As well as being a successful AnR manager Seb Chew is also known for his weekly event called YoYo, where he is a resident DJ. YoYo takes place every Thursday night at The Notting Hill Arts Club and is notorious for its good vibe and eclectic choice of line up, from big heads in the scene to up and coming artists. I made contact with Seb to find out more about his DJing career and why Leo Greenslade and himself decided to start up YoYo.

Monki Monkman: When and why did you take up Djing?

Seb Chew: I've been djing really since I was at college ( around 16 ish i guess ). I only really ever saw djing as a public extension of my musical taste, I guess just like making tapes for your friends at school etc. I definitely approached djing like that at the beginning , and I suppose I still see it like that now. Its just sharing what you're into with other people.

MM: You do other things apart from DJing, is DJing something you would like to concentrate on more?

SC: Yes, but only in equal measure with everything else. The label stuff has been a big thing for me over the last 7 or 8 years, but i've always tried to keep the other things moving at the same time. If I only worked in music in one capacity I think i'd get bored quite quickly.

MM: Recently you’ve got a new show at RinseFM, for those that have never tuned in before what can they expect?
SC: It's going to be a bit different from what I would play in a club. I'm really into the idea of playing to an audience without having to think about a dance-floor. With radio ( especially Rinse ) I think the audience are really into ( and in fact expect ) new music , so i'm very excited about that , and really searching a lot of new stuff out. I definitely want to keep it mixed up in terms of genres too.

MM: What would be the best gig you’ve ever played?

SC: Theres been tonnes over the years... Definitely a couple of YoYo nights when i've played a longer set and the music has just flowed. It's such a great feeling going through different genres and mixing things up and still getting a great reaction even though you might be bringing the tempo down etc. There was also a gig I did in Paris a few years back at fashion week. I thought it was going to be a super snobby, uptight affair and it turned out to be the exact opposite. I ended up having to play for 3 or 4 hours with only 1 box of records and ended up making all the right choices at the the right times... Another one of those nights that just flowed I guess. Oh and another one recently that was brilliant was playing after Dizzee and before Lily Allen for the run or arena shows they did together. Playing to just over 20,000 people wasn't ever something I thought I'd get to do so that was kind of a big deal.

MM: Worst gig you’ve ever played?

SC: I haven't really had any big nightmare gigs to be honest. It's always a pisser when the gear doesn't work or the sounds fucked, but even then you have to really just get on with it and try and make it work.

MM: (A question we ask all the people we interview) What three Items are essential for you to get through the day?

SC:I hate to say this first but number one would have to be my laptop. Secondly probably my phone, and thirdly water... everyone needs water.

YoYo

MM: When did YoYo start and why did you decide to start it?

SC: YoYo started in 2002 at a place called Cherry Jam which is on Porchester road. We decided to start it because our favourite night ( rotation @ Subterania ) had just closed down after 10 years or so. We were really gutted and felt like there wasn't any other night catering to our tastes so we thought fuck it, lets start our own thing. We had little to no experience and pretty much got fucked over for the first year or so business-wise but we didn't really care. We were completely into what we were doing and were just really happy to be running a night.

MM: Why did you choose Notting Hill Arts Club as the next venue?

SC: We moved from Cherry Jam to NHAC about a year in. Cherry jam had lost their late night music license so we needed to look elsewhere. We wanted to keep it west cos thats where we're from. A regular at cherry jam tipped us off about NHAC looking to change their thursday nights so we had a couple of meetings and trial nights with them and the rest is history. We love the venue and the staff there. It's so unusual to find good people to work with in the club world. We really appreciate the relationship we have with them and hope to keep working together for many years.

MM: How do you go about choosing the artists that play at your night?

SC: Its really simple, we only book people that were into. Between Leo and I, were into so many different types of music that the band booking part is extremely broad. The dj bookings are probably broader than most nights too. Were really tough about who we book. I think that so far, we've done a decent job at picking great djs early on, and were really keen on keeping that quality control up. Were also keen on keeping it fresh for the audience. Sometimes you have to book someone that maybe isn't a massive name amongst our crowd , but someone we really believe in. It might freak them out for a bit but by the second or third time they play , the crowd are totally behind them. That's a really satisfying part of the job.

MM: Most bizarre thing that’s ever happened at a YoYo night?

SC: There have been many many mad things go on down there, but I have to say the nuttiest period was when we were doing YoYo in New York once a month. We used to do it on a wednesday night , so we'd fly out weds lunchtime, get there weds evening, go for dinner then play at the club (which we always assumed would be empty but was rammed every month for a year) We'd finish at the club around 5am and then go straight to the airport (no hotel) and get the 7am flight (absolutely slaughtered) out of NY back to London. We'd arrive back in london at 8pm on Thursday night where we'd go straight to Notting Hill arts club to do YoYo until 2am. Then we had to go to work the next day. It was really, really fun whilst you're doing it but you feel absolutely fucked for the next week or so!

MM: Favourite night/s?

SC: I always love it when we get people to play at our place that have been an inspiration to us. Having Heartless Crew finally play at ours was a massive one. There was such a buzz around that night. Oh also Rodigan. He's a massive inspiration and someone who is really great to work with. If you mean favourite other nights apart from YoYo then I have to say they're few and far between. FWD is always consistently good and started around the same time we started YoYo so I respect them massively for keeping a quality night going for so long. Also the Rinse raves at matter were great too.

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Interview: Monki Monkman

Photography: Olivia Charlesworth

(Big thanks to Seb, you can catch him on Rinse 1-3am every Monday night/Tuesday morning or listen back on podcast)