Festival Q&A:
DJ Monki

Who else are you excited to see?
Chaka Khan, I think I’ve seen everyone else play at some point at festivals over summers. So yeah, Chaka Khan for me – gonna be a right vibe, especially if Blighty’s weather pulls through! I feeeel for you.

What’s your best festival memory?
God, that’s a big question. There’s been so many. Apart from the obvious ones like playing Glasto, Sonar and all the big festivals, last year I met Carl Cox for the first time. I was like to my mates after his set: “I’m gonna go talk to him.” And when I came back they asked how it went. I said: “Yeah, he was proper sound, and he was dressed like a minion.” They didn’t believe me but a few months later he confirmed on my radio show that he was indeed dressed like a minion that day. It was pretty funny.

What are your festival essentials?
Loo roll, always bop with your own loo roll. Hand sanitiser is ESSENTIAL. Eye drops for tired eyes and Berocca. That is basically my survival kit.

How does playing a festival differ from playing your own gig?
Club gigs are different to festival gigs. The vibe is different. I guess you have a little bit more freedom to play stuff you might not drop in a club necessarily, purely because the setting isn’t right. People seem to be in a happier mood – it’s summer, after all.

What’s your favourite part of playing a festival?
I just love summer. DJs are like passing ships over summer – you end up seeing people you haven’t seen in ages in the most random situations and having a ball. Also it means Ibiza season comes around again and it’s always special spending time on that island.

Read our preview of Parklife Festival here