Intergalactic Gary Talks

SUNK is a small, underground night that began in London last summer, borne out of the collective eargerness of the three residents Truly Madly, Chris Chippindale and Andy Green to showcase interesting guests as well as their own vast record collections. 

Starting off last August Bank Holiday, with the criminally under-the-radar Jaime Read playing on a boat moored on the Thames and followed up in November in a dark, private venue off the Old Kent Road with the equally under-the-radar GB (Gifted & Blessed) playing his first ever live set on the British Isles, the party has continued along the same path towards tomorrows party, where SUNK will be welcoming the excellent and generally unheralded Intergalactic Gary to play a special three hour set.

Intergalactic Gary is known by many as the 'DJ's DJ' due to his eclectic and interesting track selections and superlative musical taste. Owner of over 4000 records that cover anything from Italo Disco and Synth Wave, through to Chicago House and Detroit Techno, his set tomorrow will be a one-off special that will see IG digging deep into his collection to play music that he doesn't normally get to play out and that you wont normally get to hear.

Those who have seen him spin records are by and large instantly hooked and desperate to see him play out again, but, being a little on the shy side and not one to self-promote himself, IG is not someone that you will have the opportunity to see often, sometimes taking a year or more before you will spot his name on a line-up and tomorrow's party will be a rare chance to catch him do his thing in a dark railway arch in London.

IG has been kind enough to answer a few short questions for me this week to tell you a bit about himself and what he's got in store for Sunk on Saturday. He also took the time out to record a SUNK promo mix ahead of the party to give you an idea of what he may be playing on the night. As with the other handful of mixes that he has up online, it is of course superb!

You are well known for your far-ranging musical tastes that take in all manner of musical styles such as Italo, chicago house, detroit techno, synth pop etc how will your set at Sunk be different from that? what do you have planned for your SUNK appearance and what kind of things can we expect to hear?

Since SUNK is about going deeper, I'm bringing lot's of stuff I haven't played out in years, mainly early 90's deepness. Also plenty of newer tracks that I'd otherwise save for mixes.

Youve been djing since 1980, how has your appreciation of different kinds of music changed since then?

The music I grew up with in the early 80's had an immense impact on me at the time.

There were so many things happening music wise.

Even though I still love all that stuff. I think it's good to keep an open mind for new music  and to not get stuck in a certain era and/or style. 

What is your approach to Dj'ing? Do you think it differs from current trends or certain music policies that clubs may have?

Not sure what those current trends are, to be honest.

Guess I'm pretty selfish when it comes to my approach. I just select/play music that get's me going.

Selecting new and old(er) tracks and refreshing my record bag as much as possible, so I don't get bored and hopefully keep it interesting.

The first half hour of a set is always crucial for me, so I sort of choose a direction to begin with. If that doesn't work, I'm lost 🙂

Tell us a bit about your SUNK promo mix. What are your thoughts on the track selection and how did you pick out individual tracks in the mix?

It's a mix of old and more recent stuff.

There are a couple of tracks that I have been waiting for the right moment to play for many years, hopefully they fall into place in this mix.

Finally, could you tell us a little bit about a couple of the individual tracks and why you like them?

Tim Toh – Four – Such a unique sounding melancholic track, just beautiful!

Also two tracks from the; Helmet – Purple Edge e.p. – Deep beautiful, melancholic techno, very underrated in my opinion.

Last but not least; Russ Gabriel – Peace For Thought – Still gives me goosebumps.

There are still a handful of tickets available for SUNK here.  There may also be a few spaces on the door on the night.

Find the venue address here

Check the SUNK group here.

By Ben Jones