Holmes thoughts from abroad

The DJ set from Belfast groove master David Holmes is sure to be one of the highlights of the Sea Sessions in Bundoran. I can’t help but wonder if, jock duties completed, Holmes might at some point try out some surfing?

“Have you seen my wave flying recently?!” he chuckles down the line from LA, where he’s overseeing mixing on the new album by Belfast band Cashier No. 9, as well as meeting with director Steven Soderbergh to discuss the soundtrack for his new film, Knockout, which has Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Dennis Quaid and Michael Douglas in its seriously A-List cast.
He might not take to the waves at Bundoran, but given his hectic schedule, will David get a chance to take a break over the summer?
“You know what it’s like,” he replies. “In order to go through the rest of the year without losing your mind, you have to have a holiday. I’m planning to take some time off during the summer. I love Corsica – we went there last year and it was just a fantastic place.”
As well as his date in Bundoran, Holmes is also doing various DJ slots around the country this summer. He says that spinning in clubs still hugely informs the work he does as a producer.
“I still love DJing,” he enthuses. “It’s something that I see as being really important. Sometimes you haven’t got the energy to do it because you’ve been sitting in a darkened room for 12 hours every day, but it’s also really vital for me, because that’s where I come from – it’s what got me into producing. It would be a mistake to say, ‘I’m quitting DJing and I’m just going to continue producing’, because DJing really informs what you do as a producer. There’s a real contact between the music and the audience. It’s very subliminal, but I’ve been doing it long enough to know how influential it is on what I do in the studio.”
Holmes is enthusiastic about once again hooking up with Steven Soderbergh, for whom he previously compiled the soundtrack for Out Of Sight, as well as Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels. Filmed partly in Dublin, Knockout has been described as an experimental, innovative take on the spy genre.
“We’re just talking through a lot of stuff,” says David. “Then I’m going to go back to Ireland and start working on the music. It’s always really exciting working with him, and I’ve never had a bad experience, touch wood. I’ve been collaborating with him now for 13 years, and every time it’s just been so much fun. Working on the Ocean’s movies was just like a party, and he’s an incredible guy. He listens to me and I listen to him, and somewhere along the way we find something that suits. So it’s a really good, productive relationship.”
As well as working on Knockout, Holmes is overseeing the final stages of the aforementioned Cashier No 9 album; compiling a mix record for Andy Votel’s B-Music label; producing some tracks for the next Primal Scream LP; and promoting his own career-spanning The Dogs Are Parading ‘Best Of’. He notes with some regret that his long-time collaborator Soderbergh has signalled his intention to take a hiatus from Hollywood once he completes the films he’s currently committed to, and indeed the director hasn’t ruled out hanging up his megaphone for good.
Does Holmer himself have any plans to retire?
“Ah, you know – what else are you gonna do?”

David Holmes, Paul Weller, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Trojan Sound System play the Main Beach Stage on Saturday June 26