Daire: "The music in Ireland, in my opinion, is the best you can get at the minute. Collaboration-wise, you’d be happy to work with anyone"

When I sit down with Belfast DJ Daire, he’s catching his breath.

With major shows taking place this summer at Belsonic, a headliner at SSE Arena, and a coveted spot at Longitude this June, it’s a wonder he can fit me in at all.

“I think August is my next break for one weekend,” he notes. “Even then, we’ll probably end up getting booked! But I’m not complaining, I’m loving it. It’s a champagne problem isn’t it? I’ve actually never played Longitude before. so, I don’t know what to expect. But what they can expect from me is the unexpected.”

How does Daire approach festivals?

“You have to appeal to the audience straight away,” he suggests.

“Because you’re playing a massive tent, there may be an act after you or before you. You need to win the crowd over for sure – but I like the challenge. You’re showcasing your skills for an audience who might not have heard of you before. Or they might only be there just to see what you’re like, so you can win a lot of new fans that way.”

Longitude. Credit: Glen Bollard

Daire muses on the differences between Irish audiences. “Down south, in comparison to up north, you’ve got to play a little bit slower,” he says.

“So maybe a groovier, bouncier set than I would play up north. I don’t know what it is per se, but up north, they just like harder music. Stuff like hardstyle is massive up here. That’s reminiscent of Liverpool, Glasgow and Newcastle – places with shipyards all over.”

Taking a broader view, meanwhile, Irish dance is definitely having a moment. “Being signed with Sony, you see how highly they speak of Irish producers. It’s crazy,” Daire enthuses.

“The music in Ireland, in my opinion, is the best you can get at the minute. Collaboration-wise, you’d be happy to work with anyone; blk., Belters Only, Cameron Watson. There’s so much talent. And Katima, Rebuke… I want to collab with them all!

“They’re all getting recognised by these major labels, which is amazing to see as well. They’re actually getting a bigger platform than just the independent labels. You see the likes of Jazzy starting to get booked for major European shows, for example, which is insane.”

What does he make of the Longitude line-up?

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” replies Daire.

“I’m buzzing to be a part of it, honestly. It’s definitely one of my biggest goals being from Ireland, playing Longitude. For me, Longitude and LYFE are the two big ones, definitely top of my bucket list.”

In terms of where he might be found when he’s off the clock, though, it turns out Daire will be taking a different sort of gander. “I’ll probably be on the other side of things,” he says.

“Central Cee’s on, I think he should be good. At festivals, I like seeing something that maybe I wouldn’t usually go to. That’s me. I prefer festivals over holidays. I like Creamfields over Ibiza all day, because you have so much good music and you choose what you get to see.”

He finishes by reflecting on the festival experience. “Maybe as a punter, you look up at a stage and say, ‘I want to be there one day’,” says Daire. “Being on the stage looking down, it’s a wee bit more pressure now – and I can’t get as drunk!”

• Daire will play from 6:30pm-9:45pm on the Heineken Stage on Sunday June 29