Interviews: From Pirate Airwaves to Digital Frontlines – The evolution of DJ Twiz.

Interviews: From Pirate Airwaves to Digital Frontlines – The evolution of DJ Twiz.

We start our series of interviews from the creative world, & we start our series on under ground electronic music in the U.K early 90S pirate radio stations were fundamental for the birth of new sounds & new movments, and entire genres! The evolution of how we consume not only music & radio but how & where we dance has changed, there are so many important moments & stories to be told, a series about inovators new & old & continued progress & forward thinking, I have known Twiz for many years & stories from the ground up, at the start of movements & birth of new sounds is a great thing to be able to sit down & talk with him about!We cover the the beginning, middle, now & what is to come!

 

🎙️ Interview with DJ Twiz
Host: Rich Wigley
Guest: DJ Twiz

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🕹️ Part 1: The Club Scene – From Raves to Repercussions

Rich Wigley:
So, tell me — what made you drift away from the club and rave scene a bit?

DJ Twiz:
Honestly, the vibe changed. I didn’t like it anymore. I used to go to raves — The Drome in Peckham was a big one. I played there quite a bit, especially in the early days. But after a while, it didn’t feel like people were going there for the music anymore. They were going to start trouble. It was chaos sometimes. I remember thinking, “I can’t wait to get out of here.”

Rich:
Yeah, it gets ugly quick when it’s not about the music anymore.

Twiz:
Exactly. If I wasn’t working — if I wasn’t DJing — there’s no way I would’ve been in those places. No chance.
Now, compare that to the hardcore scene — I was all over that.

But it happened in garage too. I went to a couple of big garage events, and I can honestly say one of the most uncomfortable times I’ve ever had at a rave was at SW1 Club. I walked in, and the energy was just wrong. Bad vibe straight away. I used to get that sometimes with jungle raves, but this garage night — it felt like something was going to kick off any second. I remember turning to my mates and going, “You know what? I’m out of here.” I just didn’t feel safe.

Rich:
Yeah, thankfully it’s not like that now.

Twiz:
No, it’s calmed down loads. You still get the odd idiot here and there, but nothing like it used to be.

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🎧 Part 2: The Rise of UK Garage

Rich Wigley:
So if you look at the early UK Garage scene, it really started with that import influence from the US—your Todd Terry, Todd Edwards-type stuff from Chicago and New York. And then came the Sunday scene, which helped kick it all off. When that UK Garage sound really hit, how did it impact the D&B and old school jungle crowd?

DJ Twiz:
That’s a great question, mate. Yeah, a lot of people jumped across, massively. For me, I started to play Garage because I got a bit disillusioned with how jungle and D&B were heading. The scene was going in a certain direction, and around that time, Garage just started to blow up—it literally came out of nowhere.

Like you said, the US influence was huge at first—Todd Edwards, Todd Terry—all of that was doing bits over here. And then suddenly, two-step became a thing, and I really got into that. It had that breakbeat energy—it wasn’t too far off jungle in terms of beat composition and structure. It had that roughness, that hard edge. It kind of took my mind back to what I loved about jungle, but in a new form.

You had producers like El-B and Wookie doing mad things rhythmically. And MCs started to really make their mark in the scene too. I remember when Heartless Crew and Pay As U Go started pushing that live energy on pirate sets — it felt raw again. A lot of the jungle heads were feeling that energy.

But at the same time, Garage was cleaner — more girls at the raves, a bit more glam. It opened up a different world. I still loved the grittiness of jungle, but Garage gave me a new lane. A new way to move.

Rich:
So it wasn’t just a sound shift — it was a scene shift?

Twiz:
Exactly. New clubs, new people, different kind of energy. Some heads stayed loyal to D&B, but loads of us found a new spark in Garage. It felt like the next evolution at the time.

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📡 Part 3: Pirate Radio & Dealing with the DTI

Rich:
Let’s switch over to pirate radio. The DTI — back then, they were a lot tougher than OFCOM, weren’t they?

Twiz:
Oh, 100%. The last time I broadcast — a few years back — we were still on the rooftops.
Back in the day, the DTI ran on a complaints-based system. If no one complained, they didn’t bother us much. But if someone’s telly started buzzing because we were blasting out with a 200-watt twin stack, that’s when they’d come knocking.

Rich:
What were your early encounters like?

Twiz:
It was a love-hate thing. They were doing their job, and we knew what we were doing was technically illegal. But we were just playing music — no harm.
Eventually, they respected that. It even got to the point where they’d ring us and say, “We’re coming out this weekend. Either turn off or we’re taking your kit.”
At Christmas, we’d leave mince pies in the lift shaft with a “Merry Christmas” note. We knew they were coming. They knew we knew.

Rich:
That’s wild. So they actually showed respect?

Twiz:
Yeah. By the time Don was running the station, they knew it wasn’t being run by some kids. We weren’t putting up dodgy rigs or causing interference just for the sake of it.
We had proper rig builders. If the rig was “sprogging” — putting out a messy signal — we’d take it down and fix it.
Sometimes they’d still turn up, and we’d be at the bottom of the block like, “Why didn’t you just ring us?” They knew exactly where we were.

Rich:
And Don’s shed — that setup’s become a bit of a legend, hasn’t it?

Twiz:
Haha, yeah — Don’s first studio was literally a shed in Vernon’s back garden. We called it The Shed.
One time, we were about to go live and noticed this DTI guy creeping up on a balcony trying to film us. Vernon snuck up behind him and went, “Gotcha.”
They were trying to gather evidence, looking to build a case for prosecution. Taking pictures, documenting everything.

Rich:
So it was about shutting you down, but only when people complained?

Twiz:
Exactly. If old Norma in the flats couldn’t watch Coronation Street because we were interfering with her signal, that’s when we had problems.

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🎶 Part 4: Producing Music – From Idea to Vinyl

Rich:
Let’s talk about production. When did you decide to make your own tracks?

Twiz:
I always wanted to. I just didn’t know what my sound was. Then I heard the Warhorn EP by DJ Hybrid. Within 10 seconds, I knew — that’s the sound I wanted to make.
I didn’t know Hybrid at the time — Alex — but I got the EP through the Cygnus mailing list, reached out, found out he lived in Worm, and invited him on the show.
If you don’t know DJ Hybrid — to me, he’s the best jungle/d’n’b producer out there. Absolute mustard.

Rich:
What happened after the interview?

Twiz:
He asked me, “You ever thought about making music?” I told him, “I’ve got ideas for days, but I’m not trained.”
He said, “Come to my studio.”
So I went — brought my son Boston George with me. Big up Boston George!
We spent the weekend digging through Star Wars clips — Empire Strikes Back, mainly.
I had a list of about 20 samples. We cleaned them up, and within four and a half hours, we had my first track: Rise.

Rich:
So he engineered, and you produced?

Twiz:
Exactly. I directed the vibe — “Drop this here, bring that in there.” He did the tech.
That tune got signed and still holds up. I still play it now.
Since then, I’ve made about 16 tracks. Critical Moment was my second — more hands-on with that one.
I’ve had tracks on Deep in the Jungle 6 and 7 — both went number one. I’ve got the vinyl at home.
Also had tunes on the KLP Best Of album. All thanks to Hybrid. The guy’s a wizard. Blink and he’s built a banger.

DJ Twiz – latest releaes on Beatport
 
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📻 Part 5: The Future of Radio and Club Culture

Rich:
Where do you see the future of radio — especially Flex — heading?

Twiz:
Everything’s digital now. Online presence is key. And Flex is only getting stronger.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the big stations came knocking soon.
The DAB multiplexes are a game-changer. Carl will talk more about that when you chat to him.
The HQ setup we’ve got now — restaurant, bar, club, podcast suites, boardrooms — it’s all happening.
We’ve got 60+ DJs, 8 or 9 shows daily, and a waiting list.
We’ve been doing festivals, Ibiza trips — even had our own tent at We Are 60. 20,000 people — rammed.

Rich:
What about the rise of daytime events — brunches, day raves?

Twiz:
They’re here to stay, I reckon. Drum & bass raves that start at 3 p.m. and finish by 10? I’m all for it.
I still do the vampire sets — 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. in Whitechapel the other night — but playing at 4 p.m. and being home for dinner with my son? That’s golden.

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Rich Wigley:
That’s brilliant. Appreciate the time — amazing stories.

DJ Twiz:
Big up. Thanks for having me.

catch DJ Twiz live on www.flexfm.co.uk every Tuesday 8pm – 10pm 101.4FM London