Louis Osbourne Interview

After 10 years of DJ'ing and with his debut mix album being released in the states the son of Ozzy Osbourne has indeed successfully made it regardless of who's the daddy! This summer sees him appearing at most of the major festivals across the world and a stretch in Ibiza with the Strongbow Rooms crew, next stop is Winchester UK for the massive 'We Love Homelands'...

What does your dad make of your DJing & House music in general? Louis Osbourne image
He doesn’t understand it, my mum likes it actually (not my step-mother Sharon, but my mum, mum) I was laying by the pool one day in Los Angeles, playing this old DJ sneak tape (when he was doing this kinda tracky techno stuff - Louis impersonates a tinny hi-hat sound), he comes outside and he’s like ‘What’s all that mess?’, I’m like ‘What do you mean dad?’ he said ‘whoa - it sounded like the pool pump had broken’! He doesn’t really get it, he’s from a classic singer song-writing generation…

What are you most looking forward to @ We Love Homelands?
Drinking Strongbow in the sun! No it’s obviously great to be involved in such a big festival, when you start out a DJ you read the magazines and it’s what you aspire to achieve, when you actually get to that level it’s nice to know that you’ve got there after 10 years of hard bloody work. It’s great to be involved, it’s great for your profile, it’s great to get future work... I got to work for Strongbow cause I got shuffled around last year at Creamfields, ended up in the Strongbow arena and had a really good time in there, spoke to the guys from Strongbow and they said 'how about you come and work for us next year?' So I’m doing all the major festivals, Creamfields, V2003, maybe Mardi Grai, maybe Newquay Surf Festival, Ibiza - they only came back yesterday and they haven’t really divulged their full details of what they’ve got over there yet, but there’s gonna be quite a big Strongbow presence in Ibiza this year.

Any other residencies?
I’ve been resident at House Of God in Birmingham for 5/6 years but I’m never there now to do it, I’ve got a mix album coming out on Blue Chip Recordings in the United States on June 11^th; called ’Motion Audio Volume 1’ it’s not available over here, it might be imported over here but then it’ll be very expensive to buy.

Are you releasing your ‘Motion Audio’ album in the UK?
We’ll see how the first one goes, I’ve got a 6 album contract, 2 a year for 3 years, first one goes really well over there and my profile’s getting bigger and better, it’s viable to bring it over here and then we’ll release it over here. At the moment all my profile is in the United States, I’ve got loads of work over there, I’ve got like a 30 date, 6/7 week tour associated with the album launch throughout June and July. I’m just constantly working in the states, I’m playing all the biggest clubs in America, I’ve got a really good PR over there and I’ve got really good management over there, so I spend most of times in the States.

Would you like to spend more time in the UK?
I’d like to spend more time here, I’d like to evenly spread it out, I miss home, I don’t live here any more but this is my home, I live in Dublin with an Irish fiancée - home is where the Guinness is.

Who’s more up for it UK/USA?
They’re definitely more having it in the UK, then again you go to some places in Europe like Germany or to Spain and you get some good Techno clubs and they’re seriously fucking having it over there. Americans are a little reserved to a certain extent, I think the drinking age affects the way things work in the states, you go to the under 21 clubs and the kids are far too fucked up, sat on the floor going (Louis does a gurning impression) which is just not nice, you get that over here to a certain extent, people don’t have to go out and get so stupid with the drinking age being a bit younger. There’s good and bad wherever you go, there’s bad clubs over here aren’t there? There’s great clubs over here, there’s great clubs in America, there’s also a lot of bad clubs in America.

Anywhere you'd like to play that you've never been?
I’d love to go to South America, I really want to go to Buenos Aires and DJ (Argentina), it’s supposed to be a great house scene in South America. I’d like to DJ in Reykjavik, I heard some good things about clubs in Reykjavik capital of Iceland, it’s always nice to go to new places. I love going to Australia, I’ve been there 3 times on tours and I’m going again at the end of this year and again at the start of next year. Australia’s really good, Australia/New Zealand.

Favourites country to DJ in?
It’s definitely Ibiza. Everyone always lets go, the atmosphere there, people just wanna have fun in Ibiza, you’re not coming out in shitty weather, getting a taxi home with work on Monday morning when your in Ibiza - you’re in Ibiza and your gonna have fun, so that’s what makes it such a great place cause of peoples mental attitude when they're there, it’s just they’re there to have fun and you can feel that when your playing in a place.

What else would you like to do?
I need to get my finger out of my production arse and get some records made. I’ve been messing around, I’ve dabbled, I've been working with a producer called Brian Stillwater in America - there’s talk of me and a producer called Phil Kieran setting up an outfit, a band together, not like individual production but I'm gonna front a band with Phil Kieran, we want to do something with a bit of attitude basically, it’s gonna be aimed at being like a stage act, it’s gonna be electronic, it's gonna be quite heavy, and it's gonna have a lot of attitude, a bit in your face - there’s gonna be a lot of shouting, I’ll be like the Busta Blood Vessal of dance music.

Anything else you want to get off your chest?
I want all these pundits that are talking about the demise in dance music just to go home and not walk out the door if they’re going to be doom mongers about the whole thing. I think they’re the reason why people think dance music is in decline, the doom mongers create the doom, a bit of positivity when you step out the door might help everybody. Some shops and some clubs are closing down but it’s called Evolution, nothing has an infinite life cycle, everything comes and lives for a while then goes, basically the intelligent people will be able to be one step ahead and realise where the market is. It’s an inherited trait that people want to dance and they want to get fucked up, it’s been happening since way before roman times, so don’t forget that isn’t gonna change, what’s gonna change is where they do it. You just have to realise what’s going on.

Click here for Super Star DJ James Zabiela's Interview
or We Love Homelands Promoter Darren Hughes' Interview

www.LouisOsbourne.com / www.StrongbowRooms.com