Gay London Life | April '25 Edition - Magazine - Page 14
DJ of the Month
CHRIS
TODD
You’ll find this month’s selector behind the decks
every month at DILF London and DILF Brighton
— here are some of his favourite tunes
Tell us a bit about your DJ journey so far
Like a lot of people, I kinda fell into it by accident. I was working in the dance
section of a record shop in Leeds in the mid-90s and had exposure to a lot of
local DJs. At the same time I got into music journalism and over the next few
years started running club listing sections for publications like iD Magazine,
The Big Issue and Muzik, so I was going out a lot and being wowed by the like
of Carl Cox, Goldie, and Tony de Vit— or not being wowed at all by others! It
was the latter that got me thinking maybe I could give it a go.
I moved to London in 97 and a flatmate had just bought a pair of decks,
which I learnt to mix on. I soon bagged a five-year residency at the nowlegendary hard house club Frantic and got to play all the big venues in the
UK and travel to places like Cape Town, Sydney, and Ibiza. I’m currently the
resident DJ at DILF London and DILF Brighton, and also regularly guest DJ
at DILF’s other events across the UK and Gran Canaria.
What’s a song that sums up DILF?
Vocals, piano lines, dirty basslines, and big euphoric riffs get the biggest
reaction, so the Soulwax reboot of Sylvester and Patrick Cowley’s ‘Mighty
Real’ hits the spot every time.
Give us a record you’ve fallen in love with from the past year
For the club, David Penn and OFFAIAH’s ‘Satisfied’ has been dropped in most of
my sets since its release. The throbbing bassline, cheeky hook, and Italo piano
riff is a total weapon. My fave non-club record is the ‘Woof’ album by Fat Dog,
which is an intense punk rave up, total anarchic chaos and a glorious mess.
And what’s an oldie that never fails to please?
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked “Have you brought I Feel
Love?” over the years — the answer is always yes and I never need much
nudging to play it.
Which artist do you turn to when a dance floor needs bringing to life?
CASSIMM has been on fire the past few years, one of the best house
producers right now and always sounds brilliant on a big system. If I see his
name, I just buy it, same with Claptone. Keep Me in the Light has a bunch
of great mixes of old school tunes on his Bandcamp that really get people
going, I like most things on Cormac’s Polari Label, and anything by Maceo
Plex is good if the floor needs some techno heat. I also feel no shame in
dropping a cheesy Italo disco banger from ‘85 if the time is right.
When can we catch you DJing in the upcoming weeks?
I’m at DILF Brighton on 24th May and 28th June, and DILF London on
14th June and 12th July. I’ve also got DILF Brighton, DILF Leeds and DILF
Manchester Pride events coming up later in the year!
@chr1st.Odd @dilf.uk
DILF LONDON, Saturday 3rd May, 10pm-4am,
Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane,
SE11 5HY. Nearest Station: Vauxhall
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