Alan Fitzpatrick is a big techno talent from Southampton who has been added to the Do Not Sleep parties at Sankeys Ibiza as a regular guest between now and the end of the season.
He releases on labels like Drumcode, has mixed it up for Fabric and has a big room sound that is engaging and powerful all as well as also running his own label We Are The Brave. He will play on August 22nd, 29th, September 5th, 19th and 26th having already made a huge impression with a few slots earlier in the season so you can be sure of a serious dose of proper techno at these nights. Here we peak to him about this and more.
“It very easy to become detached from what really matters in this business but I think always having your fans just a touch of a button away is a great reminder of what it is actually all about.”
How are you, what’s good, what’s bad?
I’ve no complaints right now. I’m in the middle of a three week holiday with my family in Ibiza and I’ve even managed to squeeze in a few gigs, so it doesn’t get much better than that.
Do you like summer? Is it a productive time to does the sun keep you out of the studio?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have my summers busy with gigs for a few years now so I’ve gotten into a routine of getting my studio work done by May and I won’t return to it until October. That’s not to say that those months are not productive from a creative sense – a busy summer touring is an intense experience and that can be the source of many ideas that will ferment and develop in my mind before I get the chance to express those ideas in the studio.
Why was Do Not Sleep the right party for you to become resident at? What do you like about it?
It’s all been a bit of a happy accident to be honest. Do Not Sleep booked me for a few parties at Space in 2016 and they went really well. Musically I was something different compared to the acts they usually booked and for me it was lots of fun to play the main room at Space, so we all had a good time. They asked me to come back in 2017 and I’ve always enjoyed the experience of playing Sankeys in Ibiza as it just reminds me so much of what is great about UK clubbing – dark rooms, low ceilings, big sound systems, wild crowds – but then the people behind the scene got busy with the creativity and I was able to host a few We Are The Brave events alongside Do Not Sleep so it just made sense to me to make my home with them this summer.
How do you like playing these mid size gigs like the Basement at Sankeys vs much larger festival stages – do you have to switch up your sound?
I think it is very important as a DJ to be aware of your audience and what they want. That’s what determines how I will play and what records I will select. Not so much the size of the venue or whatever. I think in general for Ibiza you need to play a little groovier and less banging because that is just the energy of the place. It’s about being in tune with your surroundings really and being happy and able to adapt.
And does techno work in Ibiza as well as another genre, do you think?
It depends on the style of techno. Of course there has been techno in Ibiza forever so there is a place for that music, just as there is a place for all music here, but Ibiza is Ibiza and the music must adapt to the energy and flow that exists here, not the other way around. You can’t rock up and batter everyone with 130+ bpm industrial techno and expect it to work.
Your label is called We Are The Brave. What are the things you, we, everyone must be brave in the face of in 2017?
At the heart of We Are The Brave is a desire to operate with a freedom to do what we want, when we want, and how we want. The only “rule” is that everything should be about having fun and sharing and celebrating moments, music and memories with fellow believers in the Brave ethos. I think everyone owes to to themselves and to those around them to be an individual, be proud of being yourself and do everything you can to encourage collaboration and harmony with those around you Its all too easy to get lost in the crowd and to surrender your individuality and that’s just makes our scene and ourselves boring!
How important is a good social media game to your career? Do you like that aspect of the modern business?
I’m not really a natural fan of social media so far as the whole “look at me! look what I’m doing!” vibe goes, but I really enjoy being connected directly to fans – that’s really important for me and something that I am very thankful to social media for. It very easy to become detached from what really matters in this business but I think always having your fans just a touch of a button away is a great reminder of what it is actually all about.
What else have you got going on right now or in the future?
I’m going to be playing in Ibiza every week now until the middle of October and Ive got some really exciting shows elsewhere including a Room 1 gig at Fabric in London and I’ll also be playing the closing day of BPM Europe Festival.
Alan is the new resident at Do Not Sleep for the rest of the season –
