The last 12 months have seen a collection of highly acclaimed productions, combined with his live sets push Dibby Dougherty to be one of Ireland’s most exciting and ground breaking young talents to cause a stir in the global dance music scene in recent years.
Born in Derry in the late 80’s, Dibby relocated to Northern Ireland’s capital city of Belfast at the age of 19. Three years later he gained a residency at the city’s illustrious club night Yello, voted an impressive number 33 in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 Clubs in the world this year. Further afield, he is frequently seen satisfying crowds at clubs in Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, Mumbai, Mexico and the list goes on. Covering a broad spectrum of electronica, his boundary pushing DJ sets are fundamentally based around futuristic ideas of house and modern techno; nevertheless his obsession with not being branded to any sound forces him to fuse elements from all walks of electronic music.
Describing his production technique as “Energetic and twisted, but alive with emotion” – his distinct creations have been picked up by respected labels such as Bedrock, Renaissance, Parquet, Audio Therapy & Global Underground. These releases have seen him grow huge support from the likes of John Digweed, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Funk D’Void and numerous others.
To say that 2011 has been an incredible year already for this young man would be quite an understatement. Having already released his critically acclaimed debut mix album ‘Exploring:Ireland’ on Baroque Records earlier in the year, there is an ever increasing list of singles and remixes due for release in the coming months, all of which feature his new production partner and good friend David Young. The last few months have seen these two lock themselves away in the studio and put in some severe hours honing their innovative style together. Their unique productions and re-edits have been charted by many DJ’s including Sasha and have been played by DJ’s worldwide including James Zabiela, Nick Warren, Max Cooper, Marc Marzenit & Henry Saiz. Their ideas have evolved to see the boys create their own live show under the pseudonym ‘DhARMA’ which involves them morphing their personal sounds and editing tracks live.
With some very exciting tours in the pipeline and a collection of EPs and remixes due soon, 2012 looks set to be a very good year for Dibby.
crossfadr: So how did this DJing thing all begin for you?
Dibby: I honestly don’t know, I just remember always wanting to be a DJ and since my first set of turntables (Really bad Gemini belt drives) I have been buying and playing records ever since.
crossfadr: Where did the name come from?
Dibby: My dad’s nickname was Dibby too, so that’s where I got it from. But I’m not too sure why they called him Dibby either, I must find out.
crossfadr: How’s the Dance Scene in Ireland?
Dibby: Its good, we have lots of really cool smaller club nights and also a few bigger clubs, getting better in the last few years for sure.
crossfadr: Which genres do you prefer playing and why?
Dibby: I’m mainly a house and techno DJ but sometimes like to play a little breaks and other styles, but I’m a house boy.
crossfadr: When DJing, do you prefer vinyl (analog) or mp3 (digital), and why?
Dibby: I have been using CDJ2000s for some time and love them but recently moved on to a more ‘Live’ set up using Ableton. I prefer using Ableton as there is way more stuff you can add to your sets, its a lot more fun for me.
crossfadr: When you play, are you sets pre-planned or off-the-cuff?
Dibby: Always off the cuff, when me and Dave do our DhARMA Live sets we sometimes would have a general list of what will be played in what order, but that is only because we would have percussionist/vocalist etc playing and they need to know what we are planning on playing next for them to get ready and all.
crossfadr: Are you currently in the studio producing? If so, what are you working on?
Dibby: Yes, I’m currently working with my good friend David Young on some collaborations, we have recently remixed for Dirty Vegas, Omid 16b…and also have a bunch of new originals due soon.
crossfadr: When all the partying is over, how do you like to relax?
Dibby: I love to go fishing or cycling, or sit in with a takeaway and watch Breaking Bad or Lost, I also love to visit my little brothers who live quite far from where I am based.
crossfadr: What’s your opinion of the DJ scene at the moment?
Dibby: Very over saturated but the same with anything really, look hard enough for good DJs and good music and it will pay off. There is good stuff there, its just well hidden.
crossfadr: What do you think about the digital DJ movement?
Dibby: I am a strong believer in moving with the times, keep things exciting and fresh, yes we all loved our vinyl days and all but its all about keeping up with new technology and better ways of pushing futuristic music.
crossfadr: Name some other DJs you are feeling?
Dibby: I have always been a major James Zabiela fan, I really don’t know of any other DJ that can tear a club up like him, a true technical wizard too. Max Coopers sounds have really been striking a chord with me too lately.
crossfadr: What advice would you give to up and coming DJs?
Dibby: Be yourself and make sure you enjoy it, don’t take things too seriously.
crossfadr: What are your plans for life after DJing?
Dibby: Would love to get into club promotion or film production, but god knows.
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