BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. BBC Radio One, it's now time to work in my special guest into the studio. Hello, Bontan. How are you, mate? What's up, Danny? Welcome back to Radio One. Good to be back. Now, you've done a mini-mix for us, which we'll get to very shortly. But I want to just talk Bontan, man, because it's been 12 years since that Josh Butler remix that put you on the map. When you look back now at your career trajectory, was staying relevant the goal or has it been more like following your own creative compass? Because we're going to talk through your styles in a minute, but you've just been always consistent for the last sort of 12, 13 years. I think if you try and develop your sound naturally to what you are feeling and where

your sort of sound wants to go, you will stay relevant if you stay sort of like one step.

I've always tried to stay one step ahead slightly. We're not making too many changes to my sound,

but slightly changing it, you know,

developing and evolving over the years. You built a strong relationship with, like, huge artists

in the scene, Jamie Jones and more recently another releasing regularly on both their labels.

Yeah. How important are those relationships and how important are they being to your

development as well as an artist? Not only the labels, you know, unbelievable labels, they're amazing as people as well,

but the parties as well that they throw.

Like Paradise and No Art as well, two of the best parties you can go to as a fan and as a DJ.

So to be involved in both, it is unbelievable.

No art, I know you played for a lot recently, but you played in your own home territory.

No art, which play in some of the most beautiful locations in the world.

And I'm not saying Liverpool's not beautiful.

But how was it playing a party that you're used to playing globally, but on your front door?

Well, it's good because I could be home in 25 minutes. Apart from that, but yeah. I'm used to a hotel room, but I was in bed watching TV with a brew. Now, you know what it's funny is I was looking out, and I just knew most of the... Everyone backstage was either a friend or someone who I knew through someone.

And then you walk and do the crowd and I was like, oh, I went to school with you.

And it's pretty, it's fun, it's fun.

You're no stranger to Radio One.

Two essential mixes.

We did one last year, which was incredible.

One in 2017 that I missed.

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