We got the chance to speak to a proper DJ at Boardmasters, we popped over to The Point where Carly Foxx was just in the final throes of wrapping up her set, we found a quiet spot behind the thud of the bass and had a good chat, here's how it went....

 

 

You're from Australia but are based in London, tell us how this came about and what you're up to there?

About 10 years ago, my best friend and I decided to leave Australia for the first time ever and just  thought how could it would be to go to London, we did it on a whim and have never looked back! 

Did you come over as a DJ?

No, I only started DJing about 5 years ago, at the time of coming to London, I was working full time as a nanny so I was looking after kids in the day from 7am to 7pm and then I started DJing and being young and naive, I took all the gigs I could get and I was finishing at 5am in the morning and literally going straight to work as a nanny, I'm sure that the family I was working for back then wouldn't have been cool with me doing the DJing as well as looking after their kids! The family moved to America and I was going to look for another job as a nanny and at that time, a friend of mine had a music company that used to do a lot of music for TV commercials and she was looking for a music researcher, I went for the job and got it! So I work there 4 days a week and the rest of the time, I DJ when I can!

 

Your music is amazing, some really deep grooves going on which the crowds love, do you find that the audience reacts differently to it depending on where you are performing? 

Yes definitely, hence I had reservations whether they would actually like my music at all today! The music that I make is very niche and bespoke to what I want to create and I think that the music I play when I DJ is also quite bespoke, like a blend of Chicago House and old school disco and this sometimes divides the room and can sometimes have a negative effect. Boardmasters is more a younger crowd and that leads me to think that they are looking for more techno and more energy but I just rocked up, did my thing and hoped for the best!
I think that the crowd loved you today!

Are there towns/cities that you prefer to play as you know that you'll get a good reception?

I think that I'm more familiar with parties in London, I feel more comfortable there, I've done a few gigs in other countries but I would say London is the best.

 

Looking back to the days of early house music with DJ's such as Sasha, Jon Digweed & Paul Oakenfold, they had an almost 'godlike' aura around them, would you say the same applies to the big named DJ's that are around these days such as Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, David Guetta etc? 

Yeah but it's definitely the more mainstream names that get the attention, they're more popstars these days whereas the classic DJ's never were, definitely more of an underground back then! 

 

Would you say that with the advance of technology, DJ's have it easier these days? 

Oh god yeah! for sure, I DJ with USB sticks and that sdoesn't really require a great deal of skill to do, I don't play with vinyl and I admire people who can and do it with vinyl as there is much more to it, not just the choice of track but the mixing, the timing and trying to guage when to drop what track, it's an art! I hate technology, it always seems to go wrong for me and if I just turn up with USB's, I plug and play! 

Ever had a gig where the USB's don't work?

Oh yeah, that's happened loads of times, nothing really I can do about it, I just end up not playing!

 

Is this your first time at Boardmasters?

Yeah it is, it's a beautiful spot, my boyfriend is Cornish and I played the masked ball last year, Cornwall reminds me a bit of Australia, loads of surf dudes bombing about! 

Have you tried surfing before? 

Erm, once or twice, I can stand up, not for long but I can hold my own!

 

What are your top three tips to surviving a music festival?

Being able to pee anywhere! When you've gotta go, you've gotta go! 

Behind the DJ decks? 

God no, that hasn't happened to me (yet)....When you drink so much, you're on the loo so much! 

Try drinking something like whiskey, that way, you don't end up on the loo so often and you have way more time to enjoy the day! 

Maybe I'll try that! 

So that was tip one, my second tip would be not to worry too much about not being clean and feeling gross all the time, just dive in and get dirty and my third tip is try not to make any plans, just go with it, go check out a band or a DJ and if you like what you hear, stick around, there are so many things to do, you have all weekend!

 

Who else on the lineup are you particularly excited about seeing?

Eats Everything, when I went to Glastonbury he played the BEST disco set and he doesn't normally play disco so I'm really looking forward to seeing what he plays today and also Heidi as she was the first DJ that I got into in the early days and the fact that she came to Australia a few times.

 

Lastly, please describe Boardmasters 2016 in just 3 words....

Pretty......Laid Back......Easy! I can't stand going anywhere where you have to queue up everytime and during the day, it's just so easy here, okay, it gets a bit mental in the evening but it's such a great atmosphere, you just don't care!

 

 

 

 

Carly was doing really well so we decided to up the ante and roll out some quickfire questions to try and bamboozle her!

 

Camping or Campervan
Campervan

 

Burger or Burrito
Burrito

 

Cider or Lager?
Cider

 

Wet Wipes or Dry Shampoo?
Wet wipes

 

Inflatable mattress or Rollmat?
Rollmat

 

Wellies or plastic bags over your trainers?
Wellies

 

Kagoule or Poncho?
Poncho

 

God or Google?
Google

 

 

 

We'd like to thank Carly for chatting to us after her set and wish her every success for the future. To keep up with her DJing exploits, check her social media sites below.

 

Facebook

Soundcloud 

 

 

Interview by Steve Muscutt