Of the select few breakthrough Female Hard Dance DJ’s that are currently doing the rounds of the ever populated underground club scene, one particular young lady is arguably cutting it head and shoulders above the rest. Carefully building a CV of gigs and tour dates with the promoting World’s top hierarchy, inclusive of an outdoor stage extravaganza at Godskitchen’s Global Gathering whereby she made an appearance for the UK’s biggest clubwear company, Contagious – not once, but twice; Caz’s consistent, upfront and dedicated approach to her mixing and her discerning track selection have kept her at the forefront of the mind of many a Hard Dance promoter worth his or her salt.
Playing it happy, uplifting and vocal, but keeping the theme hard, Caz is set to do big things in 2008 and with Contagious now behind her 100% as her Management, it comes as no surprise that not only is she one of the frontline models for the leading clothing and event brand, but she’s also knocking down the doors of folk like Slinky and Tidy to boot.
Now as Caz prepares to open the doors and tear off the roof at this weekend’s Contagious Vs Storm – The Masked Ball at Club Ice in the Main Ballroom we present to you, a further introduction to the event, by way of a chat with the lady herself. Fresh, original, bubbly, attractive and talented, we give you – Caz Wood.
For the record could you please state your name, what it is you were doing before we interrupted you for this interview and what you would be doing if we weren’t interviewing you right now?
My name is Caz Wood, (full real name Caroline Greatwood) and, before this interview I was having a mix! Generally most evenings I get on the decks for a good mix, play any new tunes I have got that day or dig out some oldies I’ve not mixed for a while. Our decks room in our house is one of the most used rooms, so if I wasn’t undertaking this interview that’s probably what I would be doing now.
In one sentence describe your style of music in any given performance as a DJ?
I would describe my main style of music as driving, energetic, euphoric, uplifting happy Hard Dance!
Which came first Contagious or DJ’ing and in answering that how did one inspire the other for you, because there’s a bit of a connection there isn’t there?
This is a good question! I think they both came around the same time. I first found out about Contagious Clubwear a few years ago one day when reading Mixmag. I noticed an advert for Contagious Clubwear and simply had to go buy an outfit from them as the outfits on the advert looked amazing and completely different to anything I had seen before! I logged on to the website and after having a look around I noticed a red outfit someone was wearing in a photo on the gallery page of the site. At the time I was going to the Tidy Weekender and needed a new outfit so I contacted Claire straight away and asked her to make it for me! Little did I know I was her first ever customer to order a custom outfit and this outfit is now in the range as “Galactic Red”.
Linking this to DJ’ing, I was learning to mix at the time and was getting more and more confident behind the decks. In 2006 I was offered a set by Claire and Gordon at Contagious to play on their Sound Stage at Global Gathering and this was an amazing opportunity that I was very happy to be offered so I jumped at the chance and inspired by the outfits of Contagious I thought, what better to play in than my custom red outfit! Since then I have become one of the resident DJ’s for Contagious and I still continue to play in their clubwear - I love it just as much now as I did when I turned the page onto the advert in Mixmag those few years ago. I think my sets inspire my outfits, particularly if the night has a theme, then I wear an outfit to suit.
Contagious has become quite the established brand especially over the last two or three years, why is that do you feel?
Contagious Clubwear has become a successfully established brand for many reasons. The outfits are sexy, colourful, comfortable and very unique, new ranges are launched regularly and you can order custom outfits too which is really appealing to clubbers! I have lots of outfits which I love and have seen others wearing too!
It is great to see how fast Contagious Clubwear has grown as a brand within club land and I think this is a direct result of the drive and enthusiasm of Claire, Gordon and the Contagious team. The “can do” attitude is refreshing to see and their whole ethos on keeping their clubwear and events fun is brilliant and really encouraging. They are a great party brand too and I think we will see them grow from strength to strength in the next few years.
Where do your roots lie, how did it begin?
I started DJ’ing in 2002, when I got my first decks – a pair of Technics 1210’s. My boyfriend and I both decided we wanted to learn so we bought the basics, I have always had a keen interest in dance music and I would buy all the latest dance albums before I was even old enough to go out clubbing. It was then when I started to go out to nights and events that I would see DJ’s play and was further inspired by them to learn how to DJ and watching DJ’s like Lisa Lashes and Rob Tissera play made me want to get up there and do the same! So we set up our decks in the spare room of our house and then proceeded to self teach ourselves how to mix (which wasn’t easy!). A year or so later we bought ourselves some CD decks and as more and more music became available online to download the more time we would spend on our decks mixing and making new demos. In 2006 I got my first gig playing out, and since then I have played for promoters and events that back in 2002 I could only dream of playing for!
Is it true that on what was only your third gig playing out, you had to play a soundstage at Global Gathering? What was that like? What large events, brands and parties have you been involved with since?
Yes, Global Gathering was only my third time playing out which even now is crazy to think! I remember the day very vividly, the journey up to the festival was a very nervous one, thinking about what the stage was going to be like, who was going to be there to watch, how the tunes I would play would go down, etc… The weather was glorious sunshine and as I opened with my first tune “Shined On Me” (Jonny Harris and Chrysus), I remember thinking “Oh my God, what am I doing!!!”, I was shaking all over from the adrenaline and having to concentrate was hard, it was one of the scariest and exciting moments of my life and I won’t ever forget it! As I played people arrived into the festival and were coming over to the stage to dance – it was amazing!
Since 2006 I have played for lots of promoters and events including Tidy Weekender 12 (which was one of the best experiences of my life!), Slinky, Bounce2This, Frantic, Escape into the Park, Raindance and have forthcoming gigs coming up at Sundissential and Party Proactive. It has been a complete pleasure to play for all the nights I have so far and I am excited about those coming up too!
It seems that now is the time for the female DJ in Hard Dance with so many fantastic artists breaking through, what other female artists within your genre inspire you and in answering that, what is it that makes you different? What gives you originality?
The scene is definitely evolving and more and more up and coming female Hard Dance DJ’s are emerging. When I first started clubbing I was inspired by Lisa Lashes and Lisa Pin Up both of whom still lead the way and still inspire my mixing! Newer females like Cally Gage and Frisky are also inspiring and individual in their own right and I feel are influencing lots of up and coming DJ’s too.
I think that my DJ’ing style sets me aside from other DJ’s. I love big vocals, euphoric breakdowns and also a hard warpy bassline and my mixes contain chopping, backspins and thrown in mixes! My sets are full of this and more and my dress style is unique too - as I love to play in Contagious Clubwear! As a cyber wearing clubber I always wanted to see a female DJ in fluffy boots, so to be able to be that DJ is a great feeling!
If you could make the soundtrack to your life so far, what tunes would feature on it?
The soundtrack to my life would definitely be an upbeat happy one! It would start with “What You Do” as the vocals are “Get busy…” and I am always busy doing something!
It would end with my all time favourite tune “The Day Will Come” by Quake, as this tune has been with me for the whole of my clubbing and DJ’ing career. It’s a bit cheesy to say - but I honestly believe that ‘the day will come’ for all of us, we will all have our time to shine at some point in our lives!
Other tunes that would appear on it would include “Lets Rock” by E-Traxx, “Party People” by Maddox and Rumble and “Get Down Happy People” by Static Revenger, they are all tunes about partying which is definitely what I do a lot of!
You are now resident for Contagious within all that they do and more over for their massive events at Club Ice and further a field; what do you love most about working with them and what are you most looking forward to about the forthcoming Masked Ball?
Being a resident DJ for Contagious Clubwear is a complete honour and something that I am very grateful of! I have played for some amazing events as a result, all of which will stay in my memory forever and I am fully supportive of all that Contagious does, be it nights or outfits and the thing I love most about working with them is the constant drive that they have to keep themselves new, original, upbeat and fun! I find it is very infectious and something that rubs off on all those around them.
‘The Masked Ball’ is shaping up to be a great night, as per normal a lot of effort has gone into it behind the scenes and when people get to the club they will love all of the added extras! I am looking forward to seeing people’s faces as they enter the club - I am playing the first set in the main room so I’ll be able see everyone arriving in their outfits and masks.
Do you have a Mask prepared yourself? What’s it like and how much effort went into making or looking for it?
I have a sexy black and blue mask prepared for Friday, it matches my Contagious outfit which I will be wearing - I have Claire to thank for this - I am VERY excited about wearing them!
Thanks Caz, we look forward to the set, all the best!
Interview by Jon Brown, With Thanks to Caz, Claire & Gordon at Contagious. Thanks to Pro Spotter Lost In London for the additonal picture usage.
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