TextMi-Latest: Interview: Mistress de funk
Emma Thompson, with her multitude of aliases, tells all for your reading pleasure!
Article posted on 23rd Nov 2006 at 15:53
Who are you?
Emma Thompson aka Mistress de funk aka Mia Wallace aka Emma Van Dyke
Where are you from?
Rochdale! Posh!
What are you best known for?
Snogging really fit girls whilst djing!
When can we see you play?
Privilege and es paradis ibiza over the summer, sankeys on a sat, bitch on a sun, absolutely at the loft in preston, filthy gorgeous at various venues in london and nationwide, also a nationwide tour starting soon with jo mills
Why did you be come a DJ?
My sister and her boyfriend were both djs, she never let me near her decs as she was afraid id scratch all her records, so from 14, i used to sneak on them whenever i could, you can imagine her shock when i asked for a go, and she let eventually let me, and i was better than her! Got my first residency at generation x at 15 and have been playing ever since!
How do you think the Bitch launch went on Sunday and what was your highlight of the night?
The Bitch launch exceeded all expectations for me, it could even have been one of the best nights I've had. And the crowd was amazing to play to, really responsive, absolutely going mental, no pretentions what so ever, and the atmosphere was unquestionably electrifying. Loved it from start to finish, and it left me very excited about what lies ahead for Bitch. Highlight of the night? There were a few!! The Bitch girls added that special extra touch, and everyone doing a dc10 style sit down, then all going crazy and jumping up as the base kicked in was awesome!! My excited face on all the pictures shows what i thought of the night!
When you were DJing you were accompanied by 2 girls dressed in full costume and make up. Tell me more about the Mistress De Funk girls...
The Mistress De Funk Girls were something we came up with whilst I was playing in Ibiza this summer (in all honesty it was totally an excuse to get fit girls chained to me, but it has stuck) Be prepared for loads of exciting suprises with the girls over the coming weeks. There will be a very special suprise bitch girl on the 12th, also we'll be changing the look from month to month, and even getting body painted up!
You have just been made a resident at Sankeys, how did this come about?
The sankeys residency was an unexpected but very pleasant suprise. I've done loads of stuff there over the last couple of years for the one desire boys, and also for speny's night kaluki. But not specifically for sankeys. I think it was my first gig at sankeys since my summer playing in ibiza, and on the sunday night (monday morning i should say) i had a phone call from dave vincent, just saying, well done emma, we'd like to welcome you aboard, you are an official sankeys resident. It sounds ridiculous, but it was a total life defining, unforgettable moment, i did shed a tear if im being truthful, big girl!!
What have you got lined up over the next couple of months?
Next couple of months i'm really busy. Twice a month sankeys on a sat, also started sats at a night called absolutely in preston. Obviously working on Bitch is the biggest thing for me at the moment cause i'm heavily involved in pushing and helping promote it as much as playing. I'm on the books for the privilege tour, so will have dates for that over the coming months, also an all female dj tour with jo mills and delicious over the next few months. Dates for 2007 already include an ibiza reunion in nottingham, custard factory in birmingham, and disco slut in preston. I've got a monthly residency for a breaks night, so really working on defining my breaks side of things as well, as i want to start playing that out more, again under a different guise however, so watch out for Harlot, cause thats me as well. Im starting work on my first track in the next 2 weeks which im really excited about, as my head will explode if i dont start soon, and i have some really exciting stuff going on that i cant actually disclose just yet, all i can say, is watch this space...
Which producers and DJs are really doing it for you at the moment?
Big producers for me right now are without doubt the immensely talented gabriel ananda, he is my absolute favourite! Loving format b, audiojack, trentemoller (of course) john dahlback!!!!! The guy is 20 years old he is amazing! Also look out for a very talented trio called speculum, loving them at the mo and reckon they're gonna be massive. Booka shade and Mandy as well of course. Oliver Koletski, Oliver Huntemann, Claude Von Stroke, god too many to even think about.
Is there anywhere we can find more information about you?
Keep checking my myspace for dates and updated info, but there is a website on the way as soon as i get time to blink.
Photography by Nick Debase
