Nicknamed ‘The Chameleon of Turnmills’, Anil Chawla is one of those DJs that pretty much everyone knows! His versatility has provided him with the opportunity to play alongside Sister Bliss, Frankie Knuckles, Darren Emerson, X-Press 2, Paul Woolford and many more reputable names. Playing anything from deep and funky grooves to acid and electro-house. He was named Mixmag Future hero in 2005 and I’m guessing things are going to get much bigger from there!
I caught up with him to get the low down before he plays at SpangledZooProject on April 29th
So tell us a bit about how you got into this whole Djing malarkey? How long has it been now?
At the end of my first year of uni in 1999, I had a whole summer with nothing to do (not that doing nothing would’ve been a problem). I’d always had a passion for music and thought it’d good fun to get some decks to mess about with; I’d often go record shopping in between lectures and built up quite a collection without even realising.
I used to do mix tapes for my mates, which lead to one of them asking me to do a warm up at our student union. It was 2 in the afternoon and I couldn’t even put the needle on the record, I was that nervous!
The ball pretty much rolled from there. I managed to blag a weekly residency at my union and when I left uni, went on to form Mongo Bongo with my best mates Stix & Kelly.
…And when did the production come into play?
I predominantly produce with Dale Anderson. We met through a friend of a friend a couple of years back and hit it off as mates… Soon after, we started working on tracks together and have done ever since. We’ve got a good thing going on and I have no doubt that we’ll continue way into the future. I’ve also been working on some solo stuff recently and a collaboration with Alex Parsons, who is very cool and I’m really into his sound at the moment.
Many people know your name from your show ‘The Mongo Bongo Soundsystem’ on Ministry of Sound radio. How did you get into this and how on earth did you come up with that name!?
About a year ago, I entered a competition to win a monthly slot on the station… The competition involved doing an hour broadcast on air and with hardly any radio experience, I think it was the most anxious I’ve ever been in my life! All went well though (helped along with a couple of beers!) and I was lucky enough to win the comp. I’ve been doing a monthly show ever since. Doing radio is really good fun and I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great guests too (have recently had King Unique, Paolo Mojo, James Talk, and The Electric Press on for guest mixes).
The ‘Mongo Bongo’ name was conceived on a journey back from Creamfields a few years ago (probably best to leave that one there hey!)
You are a mixmag Future Hero. What did it mean to get that sort of support, and how does it feel to be in that select bunch?
It’s definitely an honour, and a lot of the future heroes have gone onto do some really big things
(Fanciulli, Tom Neville, Sonny Wharton etc). It’s always nice to get recognition from your peers too, so that was a pretty defining point in my career on the wheels of steel.
Your Long awaited ‘Disco Stew’ EP has finally been released on Nic Fancuilli’s ‘Saved Records’. Tell us more….
Yeah, that came out around a month ago and all has been very positive so far. Had some amazing reactions/feedback from the label, and from what I can gather, sales are going very well…. In fact, the b-side ‘Makes Me Feel’ is sitting at number 1 in the beatport deep house download chart, which is awesome! There’s also a Simon Baker remix (The Liptrick) of ‘Disco Stew’ which is doing some damage on the more techy dance floors!!!
What DJ’s and producers are doing it for you at the moment and who would you say has been your main influence over the years?
I think it’s fair to say that Nic (Fanciulli) has been fairly influential. I used to dj with him quite a bit in Maidstone around 3 years ago and was constantly taking influence from his style and musical tastes. On the deeper end of things, The Inland Knights have been very influential to my tastes and I’ll pretty much buy everything I see of theirs… A guaranteed stamp of quality!
… And if you were to select a main room line up what would it be?
It’s quite ambitious be here goes!
Inland Knights
The Electric Press
Spencer Parker
Demi
Paul Woolford
Desyn Masiello
Hernan Cattaneo
Paolo Mojo
What projects have you got on the go at the moment. Anything we should be watching out for?
Most definitely! In the last week I have finished my first solo production; titled ‘Purple Fruit’ – I’m just in the process of approaching labels and I’m fairly confident that it’ll be singed in the near future.
Also, am looking at starting up a night in London. It’s still in the very early stages at the moment, so I won’t say any more for now but it looks set to be very exciting!
You have played at many great venues. Have you got a particular favorite?
Turnmills will always remain special to me… It was the first major club I ever played at and I couldn’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve played there now (I was even a weekly resident there one summer). I absolutely love playing T2; everything is right there…The proximity to the crowd, the low ceilings, the soundsystem, the lighting. It’s certainly my favourite room to play in the country.
You’re playing for SpangledZooProject at The Dance Industry Studios on April 29th. It’s an event with an eclectic mix of Djs and music styles. What style have you got planned for your set?
Yep, definitely an eclectic mix of sounds there… A ‘something for everyone’ kinda line-up which is always good. On my part, I think a healthy dose of twisted house will be the order of the day!
Quick fire Round!....
What three words describe you as a person?
Passionate, Happy, Beardy.
If you weren’t a DJ producer what would you be?
I’d run a minicab office.
What do you like to do away from the dance scene?
I am addicted to The Apprentice, Big Brother, X-Factor and all similar ****e but amazing television programmes.
What the strangest thing you have seen in a club?
A dancing Banana (I shouldn’t really say any more!)
Tell us your best Joke! ….
A sandwich walks into a bar… Barman says “Sorry mate, we don’t serve food in here”
Sorry.
Thanks Anil. Looking forward to seeing you out and about very soon.
Check out a few of these links to find out more about Anil! …
www.myspace.com/anilchawla
www.djanilchawla.com (coming soon!)
www.dontstayin.com/groups/anil-chawlas-stuff
I caught up with him to get the low down before he plays at SpangledZooProject on April 29th
So tell us a bit about how you got into this whole Djing malarkey? How long has it been now?
At the end of my first year of uni in 1999, I had a whole summer with nothing to do (not that doing nothing would’ve been a problem). I’d always had a passion for music and thought it’d good fun to get some decks to mess about with; I’d often go record shopping in between lectures and built up quite a collection without even realising.
I used to do mix tapes for my mates, which lead to one of them asking me to do a warm up at our student union. It was 2 in the afternoon and I couldn’t even put the needle on the record, I was that nervous!
The ball pretty much rolled from there. I managed to blag a weekly residency at my union and when I left uni, went on to form Mongo Bongo with my best mates Stix & Kelly.
…And when did the production come into play?
I predominantly produce with Dale Anderson. We met through a friend of a friend a couple of years back and hit it off as mates… Soon after, we started working on tracks together and have done ever since. We’ve got a good thing going on and I have no doubt that we’ll continue way into the future. I’ve also been working on some solo stuff recently and a collaboration with Alex Parsons, who is very cool and I’m really into his sound at the moment.
Many people know your name from your show ‘The Mongo Bongo Soundsystem’ on Ministry of Sound radio. How did you get into this and how on earth did you come up with that name!?
About a year ago, I entered a competition to win a monthly slot on the station… The competition involved doing an hour broadcast on air and with hardly any radio experience, I think it was the most anxious I’ve ever been in my life! All went well though (helped along with a couple of beers!) and I was lucky enough to win the comp. I’ve been doing a monthly show ever since. Doing radio is really good fun and I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great guests too (have recently had King Unique, Paolo Mojo, James Talk, and The Electric Press on for guest mixes).
The ‘Mongo Bongo’ name was conceived on a journey back from Creamfields a few years ago (probably best to leave that one there hey!)
You are a mixmag Future Hero. What did it mean to get that sort of support, and how does it feel to be in that select bunch?
It’s definitely an honour, and a lot of the future heroes have gone onto do some really big things
(Fanciulli, Tom Neville, Sonny Wharton etc). It’s always nice to get recognition from your peers too, so that was a pretty defining point in my career on the wheels of steel.
Your Long awaited ‘Disco Stew’ EP has finally been released on Nic Fancuilli’s ‘Saved Records’. Tell us more….
Yeah, that came out around a month ago and all has been very positive so far. Had some amazing reactions/feedback from the label, and from what I can gather, sales are going very well…. In fact, the b-side ‘Makes Me Feel’ is sitting at number 1 in the beatport deep house download chart, which is awesome! There’s also a Simon Baker remix (The Liptrick) of ‘Disco Stew’ which is doing some damage on the more techy dance floors!!!
What DJ’s and producers are doing it for you at the moment and who would you say has been your main influence over the years?
I think it’s fair to say that Nic (Fanciulli) has been fairly influential. I used to dj with him quite a bit in Maidstone around 3 years ago and was constantly taking influence from his style and musical tastes. On the deeper end of things, The Inland Knights have been very influential to my tastes and I’ll pretty much buy everything I see of theirs… A guaranteed stamp of quality!
… And if you were to select a main room line up what would it be?
It’s quite ambitious be here goes!
Inland Knights
The Electric Press
Spencer Parker
Demi
Paul Woolford
Desyn Masiello
Hernan Cattaneo
Paolo Mojo
What projects have you got on the go at the moment. Anything we should be watching out for?
Most definitely! In the last week I have finished my first solo production; titled ‘Purple Fruit’ – I’m just in the process of approaching labels and I’m fairly confident that it’ll be singed in the near future.
Also, am looking at starting up a night in London. It’s still in the very early stages at the moment, so I won’t say any more for now but it looks set to be very exciting!
You have played at many great venues. Have you got a particular favorite?
Turnmills will always remain special to me… It was the first major club I ever played at and I couldn’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve played there now (I was even a weekly resident there one summer). I absolutely love playing T2; everything is right there…The proximity to the crowd, the low ceilings, the soundsystem, the lighting. It’s certainly my favourite room to play in the country.
You’re playing for SpangledZooProject at The Dance Industry Studios on April 29th. It’s an event with an eclectic mix of Djs and music styles. What style have you got planned for your set?
Yep, definitely an eclectic mix of sounds there… A ‘something for everyone’ kinda line-up which is always good. On my part, I think a healthy dose of twisted house will be the order of the day!
Quick fire Round!....
What three words describe you as a person?
Passionate, Happy, Beardy.
If you weren’t a DJ producer what would you be?
I’d run a minicab office.
What do you like to do away from the dance scene?
I am addicted to The Apprentice, Big Brother, X-Factor and all similar ****e but amazing television programmes.
What the strangest thing you have seen in a club?
A dancing Banana (I shouldn’t really say any more!)
Tell us your best Joke! ….
A sandwich walks into a bar… Barman says “Sorry mate, we don’t serve food in here”
Sorry.
Thanks Anil. Looking forward to seeing you out and about very soon.
Check out a few of these links to find out more about Anil! …
www.myspace.com/anilchawla
www.djanilchawla.com (coming soon!)
www.dontstayin.com/groups/anil-chawlas-stuff
