Master of the decks

Who'd have thought the mastermind behind a plethora of global trance anthems and finely-crafted dance mixes since the mid 90s could hail from our own backyard?

If you've ever watched Harry Enfield's tongue-in-cheek ode to clubbing in Ibiza - the infamous Kevin and Perry Go Large - you'll instantly recognise his work on the soundtrack, while club hits like Drifting Away have become some of the most recognisable trance tracks of the scene.

To mark the release of his first album, Better Late Than Never, Lara Page talks to a pioneer and fully certified member of the DJing elite - Lange (aka Stuart Langelaan).

You're a Shrewsbury-born lad, when did you fly the nest? I grew up around Belvidere and left when I was 24. I'm living in Cardiff at the moment which is a great city, but I still come and see my Mum and Dad in Shrewsbury.

Any favourite memories of the town? Erm... I seem to remember a lot of pub crawls when I was at Sixth Form college! I've played the Buttermarket before too.

What made you get into DJing? My parents bought me a Yamaha keyboard for Christmas, then I saved up to buy a mixer. I really wanted to be a sound engineer, but I didn't enjoy the course so I gradually started doing more mixes at home. I was signed to a record label after I sent a demo in to Future Magazine, and the rest is history...

What do you think you've brought to trance over the years? In 98 and 99 I was probably one of the forerunners for the trance scene in the UK. Myself and people like Matt Darey were pretty key to the genre initially and Judge Jules was playing a lot of our stuff on Radio One. So we were kind of flying the flag for Britain.

There's quite an ethereal sound to a lot of your productions - where does the inspiration come from? Well I'm quite a deep and moody character, and I've always appreciated rousing, emotive music. Having said that, I've dipped into other areas like techno, electro and minimal house on Better Late Than Never, so it has a slightly darker sound to my earlier stuff.

You've been voted into the prestigious Top 100 Djs poll in DJ Magazine four years in a row. Yeah, it's great to be recognised but for me personally it's all about music. I love DJing and people seem really passionate about trance, which is reflected in the latest Top 100 poll.

You travel all over the world - where are you favourite places to DJ at the moment? Several favourites - for fun value it'd have to be the Ukraine and Russia, both amazing places to play. I couldn't believe how enthusiastic the clubbers were out there, it was a crazy atmosphere!

I also like Kuala Lumper and the Ministry of Sound in Singapore, though I must admit I don't really enjoy Ibiza as much as I did. My absolute favourite was a club on the Isle of Lewis in Western Scotland which has sadly closed down now. It was an incredible place. I've still got a lot of friends there.

And when you're not mixing? I rarely DJ at home but when I'm not working, I try to get out in the countryside to relax. Living in Cardiff is quite handy for the Brecon Beacons, and also just chilling out and socialising.

What's on the cards for Lange this year? I'll be starting work on my next album, working on a new remix of Songless, and travelling a lot!

Lange's debut album Better Late Than Never is out now in HMV. Visit www.langealbum.com for more info or to hear samples.

By Lara Page