As a genuine fan of many genres, Alfie Cridland prefers to spin sets that aren’t so easily slotted. So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that his latest release, “It Was All a Dream” – a collab with U.K. duo Covenants and Micapoan on Perfect Havoc – finds hip-hop icon Biggie Smalls in the midst of a rousing tech-house track.
But that’s just his taste. From Cridland’s 2020 debut, the pop-dancey Paul Kay collab “Last Day in Paradise,” to his more recent material like “New Levels,” a bangin’ house collab with Tobtok and Milwin featuring Mila Falls, the U.K.-based DJ/producer has shown growth and a keen ability to please the dancefloor. (And watch out – just around the corner is another stormer, “High,” which is set to be released at the end of April.)
DJ LIFE recently caught up with the 26-year-old talent to discuss his latest project, which has gained support from a wide variety of DJs (from ACRAZE to Joachim Garraud), and much more.
Musically, what were your initial influences? What made you want to pursue music?
Alfie Cridland: I loved drum-and-bass. When I was at school D-n-B was really big. My first ever gig was Chase & Status at the 02 in Leicester, and I felt inspired from the second I went home. I then found U.K. hip hop and grime music, which I still love to this day. I remember when I was 19, I took my first trip to Magaluf and I went to see Danny Howard. This was the first time that I had experienced house music and I remember feeling the bass go through me, looking around seeing people from different countries having an amazing time, and I found my love for the genre!
For your recent collab single, “It Was All a Dream,” you took a bite from Notorious B.I.G.’s classic “Juicy.” How did you approach it creatively?
Alfie Cridland: Since being able to get back into nightclubs, I’ve been craving to make a club track especially for the nightlife environment. My DJ sets consist of complete multi-genre music, so it was the perfect idea to combine a hip-hop sample and house music. Being a big Biggie fan myself, I felt honored to be able to create this sounding track with his inspiration behind it.
What’s in your studio?
Cridland: I am a Logic user – I have been ever since I studied Music Tech at college [Leicester University]. I’m a massive fan of the KRK monitors and I also think they look really cool set up in the studio. Along with quite a few, I’ve also been a big Native Instruments MASSIVE fan for ages.
Which producer/remixers are you a fan of – and why?
Alfie Cridland: I’m a massive fan of Craig Knight for his remixes. Ever since I first started DJing in local bars and clubs, I’ve forever been playing his music. He remixes well-known songs and thrusts them into club bangers, which work perfectly. Another person I admire for remixes is Luke Hepworth. I’m a massive fan of the Korg M1 Organ-style bass sound and he executes it brilliantly.
Did the lockdown period help or hinder your creativity?
Alfie Cridland: Lockdown, for me, was one of my most creative times ever. As soon as the clubs shut, I started to come up with ideas of how to bring music into people’s homes. I tried my best to bring entertainment to everybody during quite a hard time. I created mini-mashup videos, humorous videos of famous peoples’ voices over well-known music, drone-footage videos, special-effect videos and countless live streams.
Tell me about your streaming experience…
Alfie Cridland: I was constantly streaming during lockdown. I tried to make the streams feel like an event from your own house. I made flyers to promote the time and date that I would be going live, gave shout-outs to everyone watching and even played games on live to interact with everyone at home. It really was a hard time during lockdown so the feeling of bringing happiness to people from the garden on sunny days was the best feeling ever!
How has it been like returning to the clubs?
Alfie Cridland: Returning to the clubs has been great. I’ve never experienced actually playing my own songs in the club until recently, and there is no feeling like it! It’s surreal seeing people sing back words from your own songs. I can’t wait to carry it on into summer.
In the DJ booth, what’s your gear?
Alfie Cridland: My go-to setup is Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NXS2 players with a DJM-900 mixer. I’ve got Sennheiser HD25 headphones and I always play off brightly coloured USBs.
What goes into your DJ set?
Alfie Cridland: As I said before, I’d describe my style of DJing as completely multi-genre. I love mixing things up and going from house to R&B then to tech to D-n-B, back to house and with some throwbacks mixed in. The best thing for me is dropping songs the crowd aren’t expecting and keeping them on their toes constantly. My fave part is hearing a reaction of cheers and screams when a song starts and they go crazy for it.
Which DJs do you admire and why?
Alfie Cridland: From when I could finally get into clubs, I admired Nathan Dawe. He was the first multi-genre DJ I saw coming up and was doing things no other DJ had done. He then ran a DJ competition with the prize being to open for his show at the 02 Institute in Birmingham, U.K. I couldn’t believe it, but I actually won his competition and DJed in front of 1,500 people! What a night it was, and it’s amazing to have gone from looking up to Nathan, to building a relationship and being able to call him one of my close friends.
What are three tracks that are always in your “DJ box” and why?
Alfie Cridland: OK, “Insomnia” by Faithless. This track has been in my DJ box for years. Whether your 18 or 58, everybody knows and loves this song – and what a timeless banger it is! Then, “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. This song is always a party-starter! I remember playing this when I first started out and, to this day, it still gets the same amazing reaction. And “Sandstorm” by Darude. As you can tell, I love the old classics. The build-up to this drop is crazy and the energy you can create on the rise is unmatchable.
What’s next for you?
Alfie Cridland: This year we’ve got some cool tracks we’re working on, which I can’t wait to share with everyone. With restrictions finally being lifted, it will give me the opportunity to play these in some amazing locations overseas, which is exciting! Not that I can give too much away just yet…
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