You’ve had a long-term association with Renaissance – why do you think it has endured for so long as a respected club brand?

“Renaissance has always stood for quality and they haven’t been fickle followers of fashion by jumping on every new trend that comes along. They do what they do and they’re the best at it. More people should concentrate on their own thing and just play to their strengths rather than worrying about what everybody else is doing.”

Why do you think you have endured so long as an international DJ?

“See above! Ha ha ha. I’ve followed a similar ideology. Of course you progress and evolve as the scene changes around you but I like to think I keep the same principles and not forget where I came from and as I’m still here 25 years later, I must be doing something right!”

How did you approach this latest Renaissance Masters mix?

“I don’t worry so much about every track being a brand new and exclusive these days. It’s all about the quality. Within a few months it will all be old anyway! I find some people’s unquenchable desire for new stuff all the time quite sad really. The minute something becomes available, they discard it. However brilliant it may be. But there are some exclusives on there, yes, and pretty much all the stuff that is out already has been edited or enhanced in some way to make it unique to the album.”

In Dom Phillips’ book Superstar DJs, you talked a bit about some of your demons. Where’s your head at now?

“Yeah, I had some pretty dark periods around the turn of the Millennium, largely down to living a life of excess and not having much of an anchor. But I got married in 2005 and now have two young boys, so my perspective has changed dramatically. I remember reading somewhere that adults might make babies but really it’s babies that make adults, and I can really relate to that.

“Now I take the last plane out on a Friday and the first flight back on a Sunday morning, even if it’s Asia or South America I’m playing, just so I can get back to spend time with the family. I even went to Australia for the weekend at the beginning of the year, although that was stretching it a bit.”

Have you ever wanted to do something as obviously commercial as your early ‘90s Brothers In Rhythm stuff?

“I would love to do some more pop stuff again but it’s all a question of time. As I just said, I want to spend as much time with my family as possible and just keeping up with the demands of being a DJ these days is so time-consuming with the amount of music being released and the advent of social media. It doesn’t leave much time for the studio, but it is on my ‘to do’ list and I will get round to it sooner or later.”

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