1.For the not so clued up person in regards to the world of Soulful House and Garage, UK Underground music could you tell us how you got started in this game?

I got started like most dj's i suppose. Loving music, playing at the odd party for your friends, until i could save enough cash to buy my own set of citronic twin decks that were home made by someone I knew so i could start dj'ing as a mobile dj.

1a. Who or what had the greatest influence on what you listen to today? 1(a) Was through listen to your parents (Did they have an artists or performer that they constantly kept going on about that influenced you) 1(b) Was through listening at a early age to the Radio to a particular sound or artist 1(c) Was through going to the church (being part of a choir?) 1(d) Or was it by being forced to take musical lessons that influenced your choice?

There was no real influence on what I listen to today, I like anything that has got a nice sound that particularly catches my ear or stands out above anything else. I started buying records when I was 8 years old and believe it or not I was buying reggae. I still do love my Reggae, although it's not what I play.

I was Brought up in Tottenham (London), and that has some sort of influence on you when you're young.If an area is heavily black populated, and you're a little person growing up with Reggae & Soul all around you, the chances are that's what you're gonna be into. If you live in North Wales when you're young and people are mostly into Rock music, then that's what you're probably be into again, until you grow up get a mind of your own and think, Uggh!! Rock is shit!!

Young mind's are easily led and moulded to what you want, which is why we have to protect youngsters from a lot of bullshit that they are trying to teach them in schools, and by certain busy body weirdo's in the UK.

2.Who was your first musical hero? Was it Artists from the.. Soul area Hiphop scene Rock/Heavy Metal scene Motown, The Sound of Philadelphia or Stax Records artists Jazz artists Or just any particular artist?

I really loved Earth Wind & Fire's Music. Didn't think too much of their clothes though Marvin Gaye was at his peak when I was at my shagging peak so his music always brings back memories of some car park somewhere, steaming up the windows of my little escort van.

3. You are a Club Promoter/DJ? What was the first club that you played that allow you to gain vital experience to that is invaluable now! Is it still there now; and have you gone back to play there from time to time? What was the first Club that you ran completely.

Ohh, I can't remember my first club that I played in. It couldn't have been that significant. There's been so many since The Kool Club In Ayia Napa, Cyprus is the first club that I've owned and run personally.

Nick Power on the Left with partner!!

4. I posed this question to DJ Cosmo(USA), a couple of years back and now I'm going to pose it to you. Have you ever been given the chance to play on those famous Pirate Radio Show's; any of them at all? Would or will you play on them? In short what do you think of the Pirate radio set-up within the London area? As you actually there it would make interesting reading. Do there serve a purpose, or have they out stayed their welcome? Is there such a set up where you are based now. What are the penalties for getting caught running such a station in your area of the world.

Pirate Staions? I love 'em! It was Pirate Stations that really got me going. I started out on Kiss fm when they were pirate, & when they were good.

I was with Kiss Fm (London) for 5 years, ducking and diving from the DTI, applying for a licence, keeping up public & media attention while we were off the air to get the licence, and after the success of getting a licence and going on the air legally across London was a something I'll never forget.

6 months after that, the bastards sacked me along with several other dj's that helped put them where they are today.

After Kiss fm, I went back to what made radio good in my days with kiss. Being a pirate! Pulse fm (London) was the one that offered me a slot and I took it.

We had a few problems as most pirates do but we managed to stay on most weekends. I left in 1995 to come over to Ayia Napa, Cyprus and open the Kool Club, and the management of pulse sold it off a little while after.

5.Still on being a DJ. What would you considered to being the music that you like playing the best.

I love a few different styles, but what I love to play is funky vocal garage. One of my favourite recent tunes that is so happy and well made has got to be The Funky Green Dogs "Body". It is excellent!

Out of underground tunes I prefer the vocal ones, soft sweet female vocals over the 2 step beat does things for me.

I hate rewinds (developed by Stanton to wear out your needles and your vinyl), and I hate the "Biddy Biddy Bad Boy, Biddy Baddy Boom" style of MC's.

Ragga MCing over evry part of a tune is just annoying. I normally switch the mic off.

6. Are you a resident DJ, or do you work Freelance? (Only write down if its applies)

Both, I'm resident out here at the Kool Club in Ayia Napa, from May - September, 2000, after that I play at a few reunions back in the UK.

Then I travel around playing all over UK & Europe for various promoters, then Ayia Napa pre parties,, and again after that, back to Ayia Napa again for the next summer.

7. Have you traveled abroad to work? ?(Only write down if its applies) Where did you play..what country? Was it a success?? What is your favourite country to DJ in, and the favourite club.

Ha Ha! Well this one has to be Cyprus. The Kool Club is my baby, I've brought it up from the day it was born. Fed it, changed it, looked after it, and put it's lights out for the winter to sleep.

Iceland was another experience. I once played in Reykjavic at a very busy club, and trying to get through the crowd with a record box was a feat in itself.

The people were such rude, ignorant fuckers. They'd bounce into you and push you, and I mean push, to get past without an excuse me or sorry. How I didn't get into any fights in the club was a mystery.

The Kool Club, Ayia Napia, Cyprus

8. What are your thoughts on the music such as 2-Step Garage music that is busting out of London? The music has bulldozed its way into the Garage world. Its the newest hybrid of the music within the scene. Some people hate it. Some people love it. What are your views on the scene?

Garage to me has always been the style that came out in 1988/89.4 to the floor beat with a vocal, which incidentally is still being made & played today.You mention garage today to youngsters, they talk about 2-Step Garage, but they call it Garage. Try and explain what Garage really is and they look at you with a stupid look on their faces and get lost as they dont get it.

But that's just going back to what I mentioned earlier about young minds being easily led.I already mentioned earlier that I prefer the sweet vocaly underground style of 2-Step Garage,and with the amount of media attention, and radio play all over the UK now with Radio 1 getting on it, It's gonna be big. But how long will it be around for? It'll eventually change and maybe called 5-Step or something, but it may come back again in another 10 years or so.

9. There seems to be a love for GARAGE at the moment that resembles the early days of Hiphop within the USA. Labels are being sought after, the pirates are canning the music. Underground clubs via word of mouth are becoming " Sought after places to visit". Is the bubble going to burst soon though do you think? Can Garage (especially UK Garage remain Underground for long?) Will the majors move in, in a big way to take their share of the profits? What are your thoughts? How did the locals view this kind of music when the "Brits" invaded Ayia Napia" in the Summer of 1999.

The majors have already moved in with their big wallets, and I know of one underground tune that was put together by some friends, that they offerred a £100,000 advance.

Now that is a fucking shitload of money to offer someone that makes their wages by DJing in a couple of clubs every week.

Also it must mean a lot more money to the company to pay that much for a tune. How much do they make out of it?

The Ayia Napa locals seemed to accept the Underground scene without any problems at all. Two things they didn't accept. One was the Channel 4 documentary Agia Napa fantasy island. First of all, Ayia Napa is not an island! Cyprus is an island. Ayia Napa is a village. Ayia napa is not just a village with Underground clubs, managers that don't give a shit about there DJ's, pr's etc, boat cruises with slags getting groped, local boys fighting with fools, and everything else that was shown in a negative light.

Ayia Napa has 18 clubs all catering for different styles of Music. From Soul & RnB to Hard House/Trance. Club owners that have to organise a rave every night, 7 days a week that are under so much stress.

Have you tried promoting a night once a month? It's not easy, try doing it every night for 3 months! Ayia Napa, Cyprus has the best beaches that I've come across. Even Cancun in Mexico couldn't top the East coast of Cyprus's beaches. Ayia Napa has got so much more to offer, excellent choices of food, bars, bungees, slingshots sky coasters and loads more attractions.

Showing it in a bad light only deters good people from coming here, which affects their businesses. This leads into the 2nd thing below.

The 2nd thing that the locals don't accept is being called racist & people coming over bringing drugs here, or trying to cause trouble in their village.

Yes it is a village, it's small, it's their home, their jobs, their life. some of them have 2,3 or even 4 jobs, because Ayia Napa's club season is only really 3 months from mid june to mid september. They need enough money to survive through the winter which is why they work so hard.

They will not stand around and let anyone ruin their tourist trade. If anyone causes trouble in their village, this could give Ayia Napa a bad name and prevent tourists coming over here. They will not stand for anyone causing any problems in their place. They will jump on you quick time.

Whether you're black, white, yellow, red, and especially cypriot, as they don't like their own ruining their own.

Behave while out here, and have a great holiday, and go back to England feeling great, but definitely tired. Don't end up in prison as it so easily happens quite a bit. The locals feel that "we run tings, tings nah run we" as the saying goes.

So leave the English attitude of I'm badder than you (that we all know exists on the streets in the UK) back home, and be nice to the locals and they will treat you so well that you would never believe.Have a great holiday, and go back in one piece feeling good.

Clubbers revelling at the Kool Club, Ayia Napa

10. Kiss 100 Fm Radio station(London) has come in for a lot of stick a couple of years ago for moving away from its dance music ethos in favour of a more commercial and pop orientated sound, which has infuriated a large amount Londoners. Could you see this happening to your show if the Program director of your Radio station is under pressure to improve ratings? Does local Radio in your area of the world touch on Garage or house music in any shape what so ever.

I've never had anyone tell me what to play, and I would never let that happen or be put in that position. I would rather leave. Kiss has become big business now and all that the companies directors care about is money.

They don't care about how the station got a licence in the first place, or which dj's put there. They don't care about the minority that are into Dance music. They want money, which is fair enough i suppose because we all need money to survive, but I personally feel that if a big company is making a profit then why try to make more and more and more. Everyones getting paid, moneys being made so give people a dance station. If you're not making ends meet then think about a change.

11. As you are now based in Cyprus. How long did it take you to get a grip of the local scene, and then being allowed to few things on your terms with regards to he music policy within the clubs that you were in charge of. Lets face it Soulful House and Garage music wasn't high on the agenda of most clubs in Europe when you first ventured over there? How did you managed to get a club running playing this type of music?

I was accepted pretty well over here in 1995, as I am of Greek Cypriot parents. I wasn't accepted as a local or a club owner I think until maybe last year. I'm still known as a CHARLIE, which is the cypriot term for an English born Cypriot as myself. Me & my ex Partner who started the club were left pretty much alone by the locals as they were all expecting us to fail.

We had taken on a club that had been open for 8 years, and never worked at all. It had rubbish air conditioning, and was a hole. A bit of black paint all over the mirrors, some UV lights, and a few Fluorescent things written around the place, and we opened.

Well if I say that we kicked the crap out of all the other clubs that had nice lights, airconditiong, and good looking venues. What we had was Good Music, and a fucking load of atmosphere. It was electrifying. It was then that the other clubs had to stand and be counted. They were shocked as to how a shit hole with a couple of 'Charlies' can take away most of their business.

They changed the following year and tried to follow suit but never ever getting it right. I own my own club, I play the music, and I have a lot of experience as to what the english clubbers are into, I MC and get the crowd lifted. This is the success. It's the personal touch.

Yes I'm the boss, but you'll never see me standing at the end of the bar sipping champagne with some blonde dolly bird trying to impress people that don't matter to anything I do. I'm out there in the square giving out flyers, I'm grafting in the club day and night, and I'm building up an atmosphere.

As for the music policy when I opened. Garage & House music was around in 1995. It was still known as underground then. Ayia Napa was around 50-50 with brits and scandinavian tourists

. I only worked with the Brits and being a Dj, and owning the Music Power group of record shops, I knew what was popular in the UK, so I gave my crowd what they got in the UK, not just what was in the top 40 like the other clubs.

They would buy every record in the UK top 40 and that's what they would play as it was safe to say that the Brits would know the songs and the Scandies may have have heard them as well seeing as they were in the UK Charts.

We were playing a lot of the Nice & Ripe record label stuff, and believe it or not DJ's that played in the club in 1995/96, were Ramsey, Steve Jackson, Matt Jam Lamont Uk-GarageDj's stars today), all playing for nothing but the Nick Power hospitality of free drinks and maybe a £50 pound drop to go towards there food on the beach. Those were the days.

Clubbers revelling at the Kool Club, Ayia Napa

12.. If it were possible would you prefer the playing of the long, long sets that are given to American DJ's such as Danny Tenglia. European DJ's can only dream of at places like the "Tunnel" in New York, etc, etc. Then the customary 1 or 2 hours that is given out to most European DJ's? Within your clubs past and present do you allow your DJ's to play for as long as 4/5 hours per set?

I much prefer to play a 1 and 1/2 - 2hour Djset. During that time you can lift a crowd up so high and keep them there throughout the whole set, and a massive cheer with every tune you drop.

If the set is longer you tend to have trouble keeping the crowd happy constantly, which is how a lot of DJ's clear their dancefloors.

Time dosen't permit us in Cyprus to have long sets. Normally myself and residents normally play 30 minutes each getting to play an hour each total per night.

Clubs open at 1am and close at 4am. People are in the Square till 2 am, club gets busy by 2.30 am and only allowing for a one and a half hour set

.

They love it at the Kool Club, Ayia Napa, don't they?

13.Dubbed the New Ibiza by music critics and fashion experts alike. Do you fear for the islands (Ayia Napia) beauty? Do you think that the island will attract all the wrong types of people? Watching the film called the "Beach" starring Leonardo Da Capiro. We all saw what could happen if rules are bent and relax to accommodate wealthy holiday makers. Do you think that Ayia Napia, as a holiday resort could be spoilt.? What are your views as a brit, and also a resident of Ayia Napia?

Yeah course it can all be spoilt! Just the same as the Ministry of Sound (London) can be spoilt, and Mcdonalds can be spoilt, and everything else can be spoilt. All by mistakes. The only we can do over here is try not to make mistakes, and try to prevent any mistakes being made.

14.It great to see that France, Norway, Scotland, Germany and Ireland are adding their own flavours towards House and Garage music.. Do you book many DJ's from those areas of the world to play in your club/s within Cyprus?

I'll book dj's from anywhere in the world to play at my club. The only thing that they must have for me to book them is a name that the average British tourist knows well, and that the style of music goes with what we play at the Kool Club.

People like Dj Batty Fister etc I wouldn't book as who the fuck has ever heard of him, so why would they go and pay to hear him, when Spoonie's playing next door.

14a. You are running the Kool Club in Ayia Napia, Cyprus, to which to my knowledge is probably the largest club on the Island. Is there a lot of pressure to come up with the goods. I mean. Its dog eat do out there. And every club promoter or club runner is out to make sure that his club is the busiest and most successful. Are you planning to run with UK Garage most night to sustain your clubs popularity. Or are you going to mix up the various House and Garage styles that are out there.

I'm working in conjunction with SUN CITY in the Kool Club every Monday, and I have a 2nd room which shall be playing underground, when we are playing Funky Garage & House music in the main room, and vice versa.

London's Suncity at the Kool Club, Ayia Napa

15.Do you still do your own stint of record shopping or hunting? Or do you leave it up to being supplied by labels, etc to keep you up to date? When you play out?(If you play out) A lot of DJ's nowadays survive by living of what given to them by Record labels of all shapes and sizes. What about you. Does this apply to you?

Despite my position out in Ayia Napa, and my past with Kiss Fm etc, I do personally buy my own tunes.

I am only on 2-3 mailing lists like, Mega Bullet, Rush Release etc even though I play to an average of 1700 people every night during the summer. How many DJ's can actually boast that.

The main problem with a lot of these larger promotion companies is that they think they are too good. Fuck them! I'm doing them a service by promoting their records so that when it is released, people that have heard me play it and like it want to go out and buy it, and help it charts.

They think that they help me by giving it to me upfront. Yes in a sense maybe it helps a bit but if i ain't got that promo, and to be honest, playing too upfront fucks up loads of dj's, i'll play some other tune that the crowd know and brings up a cheer.

I could play that promo, and no fucker knows, it and clear my dancefloor. If it's that good a record, i'll wait for it to be released and buy it. The other problem is that being out here in Cyprus, it takes at least 10 days to get mail redirected here and stuck up arse record companies want their reactions back in 10 days and not faxed. So 10 days to get here, couple of days to play and get proper reactions, send reactions back to UK another 7 days, altogether at least 20 days!!.

That's too long so you get struck off. Give us a break. We are doing our best, and trying to run a club at the same time.

16. As labels go..Have you a favourite. One that you always stop by as you flick through the piles of Records in your specialist record shop?

Yeah! Subliminal. And Yellorange from the USA! Defected UK & Public Demand for the underground -Uk.

17. Record mixing. Your technique when playing out. Do you use a style of blending when you playing out; or are you a person who like to jump straight in and out of a track without warning!!! What styles do you like to use?

A little bit of a mixture. I sometimes blend nice and gradual or cut back and forth. "Here comes the remix"

18. Are you running a label of anykind? And if so, who have you got signed to the label? Any important Releases that we should keep a look out for? I've put out several tunes in the past during my Jungle and Drum and Bass days. I still have my studio setup and it's now over here in Cyprus, but i just don't get the time to sit and put things together. Come winter when the Kool Club closes, I'm outta here.

19. Who do you rate as one to look out for in the future (DJ Wise?) Who should we keep an eye out for! From your own country? DJ/ music artist/s producer and from what you have heard or seen from abroad? DJ/ music artist/s producer

About 2, Masters in Disquise-UK. Bob Sinclair-France. He's really going to blow up.

20. Have you got any advice for any aspiring record label producer, DJ or club owner within the world of House and Garage. Any rules that he should adhere to!

Try and be Original. Don't bite someone elses style, and you never know you could be the person that started a new trend. Like underground disco funky 9step jungle.

Nick Power in the Left with partner!!