Birchington-based DJ Skelton talks about his passion for music and the vicious cycle of gaining experience.
I caught up with the local and talented Harvey Skelton (better known as DJ Skelton), and discussed his career so far and how getting his foot in the door was tough to begin with.
First off, thank you for your time. What got you interested in music, particularly in being a DJ?
“It’s my pleasure. It was my passion for music! I would always want to be in charge of the tunes and music wherever I went and sort of went from there, I guess I love going to clubs as well which played a part.”
How do you start mixing music? Can you briefly talk me through your process?
“The idea of mixing is to bring a continuous vibe. So, you have to change songs while keeping this vibe going. To do this you need to beat match tracks and use effects to bring a tune in and out. Also, what I’ve learned is to be a good DJ you need to read the crowd and work out what sort of music your audience is into and go from there.”
What would you say is the most difficult part about being a musician? Particularly being a DJ.
“Getting the right equipment is really expensive. Another issue that always got in the way was, to play in clubs you need experience but I needed to play in the club to gain the experience? I didn’t know what to do, it can be quite a vicious cycle in the beginning to get your work out there. I had to look for connections and people I knew, it was mad draining.”
Being from a seaside town such as Birchington, what problems do you face either promoting your music or finding the right resources/venues to make your mixes?
“To be honest there isn’t much in terms of opportunities living in Thanet, I struggle to promote myself as a DJ but because I went to University in a city this has helped a lot with my career. I can reach students and like-minded people that enjoy my music.
“I’m just excited to get back out there after the lockdowns we’ve had recently and show the people what they’ve been missing.”