Stu-Con
Origin: None
Stu-Con is a DJ/Producer form Glenrothes in Fife Scotland who loves using time to play about with electronic sounds, then DJing with them, bringing together others that enjoy doing same thing and supporting them! With over ten years experience in DJing and producing he as played in many of the biggest clubs in East Scotland warming up for acts like ‘Judge Jules’ and ‘Eddie Halliwell’. Also a winner of the Cr2 classics DJ competition from a few years back winning him the chance to warm up for Yousef. Production wise he is always busy and has achieved his tracks being released on various labels, including the launch of one label. Boyhood dream has always been to be playing at a massive festival like the ‘Electric Daisy Carnival’.
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Using my time to play about with electronic sounds, then DJing with them, bringing together others that enjoy doing the same thing and supporting them is how I roll! Having never committed myself to one genre of music, I have had the pleasure of getting involved and working with various contrasting artists and have been given the chance to play at some very differentiating parties and competitions. It is a challenge focusing on more than one genre but there are just so many sounds that I fall for and scenes that I find exciting. When I’m in the studio alone I always end up leaning towards the sound of progressive house and I’d probably say this is where my strengths lie, as I love to bash out big chords on the keyboard. There aren’t many opportunities around my home area to get out and enjoy a big event so to go to and play at magical festivals like the EDC keeps my lust for music growing.
Interview
Home Town: Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland
Currently Living: Still staying in the mighty Glenrothes
Origin of Name: I always seem to struggle when it comes to creating names as I become quite picky. Stu-Con is just Stuart Connell cut down. It’s the name I have stuck with over the years and has slowly become my nickname too.
Weapon of Choice: I love CDJs for DJing and a powerful computer running Ableton Live for producing.
Source of Power: Tiesto, to this day, remains my musical hero, but other significant influences have come from: Jean Michel Jarre, Daft Punk, Ferry Corsten, Deep Dish, Sven Vath, Armin Van Buuren, Eric Prydz, Gareth Emery, Swedish House Mafia, Sander Van Doorn, Wolfgang Gartner, Dada Life, and newbies, Porter Robinson, Tommy Trash and Madeon.
Are there any dots to connect with where/how you grew up to your musical output?
I have always enjoyed watching a big epic event and none have had as much impact on me as Jean Michel Jarre’s concert at La Défense in Paris. I think I was only four years old at the time of the event but I still feed off the power of the whole show. I’m sure it was only a few years later that I got my first keyboard, leading me astray from mother’s piano lessons. I used to set up stages in my house and garden to put on live performances! Then there was Dance Ejay, first experience of making music on a computer, then the Yamaha DJX and then Trance Nation, the first experience of hearing a DJ mix that wasn’t happy hardcore. Ferry Corsten’s Trance Nation series opened my ears to many artists and tracks I still love today and after seeing Tiesto’s first concert I soon realized how much power a DJ could have. That concert is what I believe to be the reason for me committing my life to music and venturing down the path of becoming a DJ and producer.
What’s the biggest misconception about being a DJ?
I’ve always said that DJing is easy to learn but takes years to master. It’s the “easy to learn” part that makes many people assume anyone can be a DJ and that the profession takes very little skill. Mastering the skill depends on what style of DJ you see yourself as. For me, mastering the skill means working towards becoming a more confident, relaxed and efficient person within the industry and that involves a lot of work. The amount of music that is available these days is frightening and I believe that it takes longer to browse online through the weekly new releases than it did to get dressed, drive to the old record shop and spin all the new records as it can take me a good few hours each week. You end up having to set times for different tasks: tune and sample hunting, music organizing and editing, studio producing and promoting, etc. I would love to get to the point where every part of my work becomes effortless, like most people see it, but I don’t think any form of success would be reached if things were easy.
Tell me about your most memorable night out.
The most memorable nights are the ones I only have flashbacks of, ha-ha! All Tiesto and Armin gigs I’ve been to have their own unique moments that I wouldn’t like to forget. Once I start thinking about one good night out, memories of so many more come to me. Dubfire, Sven Vath and David Guetta one after the other at T in the Park, the Swedish House Mafia’s visits to Edinburgh and Radio 1’s big weekend in Dundee are all great highlights of my life!
What is your ultimate career dream?
When I was younger, lighting up a whole city like Jean Michel Jarre was the goal but the dream has down scaled a little now to only wanting to be a regular headliner at Ibiza’s biggest nightclubs ha-ha! There is no better feeling than knowing people have come out to listen to your hard work.
What’s the most important piece of gear in your studio?
A powerful computer system to keep all the processing running smoothly and speakers you can trust. Nothing worse than a computer that is troubled by latency and that can only run a handful of plug-ins at once as this can seriously slow down your work rate and in time will ruin your creative flow. Getting to know your speakers is truly important for me also. A good set that you become familiar with will be able to tell you more about the music you are listening to and help you make sonic based decisions quicker.
Do you have a list of people you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
I’m a big fan of collaborating as I always learn something new when working with another music lover. I currently work with my friend Andy, who is an amazing guitar player. We play under the name “Stand” and have come up with some really lush deep house tunes. Also, I work with my other mate Suneil S, which is more of a big room affair when we get together. Collaborating with Tiesto or Alesso would be awesome but so would working with the likes of Rene Amesz, Martin Roth, Andy Duguid, Andrew Bayer and Jeremy Olander! All are artists that have great sounding tracks with so much character, some of which I have made efforts to re-create. On top of that, I love a strong haunting female vocal so to work with vocalists like Emma Hewitt and Sarah Howells would be really special as their voices just lift a track to the next level! Even a few of the vocalists I’ve heard on the TV show The Voice have blown me away.
What should everyone just shut the fuck up about?
Anyone that brands a whole genre of music as shit needs to be better educated. People have different moods and attitudes and there are times and places that certain music is favored.
Do you have a favorite all-time mixed CD or series?
Early Trance Nations were very inspirational and the In Search of Sunrise series has always been bliss.
What gets you excited when you think about the future of electronic music and club culture?
The size of electronic music events seems to be getting bigger—DJs are taking over headline slots at festivals that used to just have bands on the bill and visual effects are becoming as important as the music. New mega clubs are appearing like Green Valley and Space B in Brazil, it’s not just Privilege in Ibiza anymore, which must mean the demand for electronic music is on the way up. Downside to all of this, I suppose, is there will be less chance of seeing a current superstar DJ play in an intimate venue but there will be more epic events to attend. The more epic events there are will mean that more “lesser known DJs” will get the chance to fill up the support slots and experience the big room vibe. Technology wise, I remember when I was at University (pre CDJ 2000 and iPads) I decided my project was to design the ultimate DJ controller. My design was basically the CDJ 2000 with a touch screen and optional Internet and Wi-Fi features. I thought that kind of technology would be incredibly expensive and that it would never come about but it’s probably on its way! It’s what comes beyond that technology that will be truly interesting.
What do you remember about your first DJ gig?
My first few gigs were really just ones at house parties or in function suites for birthday parties where I played all the classics! When I eventually got a chance to play in the local nightclub, it was as part of a DJ competition. There was serious money at stake for winning so I knew I needed to pull out all my best moves. I had never even considered taking part in a DJ competition as I thought it would have been full of “scratch” type DJs and I wouldn’t be able to cut it amongst them. To my surprise there was none of those types there so I reckoned I had a good chance of making it all the way. Feeling like a total rookie, I managed to confidently make it to the final where I had great fun playing and in the end won! It was an awesome feeling and the only experience that has rivaled it was getting the invite to play at the EDC.
What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
Well I heard about the competition through my father, who urged me to have a go and, since the Discovery Project is a judged competition and not a “how many of your friends vote for you comp,” I thought it was definitely worth a shot. The deadline for the entry seemed very close and I didn’t think I’d have a worthy entry ready in time. I had a few tracks that were on the verge of completion so I chose what I thought was the strongest of them and polished it up. I got together a few of my favorite tunes and slapped together a little DJ mix too. I considered both my track and my DJ mix to be weak entries, as I didn’t get to spend the time I would have liked to on them, so it was a great shock when I was told I was a winner! So my advice would be; don’t stress out too much over your entry, what you think sounds average might sound great to someone else and if you have the talent it will shine through in your work. Don’t forget though that laziness is the enemy of success.
Winning Track:
Winning Mix:
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