We talk with Paul about his latest major project, INDUZTRI, at Electrowerkz, which aims to revive the old-school magic of London’s club scene as he celebrates his 25 years as a DJ.
Paul, you have built a strong reputation as an international DJ over the past twenty-five years. Can you share your DJ journey and how your music preferences have evolved during this time?
I still have to pinch myself sometimes; I’m a guy from a tiny village in Scotland. If you had said to 14-year-old me that by now I would have travelled the world doing the thing I love most, that I’d have done around 20 tours in Australia, 4 in Brazil, every major city in some of the most beautiful countries on the planet, played on some of the most coveted dance-floors around the globe for some of the most recognisable brands in dance music alongside some of my absolute musical heroes including Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson & Greg Cerrone just last week at the Discolympics in Paris, partied with Grace Jones, Elton John, David Lachapelle, artists, designers, models & movie stars… I would never have believed you in a million years!
I’m eternally grateful to the event organisers and promoters who trust me with their dancefloors and to the people who come and dance with me. They have given me the opportunity to spend the last 25 years learning and growing as a DJ.
“I always have enough of a range of music with me at all times to take the party wherever it needs to go”
DJ Paul Heron
My taste has definitely developed over those years into a very eclectic sound. I like to play what is appropriate for a particular moment or space; for instance, you might hear me playing a disco and deep house set in the Groucho club or a chunky dirty techno set at Revolver in Berlin. I don’t like to be constrained to just one sound and like to think I always have enough of a range of music with me at all times to take the party wherever it needs to go, be that Disco/ Deep house/ Old-school/ tech-house, through to techno.
How did the idea for the INDUZTRI party come about, and what kind of experience do you aim to create with your wealth of experience?
INDUZTRI stemmed from Andrew and Elliot from Electrowerkz inviting me to throw a party at the venue to celebrate my unofficial 25th DJ anniversary at the club. I was reluctant at first, as I’m actually quite shy and don’t like things being about me. I’m from that old-school stable of DJs who like to hide in the DJ booth and let the music do the talking, but we decided to make it a charity fundraiser for Cabaret vs Cancer, a cause very dear to my heart.
The party that ensued was a really beautiful night, not only celebrating my career but lots of the wonderful DJs, scene legends and lovely people that I’ve met over that time, it had that super friendly old-school magic and warmth that we really want to bring back to the London scene.
If I’m honest, deep down, I’ve always wanted to curate my own event. Now, with partnering with Andrew and Elliot, having the perfect home at Electrowerkz, and the incredible graphic skills of my partner Jay to collaborate with on the artwork, it finally feels like everything has fallen into place, and now is the right time.
Daytime parties have been gaining popularity lately. What aspects of this format do you enjoy?
I just think they make sense for a lot of people. You can go crazy and enjoy yourself, be as hedonistic as you like, and still get a good night’s sleep and enjoy the following day. Or it can be the perfect warm-up to the rest of your night; it’s basically guilt-free clubbing.
You have something special planned for three different rooms. Could you please elaborate on the venue and how the setup will work?
For what we want to do with the event, there is no better venue in London than Electrowerkz.
The courtyard is the perfect welcoming social space to greet and chat with friends and enjoy drinks and performances by some of the most interesting alternative queer and queer-friendly performers; we want everyone to leave each event with a lasting memory; so far, we’ve had iconic scenes from Virgin X, Jezzika Jamez doing a Divine tribute and slapping boys round the face with steak, and at the next event we have the incomparable Baby Lame the Punk Horror Drag Superstar and some seriously flaming hot, titillating performances from the fist bitingly sexy Marshall Arkley.
The glasshouse makes the perfect main floor overlooking the courtyard, and the live room that I usually play in for Roast gives us the perfect space for collaborations with other up-and-coming queer events.
Experience INDUZTRI … Watch the video
The lineup for the first few parties featured some top-notch artists, including the amazing DJ SMOKIN JO in Room 1. Who can we expect to see at the next event?
For the next event we have the iconic Raven Mandella; drag legend, international dancer, former face of Glitterbox and now an accomplished DJ who’s been notching up an incredibly impressive history of international events and festivals. We’re super excited for what Raven will bring to the party. We also have the fantastic Flashback party hosting room 2 with Gordon John and Miswhite spinning all your favourite house classics.
How frequently do you envision hosting INDUZTRI parties?
We aim to do an event every few months.
I work full-time at Leavesden Film Studios during the week and am still juggling regular international gigs. We also want each event to feel special and don’t want to over-saturate it by doing it too regularly.
Finally, what other plans are in the pipeline?
Well hopefully lots of other fantastic editions of INDUZTRI, I’ve already lined up some pretty epic surprises guests and I’m currently working hard on tour events for myself for 2025 as that’s my official professional 25th DJ anniversary.
INDUZTRI: Old School Hedonism & Disco Decadence for a New Generation at Electrowerkz, 7 Torrens St., EC1V 1NQ. 4 pm — 10 pm
Instagram: @induztri_club
