The name Paolo Mojo is now being spoken together with Desyn Masiello or Luke Fair. Why? All the DJs mentioned have been presenting good house music, which gains listeners attention back again. We’re sitting in Sonobar, talking right before a party which I’ll later deem as one of my best parties in 2004.
Do you know that Mojo sounds a little bit Spanish? Maybe it should be pronounced like moho? [in Spanish “j” is pronounced like “h”]
Moho? You’re right, because every time I go to a Spanish speaking country, people call me Paolo Mo-ho. That’s how they pronounce it. I’m not sure what mojo means in Spanish. Maybe you could look out for that and let me know? Anyway, Mojo didn’t come from that. Mojo began as the name of a club night I got involved with about five years ago. And I became known as Paolo from Mojo to help promote the night, mainly on the Internet actually. From there it was a short leap to become Paolo Mojo.
Why did you stop doing those parties?
Every club has a life of its own. Sometimes things work for a long time, sometimes not. Our night worked only for a short time, but it worked really well. The guy who started it was Desyn Masiello, who I’m sure you’re aware of, and Omid 16b was the other organiser. They were great while they lasted but everybody moved on to other things.
So you were one of The Idiots? [Leon Roberts, 16B, Desyn Masiello]
No no no… I’m not an idiot (at least not in that sense). The Idiots are Leon, Omid and Desyn, as far as I know. Nothing to do with me.
So what was your name before?
Paolo, DJ Paolo. When I was visiting message boards I was calling myself Paolo Mojo, a bit like John of the Pleased Women – that kind of thing. Just after we finished The Big Mojo Parties I won a competition called Bedroom Bedlam, which doesn’t exist any more but at that time it was quite well regarded. So they asked me what’s my name and I said “Paolo Mojo”. It was a really spontaneous thing and I thought “oh shit, have I said that really”? Since then it stuck and people started booking me as Paolo Mojo and I’ve become comfortable with it.
When did you start playing?. You don’t look like a guy who’s 29. But you are.
This is the thing! I’ve been playing since I was... gosh... 16? But, to be honest with you, up to about 1998 I just didn’t really take it seriously at all. I was a student, I was in college and I had decks. I used to play house parties for other students and then my flat mates and colleagues said that I should really try something more. I always knew this was something I was born to do, but I always thought there is always tomorrow. And I thought that way for a longer time. That began to change when I moved to London in 1997. I met people like Des, who was similar to me and started playing small parties and bars in London and on the South Coast.
Did you earn money or you parents just gave you some for a good start?
Oh, I had a real career if you like. I’ve only recently stopped. I was an account director at City Financial PR up until 2002. And even up until last months I was doing occasional projects as a freelancer, because lets face it, it’s not always easy to live purely from dance music. That was definitely a time 18 months ago when I thought “I’m not going to progress if I don’t start to produce music”. But to do that you’ve got to take time to learn, so my DJing at that point went back for a little while. And in order to make some money I had to do some freelance PR. But I think it’s quite common, that a lot of people in today’s music scene were trying to do different things to make their living.
One of the DJs you may probably think of has asked us not to mention on Sound Revolt that he’s a lawyer. The other one asked us to take down some dates he had in the middle of a week.
Oh, I can relate to that a lot because I went through the same sort of things.
But being a freelancer is a different thing.
Yes, you’re right, it’s then on you to manage your time effectively. I’d have to do certain things for my employer obviously, but at the same time I’d be thinking of how to finish a track this week. Then I’d have a gig on weekend, things I needed to sort out with my record label... I’ve got to produce charts – all those kind of things. I have to be very focused with my time and I think I’ve done this quite successfully this year.
Looking back into your career, what was the most important year for you?
This year, without a doubt.
You said exactly the same thing in 2001.
Well, I hadn’t got to this year then! In 2001 I had things like Bedroom Bedlam, Bedrock, Homelands; Music is Freedom, that kind of stuff. And that was great from the DJ point of view but it doesn’t really break you into a bigger circle. What I didn’t have at the time was the production career to build on. So I couldn’t get beyond a certain level with it. When 2003 came around I was getting quite frustrated because I didn’t feel I was progressing. I spent a lot of time with a guy called Simon Rogers, who’s a very good friend of mine. He basically showed me - without showing me anything, because I was just watching him – how to make my own music. I didn’t feel daunted by it anymore that was the key. Then I just went away and I said to myself that this year, in 2004, I want to release some records, I want to get them out on good labels, I want Radio One to play my tunes, I want to get Essential Mix etc, etc.
How did you manage to do Essential Mix for example?
I just said I wanted to do this! I think the first thing that was important; I got some records that worked. It’s not the one of my favourites, but Pete Tong loved the BT thing for example. He started playing it all over the place. So I got him thinking about it. And then the guys at Radio One became aware of me. I sent them my new CD, they liked it and then I said “could I do an Essential Mix this year?”. And the guy Huw the producer of the show said “That’s a great idea, let’s give him one”. So if you have respect for yourself and for other people, if you treat people in a way you would want be treated, you won’t go far wrong, and you can achieve quite a lot I think.
And this way we come to a point that everybody’s talking good about you, including DJs, journalists, clubbers...
Yes... I just got started to produce records and its hopefully getting better and better. I just got more and more DJs who are now playing my music, which is great.
But in you old official biography you had some quotes from famous DJs and now they changed to journalists.
Well, the press is getting interested. IDJ nominated me as a star for 2004, DJ Mag just nominated me for 2005, which although doesn’t mean a great deal in itself, it’s very nice. So people notice... If somebody suggests something to somebody, for example if Sasha says to you something like “oh, maybe you should check this guy out”, you will probably do it. That’s what happens. People just listen and it’s like a little chain reaction.
But you didn’t actually answer. Is the journalists’ opinion more important?
It’s good if you get a journalist saying something nice about you. And I suppose it’s good to keep stuff like the biog fresh because it means that things are happening around you.
We’re asking all those questions because you don’t actually play music which is easy for a non-practised listener. The first hour of your Essential Mix is pretty tough, I’d say. How did you manage to convince people to your sound?
The Essential Mix doesn’t necessarily represent what I do on the dancefloor. I wanted to do something which sounds fresh even when you get back to it maybe a year later. If I’d put the top twenty remixes of the month in July and August 2004, it might sound cool, but you would probably not listen to it six months later and think it was so cool. All those tracks would sound stuck in that time. I may be wrong but I think you may listen to it now and still enjoy it.
Right. What can you tell us about the Heretic album? Cass said that it has been shelved for a while. Why?
Eternal question... Cass is being involved in: a – getting married, b – renovating his house. But we are now working on it definitely, for an early summer 2005 release.
This was supposed to be the next question; I mean what happened to Cass that he disappeared from the scene. But you already answered.
I think you’ll see Cass come back with a bang in 2005.
I look forward to it. I still remember his Essential Mix he has done with Slide.
Oh yeah, the crazy one.
Yes, the crazy one. Who is your musical guru? Lee Burridge?
I wouldn’t say he’s my musical guru, that’s a bit much! Lets not make his head any bigger than it is. He’s a great DJ though. He plays so many different things, very versatile depending on when in the world he is. I really relate to that sort of thing.
I wanna ask you about another big DJ. Recently we interviewed John Digweed who said he didn’t say progressive. I was so much surprised! He was considered to be an icon of that sound, now he distances himself from that. You don’t play progressive so maybe you’ll be able answer why there are so many DJs this days keeping distance from progressive as a genre.
I can’t speak for John Digweed but he’s always played what you might call a lot of techno and house stuff as well. But it’s true; a lot of DJs keep their distance from that because it’s just become unfashionable. The reason for it becoming unfashionable is that there has been a lot of crap records, the music has just got really boring.
When you listen to a record it must excite you. And you have more of that kind of thing in house and techno, electro and broken beat stuff right now. Look at the German sound, it’s so much fresh, with different arrangements, different structure...
But you’re considered to be a tech house DJ.
Am I? I don’t think that’s the case either to be honest with you. I hate using these labels, I happen to play what you might consider “tech house” records, but I play all sorts and always have. When I was first playing back in 1991, I was buying records that sounded like that but no one ever called them tech or progressive, or electro house then. It was all house music. And I only know that the records I play excite me, the same as it’s always been. I don’t give monkeys what people call it to be honest with you.
Do you still go for Liverpool?
Oh, absolutely!
So you know Dudek is Polish?
I know he’s Polish and I know he’s a cunt. Did you see the last game against Portsmouth?
Yes, we know the sad story. Now they are gonna put him on the transfer list.
I don’t think so, they still need him because Kirkland is even worst.
Thanks for the answer. Polish football fans will be delighted!
Paolo was interviewed by Sebastian and Lukasz Napora
~soundivfunk (February 27th, 2005):
good wee interview there!Heard paolo mojo twice last weeknd out standing great dj!
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