Meet the DJ: Amy Lauren
It’s only February and Amy Lauren has already blessed our ears with a debut release and two remixes. But it wasn’t without the support of her beloved dog ‘Producer Reg’, of course (who’s even featured on her tracks!)
Her journey in music all started when she was a glass collector for a club. After working her way up to behind the bar – she soon befriended the resident DJs who taught her the ropes. And she’s not looked back since. Especially now she’s achieved one of her dream goals – being played on BBC Radio One.
Since lockdown, she's ventured into new areas of music that she would “never” have considered before. From radio and production, to live streaming and guesting an online training session – last year proved that there’s nothing Amy Lauren can’t master.
After she was asked to host The Dance Show on Vibesolate FM, it didn’t take long for Select Radio to take her on. In fact, it was only 14 weeks later. Pretty good going for someone who never used to like using the mic at clubs.
We caught up with Amy to find out more about her latest track, what’s next and where she thinks the nightlife industry is headed:
What's the response been like to your new track Work?
We found out this morning that we hit top 10 [on the Beatport Tech House Release Chart]. I am really pleased and quite overwhelmed by all of the feedback and support. It's been really, really nice and quite well received. So, I'm really happy about that.
What were your inspirations when you were producing it?
It was the first track I actually ever started making. I’ve got into production quite late on, the lockdown obviously gave me the time. And because of the stop and start nature of last year, I kind of tried to put that into the track as well. It also features [Producer Reg] – there’s a bark that's a clap. Once you hear it, you can't un-hear it. He’s in Drag Samples as well.
What was the feedback from Drag Samples like?
It went to 13 on Hypeddit and Jaguar played it on BBC Introducing Dance on Radio 1. I’m really happy about it as I think the message behind the song needs to be heard.
How does it feel to have achieved both of those things in such a short amount of time?
It's quite surreal and overwhelming because I always wanted to get into music production but I never really thought it would happen now. It was such a long year and I spent a lot of time at home creating all of this stuff. I'm just looking forward to when we will get to go back to normal mode and people can listen to music in real clubs.
Tell me about your latest collaboration!
Scott Garcia, like the king of garage, asked me to remix his Closer Than Close. I'm really excited about that one - really, really excited. It’s out now!
How does it compare to the original?
I’ve completely flipped it into a tech house club banger. That's the track I'm really, really excited to play out when I get to.
What keeps you motivated to keep making music in these circumstances?
I think it's just knowing that one day, whatever the new normal is, we will be able to go out again. This isn't going to be forever. So even though it is a really long process and there's a lot of waiting - I think the thing that's keeping everyone going is knowing we're going to be able to see our friends again. There's going to be so much music that's been released from so many artists - new and people already on the scene. It's going to be really interesting when everyone does go back!
Have you got any events booked for this year yet?
I definitely have one that is confirmed - the Racing League going ahead. It’s basically a mini Premier League for horse racing. It's six dates across four big racecourses around the country and it will be broadcasted on Sky Sports. They’re going to have a big entertainment part of it as well, so it's going to be kind of like a festival feel but horse racing all combined. I don't know how many people will actually be able to attend, but the events going ahead so I’m really excited.
Where do you think the scene is headed in the next five years?
I'm hoping that the nightclub industry is going to boom. For a while before lockdown, people would go to the gym and do other stuff. There still was a good nightclub life, but I feel like now that it's been taken away from a lot of people that wouldn't necessarily have gone out [much] - I think now people want to go out and do all the things that they weren't doing before. I'm hoping, fingers crossed when people feel safe, it will just boom.
What's been your favourite night out?
Probably with my girls in Ibiza. I've always loved the event Glitterbox, I go like every single year. You can't beat disco and house - ultimate feel-good vibes. Last time we went was probably the best night out. I can't remember all of it, but it was really good.
What five tracks have been keeping you going through lockdown?
1. Summer 91 - Noizu
2. Poppin' - Dots Per Inch
3. Speaker Test - Dissolut
4. Connection - DONT BLINK
5. Stayin' Alive (Mozz Re-Funk Edit) - Bee Gees
Written by: Megan Milstead