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| Interview
with Desidel- Viva Nightclub- Toronto 17th Jan 2003 |
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DESIDEL:
So long has it been since you've been back here?
MATT HARDWICK: I did a party in Toronto around 2 years
ago at the Exhibition Center downtown. It was quite
strange actually since they had to evacuate the party
about half way through my set. So my set got split in
half but it was a great party. I'm just really glad
to be back and it was as cold [outside] as this as well.
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| DESIDEL:
So what do you think about the scene today now after
coming back to Canada? I mean, what differences do you
really notice about the scene right now in North America
in general? MATT
HARDWICK: I think all scenes progress at a different
rate. I think the North American scene is one of the
scenes I see in the next 2 years really dominating
the world market. And you can see that by the calibre
of DJ that is being attracted to the North American
scene. It's great to play to a crowd and then come
back the following year and see the scene evolving.
I mean it's exciting.
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| DESIDEL:
Now you're playing at Viva Nightclub tonight. It caters
to a very wide and different clientele here. One of
which is a large Hong Kong community. We know you've
played at different venues in Japan, China, the Philippines,
etc. How do you compare the scene in Asia with that
of Europe and North America?
MATT HARDWICK: Asia is probably one
of the most exciting diverse scenes in which to play.
The scene varies depending on where you are in Asia.
In Japan you tend to get a more underground scene.
Hong Kong is a more 'party' scene. China is a ...
I've played in Shanghai and Beijing and the first
time I played there, people didn't quite know what
to do. This was about 3 years ago. The second time
I played there, about a year and a half later, they
knew the records, it was just like playing in the
UK! This just shows how fast the scene is developing.
But Asia is really a unique and exciting place to
play. Whenever I get the opportunity to play it, I'm
there.
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| DESIDEL:
So what parts of the world do you find most unique?
The most different kinds of crowds you've seen; the
most different kinds of parties.. What do you think?
MATT
HARDWICK: Hmm, I don't know? As scenes progress it
gets to the stage where a scene reaches a certain
point- its almost like a threshold where it gets quite
similar to other developed scenes. The crowd reactions
are similar to similar records. I think probably the
first time I played in China would be one of the most
exciting times in the sense that people were almost
looking around to see what to do and how to dance
That was just like... wow. You just felt that you
were at grass roots. You know their scene within the
last 2 years has just grown! You know that was perhaps
one of the more interesting roles. I've played in
Manila as well, that was interesting... I played through
an earthquake! Yeah, 7.8 on the Richter scale. The
entire clientele pretty much ran out the door and
left me there wondering what the hell was going on.
Luckily no one was hurt. We just picked the equipment
up off the floor and started again. The sense of defiance
created a great atmosphere amongst those who were
brave enough to venture back into the club and carry
on with the party.
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| DESIDEL:
Wow! Definitely one of the more unusual experiences
in your career!
MATT HARDWICK: Haha yeah, that was
pretty cool.
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| DESIDEL:
Now of course we know you're really involved in Gatecrasher,
the club you play at in Sheffield. Where do you see
Gatecrasher going in the next couple of years? What
do you have in mind in terms of the plans for that?
MATT HARDWICK: The scene in the UK
is almost up to that stage where, you know, where
do we go next? The repercussions of Gatecrasher being
so successful for so long have left them thinking,
"Right, okay, what are we gonna go next?"
"How are we going to keep this scene fresh?"
And various clubs have done various things. Gatecrasher
chose to pull back and do one gig a month. It was
almost to make that "one gig" special. It
was like a reinvention almost and it's really worked.
As far as long terms goes I think Gatecrasher will
explore international venues a lot more. I mean I
did the first wave of world tours in 1999/2000 and
there are a lot of great clubs out there.
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| DESIDEL:
I noticed you guys are really expanding, I mean you're
reaching all facets. You've got Gatecrasher in Australia;
you got parts of Asia, and stops in North America, I
think things are looking up. Now, with regards to the
industry we've heard recent news with regards to the
financial difficulties with Global Underground. I don't
know if you've heard of that?
MATT HARDWICK: Oh yeah, I've heard
of that...
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| DESIDEL:
How do you perceive that?
MATT HARDWICK: I don't think it's
attributable, I mean I don't think it's a reflection
of the club scene. I think it's more a reflection
on and the influence that the Internet has on the
availability of things to be downloaded. People are
paying 15 pounds for a CD, or 30 dollars for a CD
and you see it, that's a lot of money. If you can
go to a website and get it for free and not get penalized
for it which is the case at the moment... I think
Global Underground situation is more a reflection
of that. As far as the global scene record sales wise,
again it's the Internet. But as far as clubs go I-
I think clubs really need to think of new and different
ways to do things. You know, and think... hey these
people have been working all week, let's give them
the best party they've ever had! Rather than just
sitting back and paying a DJ thousands of dollars
and expecting a full club. It's not that easy anymore.
I think the best promoters now will sort of come through
more. You'll see new promoters coming along who are
really injecting some energy into the scene.
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| DESIDEL:
Now we've basically compiled a couple of questions from
various fans on behalf of our websites. Some of these
questions are somewhat interesting. Little known facts...
I don't know, maybe you clarify some of them for me.
I've heard that you've been an avid soccer/football
player in Europe for some time. But have you sort of
taken that to a back seat?
MATT HARDWICK: I've played professionally
for Sheffield Wednesday. I've played football all
my life and I have also DJed and been into music for
the best part of my adult life. The football thing
didn't quite work the way I wished. But you know I've
always been a DJ as well. At the same time I just
finished a Master's Degree in law as well so you know...
I like to keep busy.
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DESIDEL:
Well one big question that a lot of fans want to know
is: name of your favourite club?
MATT
HARDWICK: Haha! Gatecrasher!
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| DESIDEL:
Oh no... soccer club!
MATT HARDWICK: Haha… oh Sheffield
United, they're rivals of Sheffield [Wednesday].
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| DESIDEL:
Well there you go: Sheffield United! I guess for now,
what's in your future? The next big production? Any
new plans?
MATT HARDWICK: At the moment, we're
putting together a new Gatecrasher album. We're going
to record that live from clubs. Perhaps, Scott Bond
live from Japan, myself live from New York. So we've
been working on that. Keen to get back into the studio,
get working on things and keen to do a lot more international
work. I mean, first of all I'm playing in Columbia
next month, which should be exciting. And also I'll
be starting a residency for Gatecrasher in New York-
the first one is coincidently tomorrow night.
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| DESIDEL:
Well I guess that pretty much sums it up. Thank you
Matt for your time!
MATT HARDWICK: Thank you.
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