Coco Cole - Headline DJ FF#23
Nominated for Best Radio Show and as Best Resident DJ alongside legendary figures DJ Harvey and Terry Francis in the DJ Mag Best of British Awards. Coco Cole has gained a nice bit of recognition in just a few years on the scene. Mixmag even pulled out the metaphor, "vital cog in the machinery of UK Dance". We’re delighted to have Coco come and headline for us on June 29th at our 23rd Fèmmme Fraîche party at the mothership Dalston Superstore. We had a chat with Coco ahead of Saturdays party, to get the woes and wherefores.
COCO COLE INTERVIEW
Hey Coco, we’re mad chuffed to have you playing at the forthcoming Fèmmme Fraîche on June 29th and thanks for having a chat to us. So let’s take it was back, when did you first start DJ-ing and what was your pathway into it?
10 years ago now! Which makes me feel like one of those like established DJs (or a dodgy wedding DJ who keeps talking about their heyday). I was presenting on my uni radio station and whilst separately falling completely in love with music in my spare time. Eventually it just all combined and here we are.
Haha, teh wedding DJ, living the dream! So you had a radio show on Capital XTRA and now on Rinse FM, how did you first get into Radio and did your Radio DJ-ing come before the club DJ-ing or vice versa?
It’s a super long story that mainly involves me working my ass off and having no money. But in short, I made a demo from my uni radio shows and then hassled loads of managers and producers until someone took a chance on me. Capital XTRA were looking for someone to be the voice of dance music and that happened to be me. I went in for a demo and 2 weeks later I was on air by myself. I was in total disbelief because I didn’t think I was any good! I was definitely not that great at DJing at the time but after, I think it came to around, 5000 hours of being on air and playing live, I kinda got the hang of it.
Eeesh, thrown into the Deepend much! So what would you say are the differences between radio and club DJ-ing? and which do you prefer and why?
I love them both differently. On air you can play songs in their entirety, you can play weirder stuff, create journeys and stories, and of course, talk and engage with the audience about how and why you love that track. There’s a huge difference between national radio and community radio too. There’s a lot more to think about with National... mainly how to keep people listening so there’s a very different approach when it comes to that + I can’t explain it all here. People tune in for a completely different experience than from what they want in a club. People are relying on you to create the perfect atmosphere and every night you have to go in and work out how to do that. That sometimes means you have to play through tracks really quickly, or play genres that suit certain moods/drugs or play stuff that people recognise. It can be hard finding moments to play something unexpected. It’s super tricky sometimes and you should always leave your ego and your personal preferences outside the booth. People just want to dance and I’m more than happy to play the music to make that happen. When it works, it’s the best rush.
Absolutely agree about the leaving Egos outside the DJ booth and play for the crowd not yourself! It's a hard balance for sure! So obviously you do something right, as the last three years, you've held a residency at Pacha in Ibiza, how did that come about and how was it?
Martin Solveig came to the radio station to do a b2b and interview with me. We got on super well, mixing together really seamlessly and we talked a lot about the music we played, sharing stories about the production or how we found the tracks. It was a great meeting but I didn’t think anything of it as I usually get along with guests cause I’m such a bloody charmer. But about 6 months later, I got any email saying that Martin really enjoyed that day and so wanted me to be his resident DJ and do a season with him in Ibiza. Absolute levels.
Haha you little charmer you! So then tell us about your favourite Pacha experience.
It has to be the first time Martin asked me to play b2b with him in the last hour of his headline set. His name fills that club every week. With people all over the world coming just to see him. Adoring him. I’d been watching him from behind the decks for a whole season before too and he’s incredibly technically skilled. So for him to share that time with me, essentially saying that he trusted me to do a good job was such an honour. I dropped Maurice Joshua - This Is Acid as my first tune and my entire body got a boner.
That defo sounds boner inducing! big props. So you’ve also recently just launched a new record label, Universal language, which btw, already sounds mega music wise, tell us some more about that.
It’s a label for for cyborgs, aliens + human allies. Music about the future, technology, society and love. Somewhere for me to play with some of the ideas I’ve been cooking up; a place to tell stories. I want it to evolve into something more than just a record label but all in good time. At the moment, it’s me and pals releasing music and artwork that I think bangs.
It does bang! So as you know, we’re keen advocators for Womxn, female identified, NB DJ’s, can you give a shout out to some of your faves you think we should be watching.
Elliott who’s one of the Big Dyke Energy residents blew me away at our opening party and I saw Marie Malarie bust out a sick all vinyl set at Superstore recently which was so impressive it made me want to throw away all my music and start again.
Yup, we have Elliott locked in for our next Fraiche Fruit and Marie played for us before too, both legends!!! So where else can we see or hear Coco Cole in the next coming months?
I’m playing Pacha on the 10th Aug + 21st Sep and I’ll be at South West Four too. I’m also going to be playing this amazing fundraiser party at The Cause on the 26th July which is to raise money for Shelter + Crisis in an attempt to help with the really desperate issue of homelessness in London
Those sound pretty sweet, esp the fundraiser, giving back for a good cause is always humbling! So finally, what can we expect from your set with us on June 29th?
An intergalactic whirlwind of sex and joy.
Yessss we can't wait!
So there you go, we're super excited to have you at Fèmmme Fraîche on Saturday 27th! Thanks for the interview and for those of you reading, get yourself in the mood for Sat night by listening to Coco's latest Rinse FM show, it's a proper banger! and don't forgot to follow her on her socials just underneath. See you on the 29th!!!
