Clarke's World

"It's a massive juggling act at the moment, and I'm throwing things higher into the air so they take longer to come back down. It's just a constant flow of mixes, remixes, DJ work, radio work, interviews, baby, everything." International techno DJ and producer Dave Clarke is, as is his wont, giving the straight up lowdown on his increasingly hectic schedule. Clarke's lightening speed cut and paste, hip-hop oriented deck skills and hard edged techno selection have seen him become one of the most in demand DJs in Europe and indeed in the rest of the world, notching up even more air miles than his more 'over ground' major league peers. However, years of traveling have taken its toll on Clarke, and the arrival of his first son, Bruno, late last year has also impacted on his DJ diary.

"I want to DJ a little bit less anyway this year because I'm spending more time in the studio," Dave says, adding, "I've done my traveling really. Don' t get me wrong, I still enjoy DJing, but the travel part lost its appeal a long time ago. I don't even get excited about the air miles anymore, it has become just like commuting. It's got to the stage where I can immediately recognise the baggage reclaim section of an airport when it's on television!"

While cynics will say that it's been five years since Archive One, Clarke' s debut album and that it's about time he got his act together to make a follow up, Dave's work was held up in the courts for a few years by an acrimonious parting of ways with his former record label, DeConstruction. Happily, this situation was settled at the end of 1999, and Clarke subsequently signed a five-album deal with London at the end of 2000. Surely he had reservations about signing another major, exclusive contract?

"Well, I've complete creative freedom, something they offered to me anyway," he points out. "There's no point signing a deal otherwise. I'm not a commodity, but I can be marketed as one if it's done correctly. Does that make sense? It's sad when you make music to fit a market, you're not making anything of any cultural importance or consequence, you just become a factory. I'm not claiming to be hugely significant but I would hope I'm having some kind of influence."

Certainly, Clarke's 'significance' in dance music is unquestionable. Through his relentless touring, seminal productions like the Red series and well chosen remixes, including his version of 'Zombie Nation', which he says he "got stick for doing even though when it first came out it was electro but ended up being picked up by trance DJs three years later," Dave Clarke has been responsible for the

'popularisation' of techno in Europe and beyond. With

forthcoming remixes for Depeche Mode and house label Azuli, Clarke also promises to start work on his second album as soon as his brand new studio is re-built. In the meantime, React has captured Dave Clarke in his most

natural mode, on the decks for a new double mix CD, World Service. Weighing in at a staggering forty-seven tracks, unlike his 1999 mix CD for FUSE, Service displays Clarke's two musical passions.

"I've just finished the mix," he explains. "One disc is techno, not trance, trance-techno or techno-trance, just techno. The other CD is electro and I've got Radiohead's 'Idioteque' on it and apparently it's the only CD they've licensed it to. It was a real coup for me to get it on the mix, because I see things coming together, from the ’80s to the new century. I've got various ’80s tracks from people like Tuxedo Moon, Neon Judgment and then the really new sound, people like Decal, Velcro Fastener and Anthony Rother."

The final part of Clarke's 'juggling act' is his 'Technology' show. Syndicated across Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Holland and France and available on the Internet at daveclarke.com, the show has undoubtedly raised Clarke's international profile, but it's a part of his career where one of his ambitions remains unfulfilled.

"I'd love to get a slot on 2FM for show," he says. "The amount of listeners I have on the Internet from Ireland is quite substantial, so it would be great to give them a real show. Who knows, if I get a show on 2FM and keep it up for a few years then I might become the Gay Byrne of techno! I've done television in the past but I think I've really got a face for radio! It would also mean I could finally move to Ireland, something I've always wanted to do. Without

sounding like a typical British colonialist, Ireland's a nice, relaxed place. I heard Andrew Weatherall wanted to move there too, and I reckon we'd be well suited together, two grumpy old men sitting having cigars talking about the

state of electro!"

Dave Clarke plays The Spring Party, The Point Depot, Dublin on April 7th with Laurent Garnier and Carl Cox. World Service is released on React on May 21st.