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Some of my earliest memories of moving to London involve seeing Wes DJ - specifically at Chapter 10, when it used to happen at Bloc. Its part of my most cherished early memories of moving to london, rip bloc / chapter 10 at bloc <3
This mix by Wes definitely brings me back to those moments. Truthfully, it is probably one of the first techno-leaning mixes I’ve listened to in a really long time. Those that know me are well aware I am partial to a groove and recent iterations of techno haven’t always been in line with that. Somedays when you hear “techno” you’re hearing straight 4/4 rhythms lacking groove, melody or feeling (not to mention extremely fast). There is nothing wrong with this - but my personal preference for techno (and most music) requires a mix of 2 or 3 of those things.
Alternatively, Wes’ mix is an outlier for the more recent takes on techno and i found it refreshing. There is a level of care and consideration throughout, and the tracks are always textural and groovy. I think this honestly comes from his extensive history within dance music and frankly just feels like a mature and classy take. I listened to it while walking around a humid Hong Kong for an afternoon, which felt like the ideal setting for it - industrial leaning sounds, nearly metallic yet still warm, and a constant pulse carrying it all. To be honest, a near perfect walking pace. Overall the mix carries an EBM thread throughout the entirety of it that feels headsy and full of energy without delving into super high bpms.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Book Wes Baggaley for your party he’s both an amazing DJ and total icon
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Peach: Hi Wes :) Thank you for being part of the Sixth Sense mix series. How are you?
Wes: Thank you for asking. It’s a pleasure. I’m doing really good thank you :)
P: Where are you based now?
W: I’m actually living in Covent Garden at the moment with my boyfriend. Mad right?
P : OMG wow! I feel like if you don’t live in London you don’t have any concept of why that is so wild - but for anyone reading that such a bougie / chic lil area. What brought you both there?
W: It’s actually a council flat that my boyfriend has lived in since 1995. It’s the size of a wardrobe but the location is amazing. Opposite the Royal Opera House
P: Okay thats very cool. Soooo I read somewhere that your interest in records started in punk & grindcore. What were some artists you were listening to at that time?
W: Yeah. That probably started when I kind of inherited my aunties punk collection when she left home. My grandma just let me have them so I was listening to The Clash, The Damned and X-Ray Spex singles on my little record player when I was about 5. I still have them. I got into the grindcore and hardcore punk stuff when I was about 13. It started with Slayer and Sepultura which I would guess is more thrash and then I started listening to a lot of those Florida death metal bands like Deicide, Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse and of course the UK bands on Earache records - Carcass, Napalm Death and Godflesh. I also like a lot of the US hardcore, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Youth of Today, that sort of thing. I still listen to it a lot.
P: When did you start DJing?
W: I started djing in about 1994/95
P: And what inspired you to start DJing?
W: I started because I had a record collection and one of our mates had turntables and a mixer in their flat and I used to take my records round there after we’d been to clubs and have a little go. I ended up leaving those records there actually.
P: What clubs were you going to at that time?
W: Well I’m from Wigan so we’d go to Wigan Pier, Maximes, Angels in Burnley, Cream in Liverpool and I’d occasionally venture to the Hacienda. I actually didn’t like the Hacienda. I’d go just for the sake of saying that I’d been then run off to Paradise Factory at about 1am. That was a gay club that used to be the offices for Factory Records. I also used to go to Bugged Out in Manchester, Back to Basics in Leeds and Voodoo in Liverpool a lot but that was a bit later.
P: Who were some of the artists you looked up to when you first started DJing?
W: I really liked Gemini and Derrick Carter from Chicago. I’m old enough to remember when genres and styles weren’t so rigid and everything was played together. By the mid 90’s though things had separated off into different styles and genres but I saw these 2 at Back to Basics in Leeds and really liked how they mixed it up.
P: You have a really varied taste in dance music that I really respect. Are there any moments throughout your musical history that you feel like contributed to where your sound is today? Has your sound always been this? Or has it changed over time?
W: I’ve done that thing where I’ve tried out different stuff that was ‘cool’ at the time over the years. I’m not saying they’re bad records but they’re not really what I’m into so I have a huge collection of records I don’t actually give a shit about. I think a lot of people have done that. Unfortunately I’m a bit of a hoarder.
I have always tried to keep things quite varied and I’m into loads of stuff. Dub, industrial, techno, house, ambient stuff. I can do full sets of all those things if I want but I’d rather mix it up and play it all. I’ve recently been diagnosed as being very neurodivergent (I think everyone else knew this except me) so that might explain it. I get bored if it’s the same sound for ages. I think I’m in the best place I’ve been with it right now. I’m at a point where I don’t really give a fuck what other people think anymore so I’ll take more risks with what I play. At one time I’d have overthought these things but at the end of the day, it’s 2 minutes on a dance floor and when the risks pay off it can be amazing.
P: Tell us about Bottom Heavy. What is it and how did that start?
W: Bottom Heavy is me and Dan Beaumont playing b2b all night at Dalston Superstore. It’s a LGBT+ house music party. I think we’re in the 8th year of it now. It started when everyone was doing that ‘Berghain’ techno sound, you know when everyone wanted to play there and thought it had a sound which everyone copied and it got really boring. We just thought it would be fun to do a gay house party. We play a bit of everything but it’s house music at it’s core.
P: Do you do music full time? If not, what else do you do?
W: I don’t. I actually have a full time job as a gym manager. I’ve just got a new job actually working over in Canary Wharf.
P: Do you make music?
W: I do but I haven’t put anything out for absolutely ages. The only thing I’ve really done that’s out there that I think is kind of ok is a remix I did on Manpower’s MeMeMe label about 8 years ago.
https://mememe.bandcamp.com/album/nnn02-ben-caldwell
P: How did you approach this mix? Were there any tracks you built it around, or felt like you had to include? Was there any inspiration specific behind the mix?
W: I wanted to play a variety of different styles but I wanted to keep it pretty dark and kind of witchy. I also didn’t want to play super fast which has become the trend. I wanted to include a lot of new stuff and wanted to put something in there from the new RS Tangent record, the new Surgeon album, the new Sandwell District and the new Broken English club album because they’re all great and I have huge respect for these artists.
I put some ambient stuff, some new stuff and some classics (Autechre, F.U.S.E, Rhythm and Sound) and some newer techno type stuff in a playlist. I knew what I was going to start with but then just winged it.
P: You’ve got an awareness for all the trendy things which have been and are going on at the moment - maybe thats something any artist that is critical of their work does, as I feel like I can be the same… You have such a long history within dance music, do you feel like the current trends are ones that have come around before? Or does it all feel like new trends?
W: Oh I feel like it’s all been around before to the point where you can kind of predict what’s gonna be ‘cool’ next. My money is on tribal house. You know that west coast stuff from the early 00’s? Greyhound and Siesta records and all that. You heard it here first.
P: How did you record the mix?
Well all my records and equipment are in storage so I just booked some time in that Pirate Studios and did it there on CDJs in one take. I did want to include something from the soundtrack to the film The Girl with the Needle (amazing film and soundtrack btw) but the CDJs wouldn’t read 24bit wavs
P: Who are your favourite DJs and producers at the moment?
W: Honestly, I don’t really listen to djs. Is that bad? I enjoyed the Sandwell District RA podcast a lot but that was done more like a radio show. I listen to radio shows. I like the Vivid Oblivion one call 2 hours in basement under a lightbulb. I like Veronica Vassika’s Minimal Wave show on NTS as well. I also really miss Silent Servant’s Optimistic Decay show.
Producer wise I’m really into that guy Autumns. He played live at my Head Dirt party and was ace. Nice bloke too. I like Samuel Kerridge. JT Whitfield, Harlem Electronics, LFDM, Tom Carruthers is ace at doing this Todd Terry sounding house music but somehow making it fresh. Oh that Al Wootton that used to be Deadboy is great and that Holy Tongue project he’s involved with with Zongamin is dead good. Justin K Broadrick is one of my proper musical heroes. Godflesh are my all time favourite band (probably) and I like the techno type stuff he does as JK Flesh (I’m not sure he likes you calling it techno actually) he also has a shoegaze project and a power electronics thing called Exit Electronics. Everything he does is just really good. Regis is another with his finger in many pies and it’s all really great stuff, that Eros project, British Murder Boys with Surgeon (who I also love), Sandwell District, the ambient type stuff with Annie Hogan. All great. There’s a really good album by someone called Rosa Damask that I’ve been listening to on his Downwards label actually that kind of sounds like a slightly grittier early PJ Harvey. Anyway I’ll stop now because I sound like I’m up Regis’ arse haha.
P: Can you tell us where we can see you DJ over the next while?
W: 3rd May - Craigie Knowes 10th Birthday - Secret Location
11th May - Industrial Coast Sunday Service - Middlesbrough
24th May - Bottom Heavy, London
4th July - Worthing Techno Militia
5th July - Anti Social Pride - With The T - The Social, London
Tracklist:
Unknown - Unknown - Death is Not the End
Thomas Köner - The Futurist Manifesto - Von Archives
J A feat Donato Dozzy - Sorella Di Confine - Rubber
RS Tangent - Stomach - The Trilogy Tapes
Sandwell District - Dreaming - Point of Departure
Rrose - Silhouettes - T4TluvNRG
Surgeon - Winged Assassin - Ilian Tape
Two Sided Agency - Universal Binary - Belle Epoque
Hermit in a Rave Cave - Central Meekness - Clone Jack For Daze
Cocktail Party Effect - Fixing the Roof - Nervous Horizon
Quiet Husband - Docker - Drowned by Locals
Ron Morelli - Unrelatable Language- L.I.E.S
F.U.S.E - Substance Abuse - Plus 8
Broken English Club - Prisoner - Dekmantel UFO
Silent Servant - M-87 - Tresor
Luke’s Anger - The Sentinel - Co Accused
Surgeon - Soul Fire - Tresor
Plastikman - Fuk - Plus 8
AshTreJinkins - Electribe - L.I.E.S
J A feat Donato Dozzy - Era Vitale - Rubber
Al Wootton - When Hempe is Spun - Trule
Konduku - Mikros - Bitta
Lokane - Hawthorn - Self Released
Coil - Copacaballa - Dais
Autechre- Clipper - Warp
Crespi Drum Syndicate - Broken Bread - Isla
Ghost Dubs - Wired Version - Pressure
Rhythm and Sound - Queen in my Empire - Burial Mix
Thomas Köner - Hochallee, Hamburg - Fario