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TORQUE's 4th Birthday! Interview with Macey
Reported by Sharon B
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Submitted 05-02-04 14:16
For most events in the fickle world of hard dance, lasting a year is a real achievement, lasting two a great success, and lasting 4 - phenomenal! This weekend at the Egg London will be witness to a Saturday afternoon birthday celebration that will simply leave you breathless as Torque break out the party decorations and throw a birthday party worthy of going down in clubbing history. With it's successes at venues all over London from the intimate Spotted Dog to London's most reknowned venue, The Fridge, this is one promotion that truly knows how to deliver a banging and up for event no matter where they play their music. Sharon B managed to meet up with promoter and DJ Macey to find out a little more about the up-coming party, what to expect this weekend, and where Torque plans to go from here.
Sharon B: How did Torque first come about? Who were the original promoters and what was the idea behind the party in the first place?
Macey: Torque first came about when a mutual friend introduced me to Claire-voyant and Finnie as they were keen to start throwing parties. There were seven of us originally now it’s just the three of us. The idea behind the parties was that we all wanted to be dj’s and by creating our own parties we would have somewhere to play to our mates.
SB: Where was your first event and what was the line up?
Macey: Our first event was on 30th January 2000 @ Club West One Four in West Kensington. It was a wicked party. From memory the line up was Finnie, Adam Woodleigh, Paul Cutting, Myself, Ian Mac and another bloke called Simon.
SB: 4 years is a real achievement in terms of promoting parties – what do you put down to Torques’s success in its longevity?
Macey: Probably the key to it is diversity. Whether it be the music, our residents play a wide range of styles and we use a wide range of guest dj’s. Or the venue, using different venues can keep your parties fresh and throw different types of parties like boat parties
SB: You also DJ at some of London’s best events. how long have you been DJ’ing for and what got you interested in mixing and playing out in the first place?
Macey: First got into the scene back in Oz and used to go to a lot of the outdoor door parties. After a while I became curious and wanted to know what the dude was doing with the two record players and the black box with all the knobs on it. Had a mate give me a go on his decks and I was hooked. When I decided to go travelling I wanted to party my way round the world and thought the best way to do this was to be asked to play all round the world. So came to London as it’s the Mecca for djing and the best parties happen here; saved up and got some decks in August 99 and been practising ever since.
SB: What was the first style of music that you learnt? Have you always been a hard house lover or do you like playing a varying amount of genres?
Macey: Was right into hard psy trance in Australia but when I came to London couldn’t find much of a psy trance scene so started going to hard trance clubs and fell in love with the energy in the music. I pretty much stick with hard dance, you wont find anything slow or chilled in my record box.
SB: Who have been your inspirations in terms of DJ’ing and playing out? Who has been the biggest influence in your career either in terms of DJ’ing or musical production?
Macey: Used to love watching Phil Reynolds playing back with Ian Mac they would capture the floor and work it superbly. Learnt a lot from experiencing their sets sweating it out on the dancefloor. In more recent times, I get great feedback and support from all the Torque and Warped crew. We all party together so we learn and feed off each other.
SB: You have also played for a number of other large events in London like Heat and Twisted, how does it feel to be doing so well in both sides of your career, DJ’ing and promotion?
Macey: Its wicked, I f*ckin love it.
SB: What has been the most memorable Torque for you and why? What made it so special? The line up, the club or the people?
Macey: There’s been so many wild parties, but the stand out party would have to be the Torque Xmas party at The Fridge in December 2002. The reason it was so special was it was the realisation of a dream for me. When I first got to London in November 98 The Fridge was the first club I went to. It was amazing. I was off my head on the dancefloor and I promised myself that I would play the last set there one day. So the Torque Xmas Party was the first time I got to play last set at the Fridge and all my mates were there and it was going off
SB: What kind of crowd would you say you normally attract? Where do the main staple of your supporters come from?
Macey: We certainly have an antipodean core, some English and lots of travellers. Our main staple of support is in the Willesden Green area where we throw a lot of parties.
SB: There is always so much variety with Torque both in line-ups and venues, what different clubs have you played in the last 4 years?
Macey: We started out at West One Four in West Ken, The Spotted Dog in Willesden Green, The Fridge, The Coronet, The Mean Fiddler, Boat parties on the Thames, outdoor parties, and soon the Egg.
SB: What DJ’s have you had playing over the years? What up-and-comings have you had that have made it over time?
Macey: There’s too many to list here. But we use a huge variety of dj’s. As far as up and comings go the likes of Brad Thatcher, Simon Rutherford, etc have all been regulars at Torque. Some of our Warped residents have started guesting at clubs like Heat too, which is great to see.
SB: You play a lot of up-and-coming talent, how important is it to you to support new DJ’s? Do you think it benefits the scene to get behind new faces? Is there always room for more DJ’s?
Macey: I think it is very important because new talent is the basis for longevity of the scene. If you don’t have new faces then it gets stale. How often have you been to a party and the big name dj doesn’t deliver but the up and coming dj’s play the best sets? I think its because they are keener and more in touch with the floor. There is always room for more dj’s, it’s a dog eat dog scene and those that are keen and persistent will eventually break thru.
SB: What plans do you have for the future? Where would you like to see Torque go from here?
Macey: Well in the immediate future we’ve got another birthday celebration next week. Warped on Wednesdays is turning two. So we’ll be banging it out from 7-12midnight at the Spotted Dog in Willesden Green on the 11th February. Its free entry so come on down.
Further down the track we might look at getting a record label started as we are all moving into the production side of things. Would also like to continue on with the Torque dj’s playing internationally, and to continue throwing wicked parties wherever that may be.
SB: What plans do you have for Torque’s 4th birthday? What is going to make this a special event not to be missed?
Macey: Well we try to keep it interesting, so for our 4th Birthday we’re using a new venue and a different time of day. Its going to be at the EGG on Saturday Afternoon on 7th February. We’re kicking off at midday and going ‘till 8pm. The Egg is a wicked new venue in King Cross. The 3 room layout of Egg gives us the opportunity to showcase a variety of different music styles and dj talent you’ve come to expect at Torque parties. There will certainly be no shortage of talent at this party with the fine array of guests to be joining the Torque residents. Guests include Ian Betts, Marc French, the *Ting*, Donna Birt , Sterling Moss and pSynrg. All rooms are superbly appointed with wicked sound and lighting and there’s heaps of comfy chill areas, fluro and herbal high stalls .
SB: You also have a promotional offer on with Twisted, can you tell us a little more about that?
Macey: For any of those who are at Torque’s 4th birthday and are keen to kick on to Twisted afterwards we’ll be handing out armbands which will entitle the wearer to £10 entry to Twisted. So keep an eye out for those armbands.
SB: Any last comments about the up-coming weekend that we should know?
Macey: Get some sleep now coz you wont be getting any on the weekend
For more info about Torque’s 4th Birthday @ Egg on Saturday 7th February checkout www.toolboxproductions.co.uk
Photo’s courtesy of Torque
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Other Features By Sharon B:
What's it all about? Alfie! - Getting Technikal with Alf Bamford
Heat UK presents....SW4!!! - Interview with Damian Gelle
Interview with TWIST promoter Steve Darragh
Interview with Innovate Resident Nick Sentience
Interview with Ferry Corsten
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Pickled Pat on 5th Feb 2004 15:09.34
Shazza... as always a good interview.
Macey... you are a legend m8, I luv the Torque crew and I'll be down to party with ya at your birthday party!
From: Daisy Eyes on 5th Feb 2004 15:39.42
 wicked can't wait should be good party 
From: Ian Betts on 5th Feb 2004 15:59.08
Top quality interview as ever Sharon Can't wait to plat at Torque again this weekend, huge congrats to Macey and the crew for making it this far and for constantly putting on great parties 
From: Richard Launch on 5th Feb 2004 16:05.27
Nice one Macey...!!! Good luck on Saturday mate.
From: Neats on 5th Feb 2004 16:46.15
oi oi!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORQUE 
xox
From: Brad Thatcher on 5th Feb 2004 21:58.24
Happy 4th Birthday Torque..!!!
Congrats Macey, Claire & Finnie for coming so far.. A lot hard work but more importantly loads of fun! fun! fun! Best of luck with more fun filled years ahead ....
Enjoy!
Brad : )
From: *Ting* on 6th Feb 2004 00:03.08
Nice one babe! can't wait for Saturday, and really looking forward to your set at Party Proactive on Valentines day too!
Boooyaaakkaasha to ya babe!
From: littlemissgenki on 6th Feb 2004 00:58.05
awesome interview macey and shazza! does this mean the purple cowboy hat is coming out this weekend?!?
From: Dallas on 6th Feb 2004 10:58.42
nice one macey,claire and finnie!! you guys rock! see you down at warped
From: Mike Mas on 6th Feb 2004 11:00.49
nice one macey
From: Trevor McLachlan on 6th Feb 2004 11:46.29
Nice one Macey .... Happy Birthday Torque !!! Congrats to you, Claire and Finnie, all your hard work is still paying off. Looking forward to lots more parties in the future from you guys
From: Jana on 6th Feb 2004 12:52.24
Well done Macey! Happy 4th Birthday! Hope it will go off in style...
From: Lizzie Curious on 6th Feb 2004 15:26.38
nice interview and wicked pix too!
From: Jam Gorilla on 6th Feb 2004 16:53.15
Happy Birthday Dudes!
keep Torquinq till u drop...
From: Red5 on 7th Feb 2004 21:51.16
Torque and Warped on Wednesdays is legendary amongst the antipodeans, and Macey is one of the friendliest dj/promoter as well! Hope the party goes off, wish i was there
From: Vivacious on 9th Feb 2004 10:21.26
Wicked, Happy Birthday Torque! You guys sure know how to party! Roll on summer and the boat parties!!!!
From: acid les on 10th Feb 2004 13:23.13
 I love Torque parties - they certainly kick ass
From: cheekimonki on 17th Feb 2004 14:48.56
Congrats Macey, Finnie & Claire! Keep up all the good work! When's the next party @ Sindrome??
From: GROUP 185 on 19th Feb 2004 19:27.28
torque are the dogs bollox of a promotion ..we love em
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