Interview: Rising house DJ Kim Fai @ Venus, Manchester – June 30

By Mancunian Matters staff

Kim Fai – one of Britain’s rising star DJs and remixer to some of the greatest names in global dance music – is bringing his decks to Manchester this weekend.

Hot off the back of kick-starting the summer season in Ibiza at legendary super-club Amnesia, Kim brings his infusion of minimalist house and techno beats to Manchester to headline Bitch, at Venus, on Saturday.

MM caught up with him ahead of his big night. 

Hi Kim, how are you and how’s life on DJ world for you at the moment?

I'm great thanks - non-stop as always.

You’re returning to Bitch after the enormous Easter event at Digital, Newcastle. How have you been and what adventures have you embarked on since?

The Easter show was great. Since then I've had my head down in the studio a lot working on remix and new original tracks. Gig-wise I've been touring in the UK / Europe and Asia (I’m actually writing this in Bali Airport waiting for the 1st of 3 flights to go home). I also had the pleasure of playing the opening of Amnesia in Ibiza with Sander Kleinenberg - which was fun.

It’s starting to warm up into summertime now, have you got any summer bombs readied from the Kim Fai HQ ready to unleash in Manchester?

Oh yes! My big summer track called 'In The Night' is out on 25th June on Toolroom Records (Plug!). It's the 1st of 2 original tracks I've done with a great vocalist called Paul Aiden. The buzz about it has been great. I'll also be dropping a host of other tracks that are coming out over the next few months.

What are your tips for this summer’s standout tracks?

To be honest I've spent that much time in the studio over the last month or so, I've kind of neglected researching the summer hits. Hopefully 'In The Night' will be one of them!

Where will your diary be taking you over the summer?

I'll be back in the US/Canada/Asia/Europe and of course the UK.

If you was to setup the perfect studio (unlimited budget) with inspirational surroundings being the objective, where would it be and describe a few of its features to us?

I'm a fan of the countryside so it would have to have a great country view from the studio chair. Ridiculously expensive acoustics and some retro out-board gear. The best coffee machine I could get my hands on and a sushi conveyor belt within reach of the desk. Yep... That sounds just about perfect!

Who would you have round to work with?

Funkagenda - He always has the answer to any problems that trouble me in the studio.

Who would you ban from ever stepping foot in it?

If there were sushi in there then I would have to ban the Mrs - otherwise I'd starve!

What’s your favourite website?

Twitter. It's the first thing I check when I wake up and the last before I sleep.

Congratulations on hitting 8,500 tweets, what is it about Twitter that sucks in DJs?

For me personally it’s a great, simple was to connect with my fans. Not many DJ's really respond to fan tweets, which I understand as some have 250k+ followers. But I try and response and interact with them all. It's also great (like now) when you’re waiting around in airports or sitting in hotels. You feel like you have company with you all the time.

Who’s your favourite DJ that you follow on Twitter?

Not JUST because he's a friend but probably Funkagenda. We were brought up in the same area and have a similar sense of humour. His tweets are hilarious. John Dahlback is pretty funny too.

If you had to go two weeks without either your phone or your laptop, which would it be?

Easy. Phone. I could manage not playing with Apps for 2 weeks. But I can't go a day without opening Logic and working on music.

Finally a message to the Manchester crowd who are all hyped up to see you on at Venus on Saturday June30...?

I just hope they're looking forward to it as much as I am! It's going to be a great night.

You can catch Kim Fai alongside Felix Leiter at Bitch, Venus, in Manchester on June 30.