Cityscape joins one of the first DJs on the scene, and Fatboy Slim support act, Craig Shaw to chat about what’s hot in town and on the music scene right now.

(For NZ Music Month 2019 Craig has put together a Spotify playlist of Kiwi music gold for us. Check it out here.)

What’s your favourite out-of-town venue to play? That’s a tough question as I have a few faves. Queenstown has a couple of groovy staple bars, Surreal and The Bunker, but you can’t beat an outdoor festival. Rhythm & Alps 2018/19 was the winner on this front with a superb location, production team and killer crowd!

You’ve just supported Fatboy Slim here in Christchurch – was there a highlight? I was lucky enough to play one of the support slots in 1999 with Norman at the Ministry and he signed one of his records for me back then. I was able to have a chat with him backstage at the recent Christchurch gig and had him sign the same record again! The man is a legend and his ability to find and rework a sample and turn it into a classic is a real skill. My support slot mix is available on Soundcloud. Search djcraigshaw.

Spotify has turned us all into amateur DJs – what’s your suggestion for putting together the perfect playlist? I guess the main ingredient is creating a future feeling. If you’re going to create a playlist for a bar, party or event then you need to be able to visually sit yourself in that future moment picturing what people will want to be listening to. I have created playlists for parties where we have changed the music every hour to a different genre and they have been the most fun! Putting yourself into that moment and picturing what you or your mates want to hear before it happens is pretty special when you get it right! Always have back-ups!

Have you got a Spotify playlist fans can follow? djcraigshaw is my Spotify username and Soul Breakfast is one of my most popular playlists. This is an eclectic mix of old soul jams and 70s classics which have a place at certain times but there are a good number of playlists in there to choose from. Fat Freddy’s remixed is one of my faves.

Most out-of-control crowd? With a good party comes a lot of consumption and you see a lot of different sights and “events”. The one that sticks out the most is when a wee fisticuff outside a bar I was DJ-ing at called 124 on the old strip turned into a 200-plus person brawl and all the bars shut down immediately, which had never happened before. Leave it at home I say!

Favourite local band/best musical export from the Garden City? Tiki Taane. A true talent that just keeps pushing the musical boundaries and stays true to his passion for the preservation of this beautiful country that we are privileged to live in.

Do you have a ritual you do before each show to ‘bring out’ Dirty Cash? This is something that PZ and I keep working on, as when we perform together as Dirty Cash we have to put on a show, not just play music. We put a lot of thought into our set and bring a few things to the stage so that it’s not one-dimensional. After all the prep, some quiet downtime before the gig and then a couple of quiets to get you in the mood normally has you amping to get amongst it.

Advice for anyone wanting to get into DJ-ing? A true connected feeling to music and a broad musical knowledge is a must.

What would be your superpower? The ability to fly. That would be awesome.

Weights or cardio? Both.

Winter or summer? I'm a summer lad that loves seasons.

Beer or wine? Wine baby wine!

Mountains or ocean? Every part of the outdoors.

Denim or leather? Denim and double it up.