Finishing off our October interviews, we have none other then the legendary and beautiful Anne Savage.

Anne's DJing career has spanned two decades, playing the world’s most highly rated festivals and clubs, as well as playing at glamorous affairs like the Malaysian Grand Prix. Anne also holds the title of being the very first female UK DJ to play in Canada. While not behind the decks sending crowds in to a frenzy, Anne's production career has seen her have releases on major labels such as Tidy and Nukleuz, as well as her award winning, Frantic Album releases on the infamous Ministry of Sound This time around we have asked three female DJs (Lady Bass, Trixie Firecraka & X-Bass) who Anne has inspired to ask her the questions. Now with out any further ado..

The Beat Ranch proudly presents the one and only, Anne Savage

What got you into the hard dance scene? - X-Bass

I had already been djing full time for about 5 years before there was even a hard dance scene to speak of! The scene kind of grew out of techno and house, the bpms got a lot faster and was spawned out of the clubs in London like Trade where Tony De Vit was resident, and developed into the scene it is now, so hopefully without sounding conceited, I was there from the beginning really and grew with the scene.

Who were your greatest influences that made you decide for you to become a DJ? - Trixie

I always say that Carl Cox and Sasha were my greatest influences and I certainly did watch a hell of a lot of them from the side of the dj booth - but it was probably the local resident djs from my home town in Blackburn in the very early nineties that made me actually start to play. They opened my eyes to this world where you control the dancefloor and give people the best nights in their lives! There were hardly any djs around then and even fewer girls doing it, it was a big deal to learn to mix and and get out there but I was determined that was what I wanted to do.

If you didn't become a DJ or Producer, what would have been your other career path?- Lady Bass

I really don’t know because before I started djing, except for the last one managing a record store in London, I couldn’t hold down a job. I just had no passion for anything except music. I think I would definitely be involved in music somehow, I played guitar in a band before I was a dj so I’d like to think I could have been some female guitar hero!

As a female in a mostly male dominated industry do you feel that you were ever favoured because of your gender? Was it easier or more difficult as a female in the industry? - Lady Bass

That’s a tough one and to be honest I couldn’t tell you for sure. All I can do is tell you about my experiences starting out, I was one of very few females with a really wide range of knowledge in music so that’s how I got the job in the record store. Before that I had my own flyering and tape distribution business so through those two jobs I made a lot of the right contacts. I’d like to think that I got my first djing gigs because people liked me and gave me a chance, but surely the public vote with their feet and I wouldn’t have gone on to play internationally and had such a long career had I been a girl in the right place with no talent.

Do you ever wish that you weren't so in demand as a dj/producer? - X-Bass

Hell no! Nothing lasts forever and I’m just so grateful to still be in demand. I’m the luckiest person in the world to still be doing what I love day in day out as a job.

Over the years you have played all over the world. Is there any event that you have played at that sticks out in your mind over the others & why? - Lady Bass

Funnily enough the first time I played in Canada in 1996 was one of the most memorable. It was a Better Days production, an hour or more outside of Toronto, a huge rave in a big disused warehouse. There was several feet of snow, no biggy for you but I couldn’t believe that people still came. People had driven from all over for days and I was blown away by it all. When I played people rushed into my arena and there were guys just standing about 4 person deep staring and watching me play. I was petrified and I think they were intrigued by the fact I was a girl spinning. That was the first of many amazing shows I’ve played over the years in Canada. Canada’s been really good to me.

What has been your most embarrassing moment while performing? - X-Bass

Ha ha, one time I fell off the stage whilst I was playing. I was wearing some ridiculously high heels, the decks were suspended from steel wires from the ceiling because the dance floor was sprung, and there were these crates to stand on, but my heel went down one of the holes and I grabbed the decks to steady myself. They swung right out and I fell off the stage onto the dance floor. I really hurt myself but got back behind the decks I had no choice.

How did you pitch yourself to labels to get signed? Did you have to develop yourself as an artist/DJ first? Or did you just send them your tracks and they signed you? -Lady Bass

I’m really lucky in that most labels have approached me for material and I always do a deal with someone before I make a track.

Who has been your favourite producer to go into studio with an why? - X-Bass

I’ve worked with a lot of young producers and I really like it when I can see someone getting better and better at it. I recently went in the studio with Technikal, I took an old ‘60’s ska record in for inspiration and that was the main idea for the track. He’s very open minded and we made an awesome tune, not every producer is that able to take such a wacky idea and make it work in hard dance. It will be coming out on his album soon if you want to hear it!

What other styles of music (if any) influence you as a producer? - Trixie

I love all kinds of music from Soul, Reggae, Ska, Indie, early electronica - anything at all could inspire me, as well as all genres of dance music. I love taking something from a genre that you wouldn’t normally associate with dance and making it work.

What advice would you give to DJs and Producers out there who are trying to make it in the electronic music industry? - Lady Bass

To go the distance you'll need a drive and passion that is unflappable plus skill and determination. You will also need to have a certain something about you which makes you stand out from the crowd such as a certain skill or style. Make sure you get yourself out there and build a fan base by passing out demo CDs and alongside this make new contacts who could potentially book you for a show in the future. I am working on a new project at the moment with a great company teaching students how to mix with tips and tricks so watch out for more details soon!

How do you feel that the Internet has played a role in your career? How do you feel that it has affected the music industry as a whole? - Lady Bass

Wow, it’s just exploded into our lives and changed every aspect of the music industry for good and bad. It’s good in that fans can get a lot closer to their favourite artists through their portals, and music is so instant but has also become throwaway. There is no real money to be made for the average dj in production, making tunes has become more of a tool to get your name out there and for people to get what you’re about.

Where do you see the music industry going in the next 5 years, both in the UK and world wide? - Trixie

Again, I wish I had a crystal ball... Already it’s been proved that you can become huge through MySpace without even signing a record deal. A lot of record companies are signing artists up for every aspect of their lives and get a percentage of every penny they make because they have been burned by poor record sales. I Tunes has breathed new life into he business but there’s no way I can predict where it will be in 5 years, I think I’d need to study whatever my little brother is into, what his musical tastes and habits are because consumers dictate to companies which way to go.

If people wanted to book you to play at their event, how do they contact you? - Lady Bass

I have an agent called Roman Trystram, he does all the bookings, on roman@strikeartists.com

Any last words?

Thanks for the interview ladies! Hopefully I’ll get to see you all spin...now for the plugs... go to www.djannesavageworld.com for all the portal links, mix site, tour dates, diaries and anything Savage.

New releases Anne Savage - “Centrefold” on Tidy, “We Come One” and “You’re Not Alone” 2 collaborations with Lisa Lashes out on 19th November on Lashed Music.

AnneSavage.net

Anne Savage's MySpace Page

Anne Savage & Amber D's Tidy Girl Interview on HarderFaster.net

Buy Anne Savage's tracks here on TrackItDown.net

Buy Anne's Vinyl Release on BangingTunes.com

Click here for Anne's 2008 Hard Mix
Click here for tracklisting.

Past Interviews