Frenzy interview rising star of hard dance Helen G16th June 2008 - interview copyright of Frenzy Helen G is one of the new breed of hard dance DJs making a mark across the UK hard house clubs. She has recently made appearances for Frantic's Hard House Heaven and on Friday the 20th of June she will make her debut for Frenzy supporting Anne Savage. She's fresh, she's talented, and she's fluent in French. Frenzy like her, and we think you will too.
1. Hi Helen, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by Frenzy. Firstly could you give a little introduction to yourself Blind Date style? Where are you from, what’s your age (if you want to tell us), what’s currently on your stereo, and what you’re looking for in life? Well hello there, it's lovely to be chatting to you! My full name is Helen Louise Greenwood and I’m the grand old age of 25. I know it sounds strange but I’m not really from anywhere! I’ve lived in so many places that I’ve lost count as my Dad was in the Army. I’ve not actually lived anywhere longer than about three years but I’m currently residing in the lovely town of Basingstoke with two great friends of mine. I’m always listening to music especially in my car... I think I’ve got Andy Whitby's AW5 on in my car at the moment, which is one of my favourites! As for what I’m looking for life, it sounds cheesy but I just want to be happy! To be surrounded by good friends & family and having an amazing time DJing at events all over the place.
2. You’ve been on the Frenzy dancefloor quite a few times over the last year, but this will be your first appearance behind the decks. What is it you like about the event yourself? I've been down to a fair few Frenzy nights to see some of my favourite DJs play. I’ve always had a good night there as the crowd are really up for having a good time! What I really like is that Frenzy book a mixture of established DJs such Anne Savage, Andy Whitby, and Cally Gage to name but a few - and also the nu-breed DJs like myself and eL dOnK giving us the opportunity to play. It means that there’s something for everyone and brings in a different crowd. 3. You’ve not been DJ’ing for a huge amount of time and are a relatively new-comer. Could you tell us how you got into the music initially, who inspired you, and what your achievements have been so far? My housemates at uni listened to a lot of hard house so I heard it all the time and from the moment I experienced my first hard house night, I was hooked! I used always go round to a friend’s house after a night out clubbing and I used to watch my friends mix for hours. I'd ask them to put different tunes on for me, wishing that I could do it but being too scared to try. My boyfriend at the time and I decided that we would get decks to try to mix so he bought Technics 1210s in December 2004 and so the long journey of learning to beat-match began! I have to admit I nearly gave up several times as I found it so hard but I loved the music so I carried on and eventually after many months, something seemed to click and I could finally mix! Naturally, my mixing has changed vastly since those days as I have grown in confidence and thus, my mixes have become more interesting... I hope! When I first went out clubbing, I took my inspiration from DJs such as Lisa Pin-up, Rob Tissera and The Tidy Boys but the real inspirations for me have been Andy Whitby and Cally Gage. I love hearing them play and each time I am amazed by their talent!
As for achievements so far, I’ve been playing out for just over a year and have played for various different nights, each of which has been an invaluable experience and for which I’m grateful. One event that I was particularly excited to be playing for was Hard House Heaven last month and it didn’t disappoint as I had such an amazing time playing there! In April of this year I made my first original tracks with the legend that is Alf Bamford aka Technikal. "Get Down" is a funkier warm up track with a warpy baseline and "Don’t Stop" is a harder sound with a euphoric riff going through it. More recently I've been signed to DiabloTraxx, which is very exciting and the welcome I have received has been wonderful so thanks guys! 4. We hear you’re a French teacher, so a question for the boys now. Could you speak to us in French just for a moment, perhaps telling us something we don’t know about you? A guilty secret, a hidden passion, or maybe just some travel directions to Asda... we’re not fussy. Alors, qu’est-ce que je vais dire…? Une autre passion est le dessin. J’adore dessiner – c’est quelque chose que je fais quand j’ai le temps mais je suis toujours occupée en ce moment donc, je pense que je ferai des peintures pendant les grandes vacances. Hmmm…quoi d’autre…c’est peut-être un peu bizarre mais j’adore les cornichons! Ha ha!
5. Given the current political climate of rising fuel prices and falling house prices a lot of talk is about getting someone new in charge of the country. If you were Prime Minister Helen for the day, what rule would you bring in and why? Well, I’m already Lady Helen to my friends but Prime Minister Helen for the day... now that would be cool! Would my rule be enforced for just that day or would it continue? Sorry, back to the question! I think I would I like bring in three day weekends so that every weekend would be like a bank holiday! More time to party, he he! 6. Other than yourself, who do you consider to be the new breed of up and coming hard dance stars at the moment and can you recommend any one to look out for? In my opinion there are lots of really good up and coming DJs out at the moment, which is keeping the hard dance scene fresh. Names to look out for are Mike Avery who is also signed to DiabloTraxx, Nathalie and Caz Wood.
7. We’ve not asked this one for a long-time, but who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met or known? Chris C went to a party at Elton John’s, Charlotte Birch is mate’s with Jeremy Kyle, and Ed Real’s missus knows James Blunt. Do you have anything as random or obscure as that? I once met David Seaman and Dennis Bergkamp when I used to work part-time as a waitress during my University holidays – does that count? 8. What’s your most unfortunate and embarrassing incident? If it helps to set the scene, we can tell you that one of the Frenzy crew (mentioning no names) once got stung on the nob by a wasp. Have you had any similar experiences yourself? Sorry I shouldn’t laugh at that because I’m sure it hurt a lot but it is quite funny! Well, as you know my name is Helen but really I should be called Calamity Jane because I’m so clumsy and always have bruises but never know where they’re from! I even cut my hand open when I fell down the stairs outside the house at New Year! Luckily no-one saw me... that I know of anyway!
9. DJs always like to give a list of the top five tracks they most like, but we want to know if there are any tracks you really don’t like... hard dance or mainstream?
10. This is the plug section where we let you tell the Frenzy clubbers what you’ve got planned for the rest of the year. Any exciting gigs or production time planned? Well, as I’ve already mentioned I’ve just been signed to DiabloTraxx which I’m really excited about! I’m sure I will be in studio soon with them so watch this space for further collaborations!
Summer is just around the corner and I’ve got various gigs lined up which I’m thrilled about but one weekend that I’m particularly excited about is the bank holiday in August because it’s my birthday and I’m playing at 2 brilliant events. I’ll be playing at Milton Keynes for DiabloTraxx on the 23rd (my actual birthday) then it’s Frantic’s 11th birthday @ Koko on the 24th…I’m so lucky, what an amazing birthday weekend! 11. Finally, what can the Frenzy crowd expect from you when you take the stage at Dusk Till Dawn supporting Anne Savage on the 20th of June? I always play tunes that I’d want to hear if I was clubbing so the Frenzy crowd can expect to hear lots of good hard dance – tunes with warpy baselines, euphoric breakdowns and ones that you can sing your heart out to. I can’t wait and hope to see lots of you there at the front! Helen G will be making her Frenzy debut supporting Anne Savage on June the 20th at Dusk Till Dawn nightclub in Bournemouth. Check our forthcoming events for details. Photos from uncredited sources, if they belong to you please get in touch so we can credit your work. |
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