Exclusive interview with Blaise

With his latest track being released, we got the opportunity to sit down with Blaise. From how this banger came about to what tracks he plays on a regular, Blaise tells all

One of our favourite guys to talk to! Blaise how have you been? How are the kids? And how is Dubai life treating ya?

The feeling is mutual, thanks so much for having me and for all your continued support. I’ve been as good as can be. I’ve been hard at work making loads of new music, loads of live streams, mixes and have started a live show on Flex 101.4 FM every Monday 4pm till 6pm UK time. I have just been keeping my head down trying to stay positive with all the issues with COVID etc. The kids have been amazing. I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t have been able to get through the last year and a bit if it wasn’t for them by my side. They have kept me sane and have kept me motivated to make sure I keep progressing. Dubai has been such an experience already. I love everything about this place. I’ve not lived the real Dubai life as of yet due to the pandemic. I don’t mean bottle popping type of life, because that’s not what I’m about, I mean for work etc due to the restrictions around COVID. I got here in August 2019 but couldn’t DJ until visas were sorted which was October. By the time I was getting into the flow of gigs, networking, shows, we got locked down and it’s been up and down ever since. I have been very lucky to meet some amazing people in the time I have been here and I am ready and waiting to go full throttle once things are back to normal. But for living here, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Everything about this place I love and especially the opportunities it gives my kids. But to wake up every morning with blue skies, warm weather, beaches and pools on your doorstep, it’s an amazing feeling and I feel very blessed I can do this here.

So what new talents have you unearthed during this lockdown?

Ahhhh there’s so many to be fair. I am now an amazing dancer due to my kids teaching me TikTok dance moves. I am also an amazing teacher due to online learning with the kids, a talent I never had before lockdown. The only problem with this was, my 8 year old teaching me instead of me teaching her lol… So that’s not really a talent. But on a serious side of things, due to the lack of DJ work as the industry has really suffered, I was looking at other avenues for income but it’s difficult for work over here also. So I decided to look at something else to try to make some income. So a talent that I unearthed during lockdown was down to the kids actually. I was having food with the kids in Dubai Mall and walked past a shop which had a tepee inside it. My little boy ran inside the shop and jumped in it. It was a really nice tepee but wow was it expensive. I thought I’ve not seen anything like this over here. So I went home and started looking into making them. After around 6 -7 weeks of planning, making designs, a good few mistakes, wasted money,  I started my own little company called PZ Tepees (named after my kids using their initials) selling and renting out tepees. So its a talent I didn’t know I had and so different from what I am used to.

How’s it been being under the management of Jin Jin?

Awful… Who is Jin Jin??? Seriously I couldn’t ask for better management. She has been amazing since the first day I signed with her and I’m not saying this because I know she will read this lol… Without her backing & support I wouldn’t be where I am with the releases and artists I’ve been working with. The writers, the singers, the releases are down to her and her hard work and connections of getting people in. There isn’t a day that goes past without some sort of communication about our plans and ideas to keep pushing. She is always there for advice and works so hard behind the scenes to make this all come together. The same goes for the rest of the team. Katherine is non stop. She is always pushing, making sure things are in place and always working hard to make it all come together with constant communication and help whenever I need it. And then there’s my right hand man, Theo, my music partner. He is non stop in the studio, grafting as always. One of the most talented producers I know. It’s been so good and we have been very productive, sending work back and forth as he is in the UK and obviously me here in Dubai. But that hasn’t stopped us, It has just made us work harder. So I am very lucky to have such a great management team around me and that boils down to Jin being Jin.

‘Moments’ is definitely a summer-ready banger and proves you weren’t playing when you told us you had bangers ready to go lol. How did the collaboration with Poppy come about?

Lol… I felt like only yesterday we were talking at Eastern Electrics and I wasn’t lying, the tracks were ready and waiting to go still. So myself and Theo were asked to go on a Sync writing camp for Universal Music at Abbey Road Studios. The camp was for writing music for TV adverts. There were loads of different writers, singers and producers in there. And we teamed up on day one with Poppy where we had to write and make 2 songs in the day. From the get go all 3 of us hit it off, laughing and joking around and then we got down to making some music. Watching Poppy work was amazing because she is so talented as a writer but then she sang and me and Theo was like, wow. We both knew we had to get in the studio outside the camp with her. At the end of the camp we sent what we did to Jin and spoke to her about Poppy, said we needed to get her in to work with, Jin spoke to Poppys management and sorted out the session. The rest is history and that’s when Moments was made. I am so glad we got to release this too as it’s one of my personal favourites to date and I think Poppy is unreal and absolutely smashed it.

With places opening up and it looking like we’ll be getting a Festival Season. Will we get the chance to see Blaise live in action this year?

I really really hope so. It’s been such a difficult time for our industry. But not knowing when is still so frustrating. We were open in Dubai for entertainment for a bit, with loads of restrictions in place, so I was lucky to have a few gigs here and there but then they cancelled all live entertainment just after the new year, so again had no work. So as it stands I have a few residences lined up in Dubai for when we are back open, a few talks of gigs back in the UK but again it all boils down to when its back open and also if able to fly to the UK without any restrictions. I will be sure to let you know first when I find out and we are defo catching up, as it’s been way too long.

You’ve previously worked with Martin Badder so now we ask again, who would you be down to work alongside with?

I love Martin’s work and was so glad we worked together on ‘Baby Get Closer’. There are so many talented producers out there and the music at the minute is so strong. I would love to work with OFFAIAH, Biscits, Dom Dolla, MK. But the list could go on as there are so many producers that I really rate and love their sound.

What 5 tracks have you been playing out loud during Lockdown?

These are in no particular order but have been in most my live streams during lockdown:

Blaise – Moments

OFFAIAH – Play It By Ear

Cloonee – Sun Goes Down

Dom Dolla – Pump The Brakes

Ben Helmsley – Through 2 You

What’s your favourite Youtube Channel and why?

Art for kids hub. This has saved me and the kids during lockdown haha… As I was homeschooling the kids and here in Dubai we were on a very strict lockdown, not allowed out without police permits, that strict, my 2 kids and myself stumbled across this Youtube channel where a man and his kid teaches you how to draw. To say we became obsessed is an understatement lol… After all school work was done, we cracked on with drawing. My sonic hedgehog drawings are unreal by the way lol…

What’s your favourite Disney film? We both have children so I won’t judge lol

I think that has got to be one of the hardest questions I have ever been asked haha… I am a massive kid at heart and love a cartoon and Disney film. But I would have to say, this is really tough, either Toy Story or Peter Pan. I’m struggling to decide. Ah then there’s Monster Inc and Nemo, you guys are killing me with this decision making. I am going to go with Toy Story. I went to the cinema with the kids before the start of lockdown last year to watch Onward. I’m not ashamed to say it but I think someone was cutting onions in the cinema at the end of that film because my eyes watered quite a bit. Me and my little boy had an emotional 10 minute cuddle at the end of it which was then ruined by my little girl dropping grape Fanta all down her haha…

Purist question here, Technics or Pioneer? 

I have to say Pioneer. I have and love my technics 1210s but Pioneer for me is next level. I use their equipment at home and is what I use at gigs I play around the world. So for me it has to be Pioneer.

What’s the next step you’re taking this year, music-wise?

The next step music wise for me is to secure as many shows and residences as I can because it’s been a very hard 14 months. Also release after release. I’m so excited about what I have in the pipeline, so many tracks with some amazing singers. So this year the hard work, grind and push continues. I am still working hard in the studio so will have more music to be added to the back catalogue.

Can I just say a massive thank you for having me and for all your guys continued support, it means a lot.