Eamonn Fevah hots things up delivering a euphoric but tough collaboration with long-time friend NuroGl. Tidy catches up with him just as his first release appears on tidytwo… Inside Of Me. Juggling parenthood with music and work can be done as we find out...
You are best known for the legendary and successful parties you ran across London in the 2000’s. How did you become involved in dance music in the UK?
Like many Antipodeans one their first exploration of the London underground in the 1990s I was introduced to the one and only Sunnyside Up at SW1 in Victoria. As anyone who clubbed in that era will agree, that was the place that create memories and what dreams where made of. Introducing us to a family of likeminded people that had a lust and love for music and getting loose. What you might say was our parents equivalent of their summer of love. Randomly one Sunday at another Sunday club called Sunflowers at The Aquarium I was introduced by Riksta to Wayne Hart who was managing the only Kiwi bar/club in Soho, he asked me “Would you be up for doing an after party there..?” The rest is history. The original residents back in 97 where Riksta , Si Fevah and Phil Reynolds .
You threw some amazing parties… do you miss those times?
You know, the memories that I have and the stories we can tell from those times are the stuff of legends… and to this day so many of us are still in touch and they never get boring to hear. Life obviously changes as do priorities, with trying to do this adulting thing ha ha. However, we still get to relive our youth at various events we do , and those days will never be gone as long as we still have the music .
Are you still in touch with Si and Aaron?
Yes we are all still in touch. Si is still living in the UK , he still mixes, mainly techno and tech house these days and Aaron is living the dream out in Thailand in the islands. He gets visitors all the time and is still in the industry over there arranging events all over the place , like during the famous Full Moon Parties etc .
Any plans for Fevah parties in the future?
I was lucky enough to team up with a dear old friend a few years back who wanted to recreate an event in NZ that had the vibe that we used to have at the likes of Fevah/Fahrenhite, Solid Sunday and Frantic etc. From that meeting, I’m happy to be part of the event that Fevah hosts the 2nd room at each event every year called LHHR, (London Hard House Reunion), together with Janelle Kleinhans Matchett and Steve Hill it’s become the biggest of its kind in Australasia. We have that once a year depending of what happens with this pesky virus who knows what else may come?
How did you get into making music?
I think making music was the natural progression from learning to mix. I was always into music, having played a few instruments while growing up. When the opportunity arose to go into the studio, I jumped on it. One night I ended up back at Steve Blakes place and he said should we try make a tune. A few hours later we had created the first Fevah trance track called “Your Turn “. It was very experimental as Steve at the time was very much into hard house, so what we ended up with was a very new sound. Everything pretty much steam rolled from there .
What do you use to produce ?
I’m very much in the writing seat these days. I’m very hands on in keyboards and creating melodies and riffs etc while my partner in crime Alexie (Nurogl) presses the buttons and is also a whiz at pretty much everything else. We are mainly using Fruity loops .
Who is Nurogl and what is the inspiration behind Inside of Me?
Nurogl aka Alexie is an old friend who in his teenage years used to sneak into our Fevah NZ parties. Over the years I’ve watched him learn his trade in the studio and grow into an awesome engineer. About 3- 4 years ago after a shot hiatus from music, due to parenthood, I suggested to him that we should get together in the studio. He is one of those people that understands what I’m saying or singing while trying to explain a sound or how I want, something to be laid out, which is a rare thing to happen in my experience.
Inside Of Me came from wanting to get back on the horse so to speak and make a statement. We wanted to make a big vocal beast of tune that would stick in your head. Many may recognise that vocal from a mid-90’s track that I loved. We recreated the vocal and aimed for a tune that would really turbo charge any trance or hard trance dance floor.
Did you plan to produce something as euphoric as this?
To be frank, I’m an old trance head from way back. Every track I’ve ever made has been trance infused with just the bpm being different, making this one at 140 kind of let us turn it in to a euphoric beast, but as up tempo as possible, if that makes sense..?
You are quite active on streaming social media platforms; how do you feel this has helped with dance music in recent years? Has it been a good or a bad thing?
In short, I get into loads of trouble on it ha ha ut I have loads of fun. It’s also a place where due to it being text and emojis the true meaning of some messages creates havoc, It is an incredibly powerful tool and for those that know how to use it I think it’s a great thing, Let’s face it… it’s not going away so learn to embrace it .
You live in New Zealand who seemed to have had a better management of the pandemic that other countries. Is the scene there back on it’s feet or are there restrictions in place?
We are in a very fortunate position in NZ, due to the powers that be locking us down hard and fast we are pretty much back to business aa usual. We do get the odd small lockdown in different regions but all in all we can dance all night with as many as we want. I will say I really feel for all our family round the world and how bloody hard and heart breaking it is to see what’s happening .
How is the NZ scene compared to the UK’s?
Our scene hear is very different. We do have a club scene , but most clubs are very small but there is the odd larger club night like LHHR but they are few and far between, The harder scene is very small in NZ now compared to the UK, DNB and hiphop rule NZ with techno of various kinds coming in behind. We have a very healthy dance festival scene here where all styles of music are played. The joy of NZ being an island in the pacific I that they are all pretty special events .
your last release Moondance was back in 2011, why has there been a ten-year gap between then and now and what have you been up to in that time?
I’ve been a Dad ha ha! We eventually need to pretend to be adults every now and then. I now have three teenagers. I backed right away from the thick of it to put as much time into being a dad as I could because my father passed away when I was just under two years old. As well as running company in the construction industry I’m a pretty hands-on father and yes, all my kids are into music, with the oldest and the youngest learning to mix.
Will we see more releases from you?
Most defiantly! It’s already in the pipeline. We have also created a techno guise, so watch out for that.
What’s next for Eamonn Fevah..?
Probably more of the same but only different. I never lost my hardcore, so onwards and upwards!
