Meet The South West's Dance Music Ambassador
News & Features
We catch up with Paul Honey and talk Melodic Beats!
I had the pleasure of working and playing alongside some of the biggest names in the game...
Hi Paul, thanks for taking time to talk to us. Please introduce yourself to those unfamiliar with your DJ work.
Hi, and thank you so much for this interview. I’m Paul Honey - I first started to DJ in 1990. I experienced the early dance culture and movement which has developed into the music scene of today. I had the pleasure of working and playing alongside some of the biggest names in the game, including Carl Cox, Timo Maas, Shades of Rhythm, K Klass, Hybrid, Nick Warren to name a few. For that decade, I was resident at the two most prominent South West clubs; The Warehouse and The Academy - which welcomed all the world-renowned DJ’s of the time along with travelling the length and breadth of the UK guesting at various nights. I also promoted my own nights in the Plymouth area under the name of Breathless, which first started with some good friends. I spent some great times working alongside Children of Kaos and then with record labels including Urban Collective. In the early 2000’s I was very fortunate to run the music programme for the Run to the Sun festival in Newquay whilst working for Kaos Design. This was what I loved most. Planning and dealing with all the artists and running schedules and all the bits in between. But shortly after this I had a break from the music scene to concentrate on my new family and career. A few years ago, after contact with a local influential figure, Loukas pour Hashemi, I got back into my music and felt re-enlightened about what music is all about. Which takes me up to today.
All I wanted, was to provide an outlet for mixes I was doing, but with more of a permanent home, hence the podcast.
Talk us through Melodic Beats and how it came to be.
Following a few years of the music mojo being returned, I wanted to do more with the music I was starting to receive again. I had the bug and wanted more. To be honest the thought of doing the whole club thing again wasn’t a huge attraction for me, so I researched all the legalities and formed Melodic Beats Podcasts. All I wanted, was to provide an outlet for mixes I was doing, but with more of a permanent home, hence the podcast. So, after finalising everything including all the branding I launched Melodic Beats Podcast in January this year. As the bug grew, I knew a friend of old, who was playing the bracket of music I wanted to on the podcast, so I contacted him to see if he wanted to get involved with some mixes. That old friend, Tim French, then introduced me to Apostille, who was local to me as well and also shared the same love of music. In a very short amount of time, I realised that the once a month mix from me, was actually going to be more of a fortnightly podcast with guest mixes from likeminded DJ’s. As everything is so accessible nowadays, I started to reach out to others around the world, through friends of friends etc… This very quickly seemed right and as I was building everything, the world turned upside down. However, these strange times then gave way to the idea of turning the podcast into a weekly show, where it has stayed and will stay.
With the podcast growing nicely the next step was the Label which was born in May 2020 with Tim French providing the debut release in June. This was the natural next step and logical progression for me. The label has grown faster than I expected! We are scheduled up until next summer and have had great involvement with some fantastic artists and remixers, enabling myself, Tim and Apostille to release tracks into the big bad world. As the label was formed talks with Apostille and Tim about running events etc just ignited that buzz again and it was just another path for Melodic Beats to take, so the event side of things was born. Even in these crazy times we had a sell-out social distanced event with Jody Wisternoff. Our Plan with the Melodic Beats events, is to hold a few events each year in a stunning location with some beautiful personalities and give everyone an awesome night. At the moment, we have Jody Wisternoff booked for 30th May 2021 and Tim Green booked for 17th July 2021. We are finalising on a few other special guests so watch this space!
What artists have you worked with?
Reference the podcast, I have been really honoured to have had involvement from Nigel Dawson, Luke Branccacio, Dale Middleton, Alex Efe, Diego Berrondo, Nila, J Lannutti, Glenn Molloy, Ian Dillon, Matt Rowan, Gus F, DJ Joma, Mick Wilson, Matt Black, JawJee, Paulo Rivera, Paul Hawcroft, Phil Jubb, Jeff Vandyke, Adrian Pengally and equally importantly my residents and regulars Apostille, Tim French and Kelly Jay.
In event world we’ve obviously had the absolute pleasure of working with Jody Wisternoff and really looking forward to next year, where I can confirm we have Jody booked again and the massive talent, Tim Green from all day I dream. We are trying to bring down names who encompass the music we like, that may not have been down here before.
What style of music is the focus of Melodic Beats?
Melodic Beats Music covers everything from the deep, melodic and progressive worlds of music and all the bits in between. One of my quirks, is that I love a varied style of music. There’s music I would play on a warm up, to a main set, to after hours, but as long as its within those brackets I’m happy. As long as it has a hypnotic groove and atmospheric edge and makes people want to have a boogie or get completely lost in the music, again, I’m happy! It's all music I love and can be varied in styles but I love it and as long as it fits, I will involve it.
What venues and areas can we catch you playing (once social restrictions are lifted)?
Venue wise, Melodic beats are confirmed at the Terrace on Plymouth’s waterfront for a few dates next year. Bank holiday Sunday 30th May will host Jody Wisternoff and Saturday 17th July to host Tim Green (all day I dream). We are working on a September date and always looking for the right place to hold a night that’s right. Keep updated with Facebook, Instagram and the Melodic Beats websites for info on what is happening. All our nights are supported by the hugely talented residents of Melodic beats and we are always looking at involving other local talent.
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