckon Coki influenced my sound quite a lot because he always had a nutty heavy sound, and I always liked Skream's drum work, so I'd say Skream and Coki really.
You were the co-founder of Gangoon Dubs, what were your aims in forming the group and what have you got out of it?
My aims in forming the group were basically to start off a family-based music group, just to do what we like to do together. We were always interested in starting groups and working together as equal artists so we thought 'Gangoon Dubs, that's us', my cousin came up with the name, wrote it down straight up and there was four of us, bang! That's how we made it. What we got out of it so far is basically, I've got a release out of it, my debut release on Clandestine. I've got my whole DJ career pretty much kicked off really big time when I started making dubstep and djing dubstep as well, so I've pretty much based my career around Gangoon Dubs.
You clearly have a passion for the work you do, going so far as to even teach kids at the YMCA, could you explain what you wish for them to get out of it?
Well I just hope that the kids find something better in life other than just dossing about and getting themselves into trouble. I mean music saved me, so why can't it save others?
Do you plan to stick to your Brighton roots, or will you be broadening out any time soon?
Well I'm definitely looking to network out into other areas and go national and then hopefully global. I want to be big. I want to do other stuff as well, not just dubstep, there's a lot of stuff to come from Hizzle Guy.
For all those aspiring djs out there, what advice could you give to help them push their material into the scene?
Just keep at it, keep continuing DJing, never give up and trust the people around you. These days it's more what you know and who you know; that helps you a lot.
Lastly, others are wondering where you came up with the name 'Hizzle Guy' could you elaborate on that?
Well basically *laughs* when I was 16 and I switched up into dubstep I was just like f**k it, I was into Snoop so why the hell... 'Hizzle Guy, that's me'.
Is there anything else you wish to add?
Yeah, a big shout-out to Subsplash, hold tight all of my Gangoon, my followers and supporters, 'nuff love for all the people that have got love for me.
Hizzle Guy has his debut album - Goonstep Vol. 1 - coming out in the next few months, but you can grab our free exclusive download of it from the link provided (top right). He will be continuing to represent his local roots of Brighton, so make sure to catch one of his sets soon.
Text by Max. J. Stevenson
Tracklisting
Hizzleguy - Goonstep Volume 1Way Hard
Cold
Elite
Everybodie dead
F*ck off
Hit it
Hot goop
No no no remix
Touch me
Zoppy
Break Down
Prozac
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Connect
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Bookings
For bookings please contact 07541380874
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Downloads
Goonstep Vol.1
