DJ gets connected

Oct 3 2012 by Zoe Drewett, Uxbridge Gazette

NOT content with being a presenter on Radio 1, an international live DJ, a television presenter and now a music producer, Zane Lowe also wants to conquer the student crowd.

The DJ has the ability to hear a new artist and make them the next big thing, so it’s no wonder he can tap into the minds of students across the UK, to whom music really matters.

“I love playing to uni crowds because when you’re working at Radio 1 you need to make a connection between the music and the listeners as much as possible, but that’s hard when you’re in a studio not seeing the reaction to new music,” he told the Gazette.

“That’s why it’s so important to get out and see people and see how they connect to the music.

“Music is so important to people at uni. When you’re that age, you properly know about new music.

“These are the people who will have the major influence over music in the future.

“For a lot of people, when you get a bit older, you start working somewhere and music has to be prioritised. As a student, at that age, that’s when music really matters.”

Zane has played at festivals around the world, this year at Bestival on the Isle of Wight, SW4 in London, Warriors Dance in Serbia and Future Music in Australia.

He also played at his favourites, Rockness in Scotland, and Wakestock in North Wales – favourites because ‘they are smaller, better and you can really connect with the crowd’.

Collaborating with Nokia on this, the Electrified Tour has allowed Zane to do and see more.

“We can get around to different areas within pretty much one month whereas before we had to spread the tour across two months, and this way we get to more students when they’ve just started and they’re excited and they properly care about music.

“It feels like it’s really when uni is at its most exciting time.

“This tour, in particular, is really great because we have done the festival season and they are so unpredictable.

“You never know what the crowds will be like, who you are playing next to, the weather or how it will go. But to go into rooms that hold between 2,000 and 3,000 people who are all there to hear you is really exciting.”

Zane, who comes from New Zealand, is continuing to host his Radio 1 show Monday to Thursday from 7pm to 9pm, before he jumps on a train and heads off to entertain the university crowds.

“I just work – I don’t stop at the moment,” he said. “It’s studio, tour, food, studio, sleep, family, studio, tour, sleep. That makes it sound like a chore, but all of that stuff is what is most important in my life and I get to do it every day.”

In between the tour and his radio show, Zane is producing and recording new music and says he does not have a moment’s rest, which is how he likes it.

“It’s an exciting time for music and I’ve continually got projects that need to be worked on,” he added

n Zane Lowe performs at Brunel University in Uxbridge on Friday, October 19. Tickets are available at www.zanelowe.com.