James Kirkpatrick is a DJ and rave promoter from Belfast. The founder of techno club night Delta-9, he has built up a vast resume of experience in music production and event organisation over the last few years.
At 26 years old, James is also building new company Farset Productions, which specialises in light and sound installations for live acts. He has worked with a number of prolific DJs in the industry including Mark Rogan, DJ Proton and Tekseven.
Get To Know More About James:
How did you get started in the industry?
“Well, when I was 17 I was recommended by some friends to go to the Front Page in Belfast one night. I walked in with high hopes and it was dire. The music was rubbish, there was nobody there and I thought to myself, ‘Pfft. I could do better than this.’ So i went down the following week and booked my first night.”
What genre / style do you create in?
“Techno.”
What would you be best known for?
“I think I’d be best known for running all-night raves in fields and warehouse spaces around the city. That, and the Delta-9 clubnights.”
What would you consider your biggest achievement?
“My biggest achivement to date has to be scoring and working on two plays, “East Belfast Boy” and “East Belfast Girl” with writer/director Fintan Brady. I was originally interviewed as a character reference for the “East Belfast Boy” play. They then asked me to come on and curate and perform a DJ set alongside Anthony Boyle’s (from the West End production of Harry Potter) monologue for around 45 minutes.
“It was a huge challlenge and I wasnt sure if it would work. But it all just clicked. It was a real honour to be asked back again. For “East Belfast Girl” I was asked to write a fluid live performance of electronic music to suit the mood of the play and to be able to react to the lines as and when they happened. The piece I came up with, “The Ballad of Amy Rose” is definitley something I’m very proud of.”
What would you consider to be the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your industry?
“There’s no such thing as a sure thing. No matter how well you promote a gig and how big the DJs are you never know how the night will turn out. That and always be prepared for the unexpected. Power cuts, drunk DJs, problems with police, people taking ill. If you can dream (or nightmare) it, it’s happened.”
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
“Answering these questions! Erm, every gig and performance is a challenge. It’s a big task to try and keep up to date with the ever changing world of techno and to keep people coming to the gigs, especially with such great competition out there from the likes of Shine, B-tribal, Dsnt, Annaghtek, Twitch and Clockwork etc. Trying to stay relevant, put on a better show each time and keep true to our ethos is a constant challenge. But that’s what makes it all so much fun.”
Tell us a little about your personal life, are you married, kids, hobbies etc?
“I’m father to a 6-month-old cat called Mowgli. Hes a bit of a torture but the best of craic. I run a small production company called Farset Productions. In my spare time, apart from music stuff, I like to cycle and the usual stuff too: watch series, read up on technology and of course have a few “sociable” ones at the weekend. Oh, and I love a good cup of Punjana.”
Tell us about your most recent work?
“Most recently I’ve been working on a track called “Entheogen” – it’s a dub-infused techno track with big synth stabs. I’ve still a lot to do to finish it. I’ve been learning a lot about proper music theory and it’s making a big difference to the music I’ve been working on.”
PLUG !! What would you like us to tell people about?
“Farset Productions is the other company I’m building at the minute. We’ve worked in some of the biggest and smallest venues in Belfast doing permanent lighting installation, temporary light and sound installs, and sound for live acts. We have quite a few projects coming up over the next year. For more information check out www.facebook.com/farsetproductions.”
If you had to describe your work to someone who has never heard of you what would you say?
“Machine soul music played really loud late at night, and making sure that the audio and lighting runs without a hitch at events.”
What’s the funniest experience you’ve had in your business?
“I was DJ’ing at the Stop The Drill protest at Woodburn Forest and some protesters had barricaded in one of the trucks that was removing the drillling rig, and when the police eventually coerced the protesters out of the way and the truck pulled off I dropped “Hit The Road Jack” by Big Youth, much to the amusement of the protesters. The police werent as impressed.”
What would your advice be to young people hoping to pursue the same industry?
“You have to be really thick-skinned. You’re always gonna face criticism in your track choices, mixing skills, venue choices and just about everything you do. You’ve got to be able to take it all on the chin.”
Anything else you want to tell people about yourself or your work?
“Delta-9 isn’t just a one man operation. There’s the Number Two in command, the wonderfull Zara Herdman who looks after some PR stuff and running the tickets and pay desk which takes a lot of patience. There’s Dave from Apollo Sound, our sound system supplier, he does a lot of work and makes sure everything is sounding just right.
“Also the resident DJs we’ve had over the years; Mark Rogan, Tekseven, Pixolito and JBR project, and Tony from Studio 11 who have all really helped shape the nights and helped make it work in their own way.”
Who do you look up to and why?
“I look up to a lot of people, I think you can learn a lot from watching everybody else involved in techno, whether it’s production techniques, finding new music or maybe a way to promote your night that you havent thought of, there’s always something to be learned. I geuss the people I look up to the most are the people who really helped me learn what im doing – Dave Pollock, Mickey Leith and Robin CJ Smith.”
Find out more:
www.facebook.com/farsetproductions
soundcloud.com/jameskirkpatrick1990
www.facebook.com/delta9belfast
hearthis.at/jameskirkpatrick1990