It’s nearly the weekend and the sun is shining… That makes this weekend a perfect for the return of the House of St Barnabas Summer Festival and we’re thrilled to announce we’ll once again be supporting this summer event alongside @tolapeckham.

Returning once again for ’23, we’ll once again have a host of names on hand to spin the decks. Included within that list is garage royalty @zed_bias and old-school R&B legend, @sholaama. They’ll also be joined by masters of the decks @dr_dubplate, @ells_bellss, @gemitunes and their very own residents DJ, @jamierodigan.

To build up to this weekends event, we catch up with @gemitunes who sits down with us to discuss all things DJing, community all whilst providing us with a warm up mix

Gather your squad and book your tickets fast here.

Footpatrol: Gemi, we have seen / heard your mixes leading up to this event and been excited to chat more with you! How are  you?

Gemi: I’m doing good! Have just come back from Croatia after playing a couple sets at Outlook which was super fun. 

FP: Knowing you are big into your dance music, would you say that was the main driving force that got you into DJing?

Gemi: I think a main reason for it comes down to the fact that I had been producing way before I started DJing, but I fell in love with that immediate audience reaction side that you just can’t get making a tune in a studio. Being able to find or make a new tune and then the next day be able to play it to a reaction of a crowd feels really satisfying, especially when you’re someone like me who loves showing people stuff. Me and DJing is a match made in heaven really to me.

FP: Did you have any musical influences growing up?

Gemi: My influences growing up were really all over the place. I started producing after listening to a load of tunes on UKF Dubstep back in like 2010, and a couple years later wanted to try it out for myself. Production wise I learnt so much from so many random people, from Porter Robinson to Flying Lotus, to Virtual Riot. In terms of Garage and when I fell in love with making and DJing it, I drew pretty much all my influences from that early Garage House & 2-Step sound, your Jeremy Sylvesters, Tuff Jams, Ray Hurleys etc. – but there are also so many guys still championing that sound to this day, such as Perception, Highrise, and all the stuff coming out of places like Bumpin Underground or Fresh Milk Records.

FP: Could you tell us a bit about the @fourbyfouruk community and what it is? 

Gemi: So Fourbyfour is a project my good friend Dan and I run, all about trying to keep that community aspect of the garage scene going. We’re trying to involve everyone from all different corners of it, whether you’re making the bassier NUKG side of it, the speedy warpers you’re hearing take over the soundcloud free download market at the moment, or that proper headsy old school stuff that I touched on earlier. We currently run a tri-weekly download series but see ourselves so much more than just a label. The idea is to run a load of initiatives and projects under the brand such as events, clothing drops, and even at some point the possibility of a zine series or blog where we can deep dive into both the influential and upcoming artists and DJs in the scene. Im saying this beforehand so I don’t know how it’s gone as of yet but we will actually be running a 24 hour charity livestream from the 17th – 18th August, raising money for 3 great causes that have relevance to the UK underground music scene – with reps from notable Garage brands coming through for a little chat and a mix, so it should be fun!

FP: You are also a regular on Reprezent radio, what is it about radio you enjoy so much? Your shows are very bouncy, it’s hard to stay still in your seat!

Gemi: The guys at Rep are class – love my residency on the station. Radio gives you that freedom to play whatever you want – which is what I love the most. The current form of the show is under “Gemi and Friends” where I bring on a good friend on and we just go back to back for 2 hours, with it being simultaneously streamed on my Youtube channel. Joined by a SM58 and a Nokia 3310 for text ins you really can’t go wrong. Love getting people that may not play the exact same stuff as me as well. It has really helped me expand what I’ve got on my USB, which translates nicely into how I curate my live sets for shows.

FP: Of course we are here for the House of St.Barnabas Summer Festival. How you feeling about it?

Gemi: I’m proper excited! Killer line-up for it. Visited the house not too long ago and what a place to hold a festival! Love the early start as well, you really can’t go wrong with a cheeky little day motive. Always lovely to see Ell, and haven’t seen Dr Dubplate in a while as well so will be a nice catchup. Having 3 huge garage legends alongside as well makes this a properly tasty affair.

FP: Have you got your track list sorted or are you still in your planning stages?

Gemi: No tracklist at the moment! My usual technique is to throw everything in a folder and go from there haha. If you’re lucky I might know what my first tune is going to be the day of, but I’m not making any promises! I find DJing the most fun when you’re on your toes and always having to read the audience.

FP: Well, we can’t wait to see you on the 19th August! Before we let you go Gemi, is there anything you would like to sign off the interview with?

Gemi: Can’t wait either! I guess all I can say is super excited to come down, and expect some nice bumpy sexy vibes and good times all round.