I Love London: Interview with Jack 'The Dinosaur' Sumpter |Koh Phangan Tales

"Omg I'm so excited, I've just found my new favourite DJ ... It's Jack the Dinosaur!"

I love London - May Bank Holiday in London, Part 2

'Tired feet totally forgotten, I join the crowd around the decks to go mad and dance out the last hour of the boat party. Jack Sumpter has the same exuberant energy behind the decks as he has on the dance floor, and of course his music is rocking, as it would have to be for someone with his kind of energy...'

Little did I realise as I danced away to Jack Sumpter that last Electronic Sessions hour aboard Golden Flame that I was listening to a London DJ favourite... at venues such as MoS, Egg, and Pacha!

Jack Sumpter @ Pacha London June 22nd 2013

What's your musical background, Jack?

Musically I began at around 10 years old with classical training on the piano, this has since come in real handy when it comes to DJing and producing. Got my first set of decks at the age of 18 and having been messing about with them ever since!

What are your musical influences?

I got into Trance music in my early teens and as soon as I was of age hit nights like The Gallery @ Turnmills, Godskitchen @ Air, Passion @ The Emporium. A couple of trips to Exit Festival over in Serbia was my first proper introduction to the house/techno sound I now mostly play with DJs like Richie Hawtin, John Digweed, Sacha etc...

God's Kitchen... ever see Koh Phangan resident Graham Gold play?

I have, Graham Gold played at my first ever club night. Peach 13th Bday at Heaven with Cosmic Gate and John O Callaghan. To be honest it was a pretty long time ago, I was 18 - but yeah that night was awesome, really cemented my taste in the genre at the time!

JACK THE DINOSAUR @ ELECTRONIC SESSIONS

How long have you been playing in London?

My first proper break into DJing was for Electronic Sessions back in 2010. They asked if I could play a tech house set, I said yes, then quickly hit the internet to find out what tech house was! Two and a half years later I think I've cracked it, I'm now a resident for them!

Where else have you played?

Since then I've been privileged to have played some of the best clubs in London. Egg, Ministry Of Sound, Pacha etc... Along with some really cool bars and of course the Electronic Sessions boat parties. I still play a little trance every now and then, and hold my other residency with Dance:Love:Hub who do trance parties at Supperclub.

What's your favourite party... to play at? My favourite party to play is the Electronic Session boats, the atmosphere and crowd is alway spot on! New Years Eve is usually the highlight of my year, this year will be my third in a row!

Photos Courtesy of Yeti in the Basement

And as a punter...
As a punter my taste varies, I love all kinds of music, Trance Sanctuary at Egg has a great vibe, the crowd are really friendly. I'm finding crowd to be a really important aspect to a night out, you could have the best lineup in the world but if you have a load of angry people sharing it with you it's not going to be the best night?...