Fact not Friction

Bobby Friction – top global DJ, filmmaker, hardcore Prince fan and recently married man talks to Charlie Whitworth all about love and life

Charlie Whitworth: Bobby, you are widely regarded as one of the best DJs in the country – who was your biggest influence when pursuing this career?

Bobby Friction: There hasn’t been one- but three influences –  one, ‘Prince’ got me into music full stop.  He was my original idol, a unique artist who always did things his own way and strived for originality. He was my first musical obsession and it continues to this day.

Aki Nawaz – of music group Fun-Da-Mental – the first UK Asian band that got me excited about our generations creativity and music.  That’s not all though, Aki spoke to me as a teenager threw a  Molotov cocktail of positivity into me and then sat back and watched and watched whilst I burnt fiercely.

Chouque Hussain – (of ‘Black Star Liner’) a band that burned briefly during the Asian underground scene in the mid nineties.  He was my hero as he had the humour of a ‘Carry On’ movie, the stage presence of a Pakistani Iggy Pop and was as psychedelic as Ravi Shankar  making love to Pink Floyd. He made me believe in myself as an artist and told me that Asian music needs me.

CW: Nihal (fellow BBC DJ) and you have recently both got married – do you think being married will affect your careers?

BF: Marriage will effect my career most probably in two ways - one - I’ll work harder than ever to build a beautiful home for me and my wife. And there may be less staying up till 6am in the morning with 20 strangers in my hotel room, screaming and throwing bottles of whiskey.... (maybe they’ll just stay until 4am in the morning instead!)

CW: You have an international reputation as a fine turntabler – which parts of the world attract you most?

BF: I’ve spun countless times in the sub continent and the Americas, I’d like to discover Australia and Africa if possible. But would I move there permanently? I’ve always enjoyed San Francisco and if all the creative juices moved to San Francisco I’d move but that ‘aint gunna happen ‘cos Britain is where it’s at BABY!!

CW: You made your break as a DJ on BBA Local Radio after graduating with a degree in Visual Art – what advice would you give to aspiring DJs looking to make an impression?

BF: You’ll have to work for free - you have to work REALLY hard and you’ll have to network like crazy- you’ll most probably do this whilst juggling a full time job, spend less time with your friends and give up watching TV altogether – that’s what I did for ten years and it’s the only way I know how.

CW: What is the best venue you have played at so far?

BF: A club in Pune New Delhi has to win for original design – it was a concrete UFO in – 60 metres high with a DJ booth standing in the middle! Honest!
 
CW: Finally, you knew it was coming – what is your favourite track of all time?

BF: Ahhh--- OOOOHHH-– you can’t do that – ok well maybe ‘A Day in the Life’ by the Beatles- the first ever surrealist abstract track which broke every single known rule in popular music – it has an orchestra rising to a crescendo at the end without any rules and it’s sounds like the end of the universe...

You can listen to Bobby Friction play the best sounds from Brixton to Bombay on the BBC Asian Network On digital radio: On digital TV: On line bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork

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