DJ GARTH (GRAYHOUND RECORDS, KING & HOUND. LA) EXCLUSIVE DJ MIX!

Check out this killer DJ set recorded live at Superfreq, Mr C's legendary night at London club - The End.

DJ Garth (Grayhound Records) Superfreq 08. Picnic Tour Promo Mix by Picnic Touring & Events

Picnic’s star writer, Lauren Murada, got the juice on DJ Garth who’s hitting our shores this week to play along his long term friend and, as it terms out, life inspiration – DJ Harvey. Be warned this could make you teary.

PICNIC: You’re no stranger to a party, having run them for the past 20 years. How do you plan on getting the kids to party in Australia ?
GARTH: My job will be just to play wonderful records, some of which you may have not heard before. Back home if it's my own party the buck stops with me so my partner and I are responsible for every aspect of the show. The jam can't get busted, the sound system has got to deliver and the venue has to be somewhere people are inspired to let loose. Being on the other side of the planet however I'm gonna assume the promoters have done everything they can to set the wheels in motion for a memorable night.

PICNIC: Do you play vinyls or CDs?
GARTH: 100% vinyl. I just love playing records too much to compromise.

PICNIC: You must have an amazing collection of records, will it be a hard choice what to bring with you?
GARTH: I hear the weight limit on Australian flights is extremely tight these days so will be forsaking spare clothes for records. It will be a challenge packing the right ones. There are some gigs I do where I know I will be playing for more than 12 hours so I need a couple of suitcases to cover the spectrum. It seems 2 or 3 hour sets are the norm for this tour so that will make the packing easier.

PICNIC: Do you have any tracks that are a must?
GARTH: Oh yes! Superjams are my specialty.

PICNIC: Do you stick to the same genre or jump around?
GARTH: For me it's the tempo that guides things. Anything goes. Could be psych rock, acid house, cosmic disco. I just keep the ball rolling and try to tell a story.

PICNIC: Can we expect to hear some tunes from your own record label Grayhound or the Golden Goose imprint?
GARTH: Certainly my Golden Goose edits will be given an airing down under... be rude not to. Probably no Grayhounds this time round. Last time I toured Australia was in 2002. The label was in full swing at that point so the Hound was repped hard. I will however have a couple of new remixes of mine in the bag.

PICNIC: You’re touring with DJ Harvey, do you guys go back a while?
GARTH: We do indeed. I was living in London in '89 and a friend dragged me away from my beloved Rare Groove scene to a House club by the name of Solaris where I first heard Harvey DJ. I enjoyed the music and the scene profusely so the following night made the trek to Brighton for his Tonka monthly at Zap. You could say it was something of a life changer 'cause here I am still playing records 20+ years later. I had an entirely different life planned for myself back in '89 I assure you!

PICNIC: Has he ever played at one of your parties?
GARTH: More than anybody else and we had plenty to choose from - Tony Humphries, Louis Vega, Francois K, Joe Claussel, DJ Pierre, Chez Damier, Roger S. Pretty much all our guests were New Yorkers. I dragged Harvey away from the Ministry in London to San Francisco for Wicked's 5 year anniversary in 1996. It was his first gig in the States. We had another go a couple years later and again in 2001 for our 10 year. By then he had played a couple shows down in Los Angeles and decided to head to California for good.

PICNIC: The parties that the Wicked Crew put on have become legendary, how did that all get started?
GARTH: I left England for San Francisco in 1990, leaving an open invitation to my Tonka friends to come out and stay. The UK rave movement was under siege by that time. The government was cracking down hard on illegal parties so two of Tonka's fledgling DJs - Markie and Thomas Bullock (of Rub n Tug fame) got one way tickets to California along with Jeno (my DJ partner to this day) and a few other key folks, and Wicked was born. We were sitting around getting stoned in my apartment and decided to go and do something amazing for the full moon. We rented a sound system and spent the night dancing under Golden Gate Bridge on Baker Beach. Then each month for 5 years we would lead hundreds, sometimes thousands of seekers to parks and beaches around SF for a free full moon party.

PICNIC: Are there any particular parties that stand out?
GARTH: All the full moons were amazing. Very psychedelic. We were pretty fearless in getting our all-nighters on. Dodging the cops, breaking locks if necessary, whatever it took. One night we started out at these beautiful gardens with fountains. Riot police showed up but we handled it all without incident, packed up the sound and led a convoy of 50 vehicles to Candlestick Park where despite the rain we carried on well into the afternoon.

PICNIC: If you could throw the ultimate party where would it be, who with and why?
GARTH: Well I'm approaching elder statesman level these days. There's no sense in trying to repeat the unrepeatable. You've gotta leave something for the kids so they can try and one-up you. Good luck with that!