Streetlife DJs

Stewart Rowell was a hip-hop scavenger in his day, and his partner, Louis Gaston, was an ex-warehouse raver. It was never doubtful, therefore, that profilic things would occur once they’d met in 1998. Within a year they started their own record label, progressive/tribal/tech POD Recordings. “We had that for three years” says Rowell, “and wound it up in 2003 because we wanted a change in direction”. This ‘change’ gave birth to Streetlife DJs.

Unrestrainedly shredding the ‘How To: Book of Mixing’, Streetlife DJs adhere to one motto and one motto only - “the rules are…there are no rules”. This basically means nothing is safe. Genres are ripped apart and reborn. For Rowell, this “can be 80s, it can be 90s, it can be the noughties, rave music, disco, hiphop, electro. You name it, it all gets thrown into the bag”.

Connections with Belgium’s mashup masters, 2ManyDjs, will undoubtedly be made and, Rowell admits, the association is “quite flattering”. “We mix a lot of different styles, it’s cut-and-paste, it’s ravey, there’s lots of energy” he compares, whilst maintaining some distance, “but we throw our own little spin on it”.

The most notable difference, as far as Rowell can ascertain, “is that the Soulwax boys come from an indie rock background” whereas he and Gaston “come from dance”. The historically-flavoured composition of their work is also easily separated by the environment that they each occupy. “When you listen to those guys there’s a real European feel for what they’re doing” Rowell presumes, whereas “generally the UK dance scene stands out on its own”. Ostensibly, he believes there to be a definite distinction between the sounds here in the UK and the sounds of Europe and North America.

Streetlife DJs rampantly pillage mainstream pop, old skool hip-hop, pure rave and disco bliss. This enables them to effortlessly perform sets which blend Daft Punk and Lenny Kravitz, ACDC with Busy P, Depeche Mode with Altern8 and Klaxons with Justin Timberlake.

This adriot teamwork has seen them deliver a sacrificial Essential Mix for the Radio 1 junkies whilst securing them a residency at Turnmills monthly get-together, Together. Rowell insists no other club in London creates the atmosphere they seek. “It’s a great crowd, it’s a really fun night and that suits our style of DJing”. Sadly, for him, this interview was conducted prior to the breaking news regarding Turnmills imminent closure. Hopefully, for him, Together will procure a new home.