Some gay DJs don’t play on the gay scene, and we spoke to new up-and-comer Iulian Murariu about making music for love, ahead of his set at Shoreditch’s The Cornershop this Saturday
What got you into DJing in the first place?
Until the age of 20 I lived in a very small town in Romania, where there was not much to do, so I used to fill up my time by listening to plenty of house music almost every day. Live stream radios from Ibiza and Dj sets from my favourite artists were on the menu. At the age of 18 I started travelling to Germany quite often and I was lucky enough to get to know some important people in the house music industry. Having them as role models meant a great deal for me and this made me even more in love with house music. Later in time, after I moved to London I met and lived with my ”DJ mother” Maroon Bitch (aka Fidel Trotman) who is a great artist with an amazing record collection of really good old school house music. He taught me how to mix perfectly and how to improve my playlists.
You’re not from London originally, what brought you to the city?
Life in undeveloped countries lacks opportunities so I decided that if I wanted to be somebody I had to leave this dead land and go somewhere abroad in western Europe. Luckily for me, my musical ear helped me to become bilingual in English and Romanian, and so based on that I decided that the United Kingdom would be the best choice if I were to integrate somewhere without any difficulties.
What do you think of the current London music scene? You don’t go out on the gay scene much, so as a gay DJ on the straight clubbing scene do you ever feel alienated?
The music scene in London has plenty to offer. There are always amazing artists from all over the world playing here, so it’s not really hard to find what you’re looking for. The reason why I don’t go out in gay clubs is the music that they play there. Vauxhall is full of minimal and noises and Lady Gaga’s music is constantly playing in Soho. I am not a big fan of music made for money. I like the music that’s made with love for the sake of art, not to make some rich people even richer and famous. That’s what music should be about.
Tell us what kind of music you typically play.
My music varies from funky old school house from the early 90s to great modern tech house, bouncy beats and always happy. When I play I bring smiles on peoples faces and that is the best reward I can get. I am deeply in love with my music and sharing that love with other people is what’s driving me to become better and better.
And what can we expect for your set at The Cornershop this Saturday?
At The Corner Shop Bar on Saturday everybody should wear their dancing shoes as they won’t want to sit down even for a minute and miss my show!
Iulian will be playing at The Cornershop (123 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JE) on Saturday 13th April, 9pm-1am, and weekly thereafter. You can listen to his music here.
