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John O'Callaghan - Cooking Up An Irish Stew

Author: Jane Stabler
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

As Godskitchen celebrate their tenth anniversary, 3D’s Jane Stabler talks to Irish trance DJ John O’Callaghan, who’ll be bringing the festivities to Sydney for their party Down Under.

There are few internationally recognised and revered dance labels in the world, let alone many that make it to double-digit birthdays. Godskitchen has done just that, and to celebrate the anniversary of their decade of perpetually fabulous trance parties, a massive line-up is in place for their upcoming Angel in White celebration.

Some of the world’s best trance DJs are signed up to make their way to our shores for the event, including Ireland’s John O’Callaghan who, in the past two years, has emerged and subsequently stormed his way through the international trance scene to become one of the most in demand producers in the world. The highly popular DJ says he never thought he’d end up playing something as massive as the GK tenth birthday.

“Not at all,” he says, still sounding slightly bemused. “I only really started [DJing] as a hobby and never took it seriously until people took interest in what I was doing. I never thought about having it as a career, and when I started out I never imagined I’d be playing gigs in the UK and Ireland or Australia! I love Australia, it’s nice because I’m used to a European culture and the energy of the people is close to Ireland in particular, and even though it’s the other side of the world it feels like home. The crowds are very welcoming and they love the music so it’s like my home away from home.”

Having been into trance from the start of his electronic music career, O’Callaghan’s pairing with Godskitchen makes sense. His belief in the brand also means he sees the parties and hopefully his association continuing long past the upcoming tenth birthday.

“I think Godskitchen is one of the strongest brands and has the longest lifespan,” the DJ says. “I think it has another few years at least to go. Some of the other brands have burnt themselves out but Godskitchen has been more careful. The Australian line-up shows how strong they are.”

Although he can understand the appeal of the GK concept, this modest DJ is still somewhat disbelieving of his current status of one of the most in demand producers in the world. O’Callaghan admits he still sometimes sits back and wonders how exactly this all happened.

“Some gigs are better than others and you stand there thinking how did this happen-” he reveals. “I remember seeing Paul van Dyk in Dublin and wondering what it feels like to be up there and now to have that chance – it’s surreal. I try not to think about it too much or I’ll over analyse it and go crazy. I just keep working as hard as I can and [to] one day be someone that people will remember. It’s an honour to be doing this. There are a lot more people, as far as I’m concerned, doing this better and I’m still learning and coming up the ranks. I just enjoy week to week and don’t take anything for granted. For me it’s something I keep check on and I work hard. I still have a long way to go.”

WHO: John O’Callaghan
WHAT: Plays Godskitchen at The Dome
WHEN: Saturday 11 October
MORE: godskitchen.com

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