Eats Everything is a veteran.
Bristol’s Dan Pearce, while not necessarily being the biggest name on the electronic scene until more recently, has been spinning wax at raves since the tender age of 14. So we figured that he’d be a good one to ask about the burgeoning trend to play lengthier-than-your-average sets to hungry crowds.
A DJ / producer whose sensibilities veer towards the hardcore – incorporating house, jungle, Detroit techno and early rave into his mixes – Eats Everything recently completed a number of lengthy sets, some veering towards the six hour mark. Clash caught up with the man himself to talk world records, distressing deck-side experiences and, most importantly, the toilet etiquette…
– – –
What would you say is the most important thing to bear in mind when playing a mammoth set in comparison to, say, an hour's headline slot?
Longevity is obviously key and not shooting your bolt too early. I love playing really long sets as it gives me an angle to show exactly what I can do when given the opportunity. 90% of the people in the crowd are going to be really into you as a DJ or into the music you play if they are willing to come and watch you for four hours or more so they will be absolutely into pretty much anything you are doing. You can build it up, drop it down, take it to really high points and then low points and keep it groovy as fuck. I like playing all sorts of music so these sets really suit me down to the ground. When it comes to headline one and a half hour sets or whatever, it’s a case of just giving the people what they want and rolling it out and giving them a few things they recognise. Its all about reading the crowd really and towing the line between what you want to do and what they want, because at the end of the day, I get paid to do the thing I love most in the world and make people dance so I will do whatever it takes to make that happen, whether its for one hour or 12 hours!
If you're doing something really lengthy (like Four Tet and that recent eight-hour set at Fabric), surely you can play a few different nights in one, so you could go from jungle to disco or something. Would you mix it up or stick to a certain BPM or genre?
It totally depends on what night I am playing at – what venue, in which country, and what time of day it is. If I am playing in Italy, for example, I am not going to play an hour of classic jungle because that wouldn't work but if I was playing a festival or in Bristol then I would. As I said, it’s all about knowing and working out the type of crowd you are playing to and finding out what you can and can't get away with.
What's the longest set you've ever played over the course of your DJing career? How did it go?
The longest set I have ever played was in Ibiza 2012 at Carl Cox's bar, Sands. I think I played solo for nine hours and then Claude Vonstroke joined me b2b for the last two. It was fucking epic. One of my favourite DJing experiences ever!
Have you ever had any traumatic experiences behind the decks?
Only on my 18th birthday DJing at Cafe Blue in Bristol. I was made to pretty much down a bottle of vodka and then do loads of shots of Absinthe by my 'mates' and then to try and straighten myself out unconventionally… which didn't work. I spent my entire set being held up by two friends as I kept falling over, played the same record 4 times and every single record finished before I could mix it in. This is all stuff I have been told as I can't remember a thing!!! All I do remember is having the blues the next day…
Apparently Smokin' Joe Mekhael from Sydney holds the Guinness World Record for the longest ever DJ marathon with 168 hours. That's exactly seven days. So you'd need to have roughly 21 meals in that time… Nothing too messy or fiddly, surely. What would you eat?
I'd snack the whole way through I think, just graze on snacks with a proper meal in the evening but it'd have to be finger food like sushi and stuff. Can’t be getting too saucy.
If you could pick one DJ to watch for seven days straight, who would it be?
It would be Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. He is the best DJ I have ever watched. Incredible.
But let's get down to the burning question here… What happens if you're on stage and desperate for a wee?
I go! During my 2011 Essential Mix live from Motion in Bristol I went for a piss four times!
Right, so now that you've finished your Ibiza run, what have you got in the pipeline now?
I have some great gigs and something very big (I think!) for the New Year, which I can't say much about, and studio, studio, STUDIO!
Words: Felicity Martin
– – –
The latest issue of Clash Magazine is available to purchase online – click HERE for details.
