After spending the last seventeen years holed up in the studio, Charlie May will finally perform live in front of an audience.
The producer formed the Spooky outfit alongside Duncan Forbes in the early '90s, and became leaders of the progressive house scene until their hiatus four years later. That wasn't the end for May, though, as he would soon get to work on Sasha's Xpander, which is still recognised as one of the landmark releases of the genre. His first-ever live performance will take place on Thursday 17th December at London's Cable venue, but it will be a strictly guestlist affair with no tickets being sold. However, any fans interested in attending should e-mail cable*at*530db.com to apply for a guestlist place, of which there are 100 to give away to fans. May will also perform alongside two special guests, who have yet to be announced. We caught up with Charlie by e-mail to ask about his preparations, the club, and if he thinks that a certain DJ will make an appearance on the night.How long has your live show been in the works?
I've been playing around with the idea for a while, bringing some of the back catalogue up to date—not just for myself but also the Spooky gigs next year to support the new album.
You're known for being quite the studio whiz. Will you be bringing much hardware down with you for the show?
I like to keep gear to a minimum since flying with heaps of stuff is very problematic in this post-terrorist/pre-Armageddon era of travel. We used to take a lot of hardware on tour but now I don't like to even check stuff into the hold. It always broke my heart to see my favourite synth coming around on the baggage claim carousel after a good crushing. Not having too much gear to worry about is liberating though, and means I can concentrate on building the set and enjoying the music as I like to improvise a lot rather than just play one track after another in a pre-determined list of tunes.
The night features two special guests. Will there be any chance of a certain Mr Coe appearing?
I doubt it. He's a bit out of my price range to be honest... but you never know!
Have you been down to Cable to check out the club yet? What are your thoughts?
The club looks great, and I hear the sound system is very good. I shall go and check it out in person soon, but I like the look of the place, and being near London Bridge means I can pop home for that one important cable/power supply that I'm bound to forget!