Daryl Stay

Hey Daryl! Great to chat to you, how’s life?
Life’s good thanks, just got back from a family holiday in Italy where we visited Lake Garda, Milan and Venice; feeling refreshed, inspired, looking forward to the release of my album coming up shortly and getting back into the studio.

Your roots in underground dance music go back more than 25 years; what are the biggest changes you’ve observed over the years?
So much has changed. Seems like yesterday I was listening to tapes of London pirate radio stations and attending parties such as Universe ‘Into Orbit’ and ‘Tribal Gathering’ back in the early nineties. Obviously vinyl turned to digital which is good and bad in my eyes. I do miss my weekly trips to Jelly Jam Records in Portsmouth to pick up the latest vinyl releases. It was a great hub for meeting like minded people on the South Coast of the UK; however, advancement in technology has meant we now experience far superior sound, lighting and visuals at clubs and festivals around the world, there’s also the convenience of sourcing music online and storing music digitally on usb drives for DJing.

What would you say is the most valuable thing you’ve learnt as a producer/DJ?
Never follow trends and stick to the sound you love and are passionate about as this will translate into the quality of your productions and DJ sets.

We’d love to know more about your PLOY Records imprint.
I’ve been extremely lucky and grateful to have released on some of techno’s biggest labels such as Carl Cox’s ‘Intec’, Pan Pot’s ‘Second State’ and Christian Smith’s ‘Tronic’; however, my sound over the last few years has been getting darker and more experimental and I wanted full control of what and when I release, so, PLOY was born.

Next month, you’re unveiling your debut LP, ‘Orbit’. Tell us about this release and why you decided to create a full length project now.
I’m the first to admit that I’m not the most prolific producer, but last year I’d just finished building my new studio space which inspired me to finish loads of new music in a short time. I had about 6 club tracks ready but wanted to produce some more experimental stuff. The opening track on the album ‘Surge’ was the first of these and I felt was a perfect opener for an album. This inspired me to finally finish and release an album rather than putting them out as EP’s.

The album features an eclectic selection of club tracks which still maintain a signature sound. What would you say are the most important elements of a dance record and why?
It’s always the groove for me first, nearly every track I’ve produced starts with the drums. Once I lock the groove down I start adding other elements like the bassline and lead synth.

‘Orbit’ arrives via PLOY on the 14th June. What do you have planned post-release that you can tell us about?
I’m aiming to follow the album up with a couple of EP’s by the end of the year.