What’s On and Hype hear from Dave Seaman as he prepares to play 360 Dubai. The DJ is best loved for his tune Naughty Forest, his track with Funkagenda.

While Naughty Forest, his track with Funkagenda, picks up props from the likes of Nic Fancuilli and Stephan Bodzin, Dave Seaman – one of the first British DJs to start touring the world – brings his impressive house heritage to Dubai. 

Our friends at Hype hear from the man himself…

“I kind of got obsessed with collecting records at about the age of eight or nine. My mum and dad had a valuable collection and I always used to play music. Then I started buying music and I had more records than anyone else my age.”

“I’d been into the electro and soul scenes for a while so I knew of this ‘house music’ coming from Chicago. It blew my mind. It was so different to anything else, and it really stood out. It was pretty obvious that this was the start of something exciting. I couldn’t get enough.”

“I think the UK’s always had a big creative background. We don’t have a good climate to spend time outdoors or at the beach all day, so we get our kicks in other ways. Music is one of our biggest exports around the world.”

“I think the main thing is to get yourself noticed. Go and get in the studio and make a big record, because if you were to make a big record then people would come knocking on your door, and you don’t necessarily have to go knocking on theirs.”

“It’s really difficult to explain music these days, with so many genres. You’re techno, you’re garage, you’re house, you’re progressive. It’s difficult to put it into a category, it’s so blurred.”

“With so much music being made, it’s not as valued as it used to be. MP3s are such a disposable medium. There’s too much music being made with no filter system in place. Imagine if everyone who thought they could cook was allowed to put their product on the shelves of a supermarket. It would take you a week just to get past the cereals.”

“This idea of people jumping to the beats of drums has been going on for thousands and thousands of years; people gathering together and celebrating life – it’s never going to stop.”

“You progress and evolve as the scene changes around you, but I like to think I’ve kept the same principles and haven’t forgotten where I came from. And as I’m still here 25 years later, I must be doing something right!”

Project 360°, 360°, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah. Thursday, 5pm to 3am. Free entry. Tel: (056) 6826617. Taxi: Jumeirah Beach Hotel