There have been some legendary residents in the trance scene over the years; Eddie Halliwell at Goodgreef, John Kelly at Slinky, Scott Bond at Gatecrasher...

I think you'll find many regulars at Seven Sins @ The Honey Club will agree Dan Ascherl is one of those residents who stands out from the crowded DJ booth. The Gallery, when hosted at the legendary Turnmills, even snapped up his talented skills. This then led to him being their resident when hosting nights at The Honey Club. These strong connections with The Gallery and Seven Sins have seen Dan Ascherl play alongside the movers and shakers of the trance scene such as Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren, John 00 Fleming, Judge Jules, Eddie Halliwell and much, much more!

Again we have a quick chat with our guest DJ booked for iLLuMIDanCe and for your listening pleasure whilst reading the interview we have Dan's latest mix...you may want to leave this page open after the read as this superb mix builds up nicely ;)

So, a few quickies to ease you into it....

Tea or Coffee?

Tea

McVities Chocolate Digestives or Bourbons?

Bourbons

The Olympics are round the corner but.....in a 110 metre hurdles sprint, who would win? Tiesto or Armin Van Buuren?

Armin...... Tiesto's wallet would way him down too much these days!! Only Joking, I totally respect both of them!!

OK, down to the serious stuff......Fresh from your residency for Seven Sins @ The Honey Club in Brighton, and making the journey across the south coast, you are headlining the forthcoming iLLuMIDanCe on the 12th of July.

So where did it all begin for you, what made you take up DJing?

When I was 14, I started as a roadie for a massive road show called Fusion Group, they toured schools putting on under 18's discos in the south east. www.fusiondisco.co.uk

It was huge in those days, on a Friday night we would transform a school sports hall into a dance venue for the night with a massive light rig, sound system with staging and dancers.

It's amazing to think back to what we were doing and achieved back then. We used to sell out nights everywhere we went. I soon started doing the warm up's, which then lead to DJing all night at these events. It worked well having someone their age playing to them!! That was a great feeling at 15 playing to 1000 kids going nuts to the dance music of that time. I was the only one that used to mix the 2 records together, all the other DJs just talked between the tracks! Then when I hit 17, I started playing at local night clubs. I took a break for a few years and started my businesses. Then one night in '97, I went to Slinky for my baby bro's 18th birthday. That night I saw John 00 Fleming playing and fell in love with his sound of deep sounding trance music. I had already been buying all the Euphoria CDs, but hearing this in a club and seeing the crowd reaction just changed everything for me.

I decided that was the path I wanted to go and found this new style of music! From there I just bought vinyl like mad and didn't look back.

How would you describe your DJ style?

I love many styles of trance music from driving euphoric, psy-trance to tech-trance, there is no particular style that I follow. I love productions that stand out on their own. They don't have to be massive anthems, just good productions. If I love a track and want to share it with others then I will. It does make it hard work to mix sometimes, but that just makes it more of a challenge when playing. I edit 80% of everything I play out. I often play tracks that other DJs won't play because it may have a great beginning, but a crap break down. Well I fix that and edit out the bits I don't like, making a track sound the way I want it to hear. This is what makes my sound and sets very different to other DJs. It makes a lot more work, but it's worth it when you're keeping the energy flowing on a dance floor. I love to dive off in different directions with the music. If you just sound the same throughout your set then it makes the dance floor become bored.

Which DJs and Producers inspire you in the Trance scene?

God there are so many! Production wise I love the Digital Blonde's work. I got to remix one of his tracks last year which was great.

There are so many producers that I like. Steve Birch would be an all time favourite of mine. He's a local boy to this area!! I have played his productions for many years now.

Another one DJ wise would be John 00 Fleming for his label, productions and passion for the whole scene. I have known John for many years now and totally respect his dedication to the music scene. His sound is very different these days, but he plays what he loves with bookings all over the world week in, week out and still there after 20 years, which shows he's doing something right!

Other DJs I like would be; Markus Shulz, I could see him making it to No.1 one day. I saw him at global last year, and again at White Sensation in Prague a few weeks ago. Mark Norman and Cor Fijneman from Holland have to be one of the best duo's I've seen play out, I just love seeing these guys playing out together.

As a DJ, do you produce your own material? Are there any tracks you are working on at the moment that will be forthcoming releases?

Yeah I've been producing for many years, but time has not been on my side. It's so hard when you're working full time, searching for new music in the week, editing tracks to play out at weekends. Then there is the Radio shows I do around the world each month. They can chew up the evenings for a whole week to get produced and uploaded, with track lists, etc.

I do have many projects on the go. I find myself going back to different tracks I've started and changing them or applying new skills etc. I have a project on the go with top producer and good pal Johan Ekman from Sweden. He's going to be big soon. He's on the Discover label and we share the same management, GAM (Gloss Artist Management).

If you were to play amongst a line-up and a venue of your own choice, what DJs would be accompanying you on your dream gig?

John Bently
Phil Metcalf
Dan Ascherl
Markus Shulz
Mark Norman vs. Cor Fijneman
John 00 Fleming

That would be a night worth going to!!

What would you say has been the highlight or highlights from your career so far?

Finding out that I was the new resident for Seven Sins @ The Honey Club and The Gallery in Brighton within the same 2 weeks!!

The other was being told by Gavyn Mytchel he was putting me on after Paul Oakenfold at Turnmills a few years ago! It was the first time Paul had played at the club in years. That was probably the biggest highlight!!

The summer of 2008 is here, have you any major plans for the summer months and beyond? Any ambitions not yet fulfilled? What can we expect to see from you in the near future, music related or otherwise?

Yep, you will see my new productions I've been busy working on released hopefully by the end of this year. I may have major new residency in the pipeline which I can't say too much about just yet. So watch this space!

Of course there are my gigs around the country, they're all good and I love everyone no matter how big or small.
I would like to see more abroad work, I love travelling. I have a new agent in Canada which is starting to get some interest at the moment from clubs over there.

OK, thanks Dan for taking time out, may the future bring you nothing but success but before you go there is just 2 more questions....

The Trance scene has produced some belting tracks this year, name 3 of your favourite tracks so far from 2008?

Markus Schulz ft Dauby - Perfect (Agnelli & Nelson Remix)

Nicholas Bennison - Turbo Machinery (John 00 Fleming Remix)

Stoneface & Terminal - Pictures (DJA No Break Edit)

And lastly but by no means least, are there any forthcoming sets/gigs you would like to plug?

Keep your eyes out for my dates at the Honey Club. Seven Sins on a Saturday night is one not to be missed and well worth the journey along the South Coast. I love playing there to my home crowd, and it's always an amazing night!!

Big thanks to iLLuMIDanCe and I look forward to seeing you all!!

Thank you Dan, we are all looking forward to your 2 hour set! (22:30 - 00:30 for those making the journey)

Interview composed by Nathan-Hunt with introduction and editing made by Gekko