No Ordinary John

John O’Callaghan is, by a mile, the biggest-name DJ and dance producer in the country. Yet no-one knows him. A September midnight flight to Ibiza touches down and excited holiday-makers spill through the tiny airport and off to their apartments, ready for a night of extreme hedonism. One guy remains on the plane, switching on his phone to a torrent of texts, which he answers while pulling his hoodie up against the unseasonal chill. Walking through the airport with a single bag (full of records and CDs), he is absolutely invisible.

Two hours later he is behind the decks at one of the island’s biggest clubs, Amnesia, controlling a dancefloor of thousands, and thoroughly upstaging the headliner Ferry Corsten. This is John DJ-ing at the weekly residency he has held all summer for the world famous Cream brand, a gig any spinner in the game would die for. And in his own country, he’s even less well known, if that’s possible.
“To be honest, it doesn’t bother me,” John shrugs. “It’s the way I like it. I accept and know why dance music is such an underground and close-knit thing, with its own media. Dance music in Ireland is absolutely a separate entity from mainstream music. In fact, it’s totally separate from all genres. It’s possibly the only genre that you can guarantee not to be in the papers with. We are still part of the ‘that’s not real music’ style of thought from yesteryear.”
A mainstream hit, for all of John’s success as an underground trance producer, is inevitably what he’s going to land, if his upcoming single ‘Find Yourself’ is anything to go by.
So far the song, featuring vocalist Sarah Howells, has reached 1.5 million hits on YouTube: its blend of lush synths, grinding guitars and pure pop hooks would give the likes of chart-toppers Cascada a run for their money.
“I like a lot of pop,” says John, “You can’t deny the genius of, say Lady GaGa. I actually come from a pop, rap and rock teenage musical history, where I was mad, in particular, about The Verve, Ocean Colour Scene and The Beastie Boys. So I am all about pop music. Good music really, no matter what style. Also, I’m a massive Brian Eno fan. Stick him on headphones and you drift away, particularly on Music For Airports. And considering the amount of time I spend in airports, that comes in handy!”
He’s a secret fan, too, of trash TV, which led to one of his most successful productions so far, a remix of Mazzy Star’s 1995 shoegazing anthem ‘Into Dust’. The original pops up regularly at the Big Emotional Moment in US peak-time television programmes such as American Idol, House and The O.C.
“Embarassing admission here,” says John, “I used to watch The O.C.! I heard the tune there for the first time and was like, ‘woaah..’. I looked it up on Google, found the Mazzy Star album and bought it on iTunes. Then I listened to it a hundred times. After a few beers in the studio one night, I had a pop at a remix of it. Just for the crack.”
John’s messing around culminated in a white label anthem which has tickled rock fans who like a bit of dance on the side, as well as being 'hammered' by the world's biggest name DJs such as Armin Van Buuren. Those same names, and many rock and pop bands, have not managed a feat which John, and his Subculture nights, achieved with flying colours back in the summer: completely selling out Tripod. The Harcourt Street behemoth, with its 1,200 capacity, is a tough nut to crack for any act. Nonetheless, the Subculture crew jammed it.
“As you know, trance in Tripod is not a regular thing,” says John, “Were delighted to see people come out in force and show that trance is still wanted in Dublin. I think choosing new DJs and giving the clubber that bit extra in terms of visuals & FX makes the night much more memorable. We aim to keep it special and put at least four to six months promotion and thought into each Dublin gig we do. I came from being a clubber myself for many years. I’m aware of the expectations of the modern club goer. I have very high standards. I’m borderline OCD really. We never do an event unless we know it’s going to tick all the boxes.”
Which is an insight into the punishing amount of effort dance producers and DJs have to put in these days to stay above ground level in their own area, never mind make a dent in the mainstream. Your average dance artist is a music Supermum who juggles DJ-ing, music production and remixing, running a label, branding its artwork, website and visual image, creating and promoting their own events and self-publicising in the traditional media with an army of social networks on the side.
“Even if you are signed to a big label, it’s pretty much like being self-employed. You have to do it all yourself. Otherwise you have to be earning enough to pay someone full-time to do it. And dance music is not the most lucrative unless you are a proper megastar. So, for me I do 90% of it myself. I do my own website, Facebook, Twitter, radio show, podcast, newsletters, studio, mastering – the lot. Having a huge record company behind you in, for example, rock gives you an automatic team of people who work for you but being in dance you don’t get that.”
The work’s paying off, as John has just released his third album, and is recently returned from a tour of Australia and Asia in time to rock Galway’s GPO venue next week. He’s now looking forward to the big one for dance DJs, International DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 list, in which last year he beat off worldwide competition to rank at No. 24.
“Last year getting into the top 30 was amazing,” John smiles. “The big exam result is imminent. Fingers are heavily crossed!”

John O’Callaghan’s Subculture compilation is out now on Armada Records. He plays the GPO, Galway (October 24); Kelly’s, Portrush (November 27); and Tripod, Dublin (December 26).