Revill: Identity-wise, it’s a tough one. We just try to put out good music. That’s such a cliché answer, isn’t it? I think actually a lot of the identity comes from our personalities. There’s six of us, and we’re all different guys. Basically, every decision for the label is done through committee and democracy, and it’s definitely our identities that shape it.
DJ Times: Do you think your experience running labels gave you a leg up when establishing your own career?
Revill: Definitely. Me and Ben UFO are the same because he has his label. Oneman is the only other DJ’s DJ who doesn’t have a label. It completely helps you. If you put out a good record on Numbers, as the poster boy of Numbers, I’m going to get kickback on that record and get more shows.
DJ Times: Your solo career is interesting because you only DJ; you don’t produce. Did that make it more difficult getting your name out there?
Revill: It did, but then it became quite trendy to just be a DJ. So we’re riding the wave just now, so to speak. I think nowadays it would be much harder for a kid to make it like that. When I was starting out and uploading mixes to Napster or wherever, there was not much competition. Nobody was really uploading mix CDs to the internet; they would just burn them on CDs or tapes and give them out. I guess [the time and place was] where I had an advantage, you know? Technology was good.
DJ Times: Do you have any opinion on DJs who hire ghost producers to create productions under their names?
Revill: I have absolutely no problem with ghost producing, right, but I have a problem when that person doesn’t get fully credited. If I ever eventually got into [releasing music] and I have a ghostwriter, I will be giving that guy full credit. It’s just not right, man. How could you live with that on your conscience—do you know what I mean? Without naming any names, but there’s these people getting paid thousands and thousands.
DJ Times: Do you mean giving them named credit on the release or just its cuts from the record?
Revill: Giving them credit on the sleeve.
DJ Times: Sort of how Chris Lorenzo used to produce for a lot of guys?
Revill: Yeah, like how he did it for Hannah Wants.
DJ Times: I recall catching you at Air during Amsterdam Dance Event last year for All Gone Pete Tong. You were the special unannounced guest. The entire night, Pete Tong and Kolsch were playing extremely melodic—
Revill: Shite.
DJ Times: —techno stuff.
Revill: Fucking shite.
DJ Times: You came in and dropped Bicep’s edit of “Gotta Let You Go” by Dominica and changed the whole sound of the night. Do you go in with a set goal of where you want that crowd to go?
Read More: DJing with Jackmaster…
Revill: I want them to go fucking crazy. I want them to lose their minds, basically. But yeah, the entire time I’m just face-down in it.
DJ Times: The next night, you were at Jamie Jones’ Paradise party throwing down vocal tracks when no one else was. What is the place of a vocal track in a set? There are some DJs who completely swear off them.
Revill: I grew up hating them, and now I really like them. If it’s the right vocal, I like it.
DJ Times: What kind of effect do they have on a set?
Revill: It depends on the vocal. There’s a genre that we at Numbers call “Screamers.” Screamers really get the crowd going. Have you heard “Hit It N Quit It,” the Cratebug edit? You’ve probably heard it a thousand times. It’s a disco roller, and the vocal just makes people go crazy.
DJ Times: Were there any DJs in particular that inspired you, stylistically?
Revill: Jeff Mills, Robert Hood, Derrick May, Andrew Weatherall. There’s loads, man, but I’m trying to pick the crème de la crème. Even this guy who works in Rubadub is one of the greatest DJs in the world, but he just plays it down. He doesn’t want to be famous, so he knocks back bookings all the time. He plays at his own club on Saturdays.
DJ Times: It feels like the past year has been a very big coming-out moment of sorts for you. Was there something that really served as a catalyst for it?
Revill: I took on a manager two years ago. He’s really just done such a good job. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.
DJ Times: What caused you to hire one? Were you too busy?
Revill: I was too busy, and I saw a lot of things that were going on around me DJ-wise that made me think, “These guys can help me take it to the next level.” Before that, it was always a middle-of-the-road kind of thing. I was the guy who was always playing warm-ups, so I reached out to Rag—one of the managers at DC10 [in Ibiza]—and they decided to take me on.
DJ Times: Are you going to be back at DC10 this summer?
Revill: Yep, back as a resident at DC10. I’m living out in Ibiza for the summer, God help me. R.I.P. Jacky Boy. Better get that tombstone made up now.
DJ Times: What’s the tombstone going to say?
Revill: Jackmaster: Non-Beloved, Annoying, Piss-Taking Asshole.
DJ Times: What else is lined up for the summer?
Revill: There’s that, and then heading out to the festivals.
