Read Further - The Edit - Chris Massey

An introduction, please … who are you, where are you, and what pays the bills?

I was born Christopher Phillip Massey but go as Chris Massey…I’m now based in sunny Stretford, Manchester after finally uprooting from my birth town of Bolton last year…paying they bills comes from wearing many hats in the music industry, from DJing, booking/programming events, night clubs & festivals, working on A&R for Paper Recordings and for many years in the service of Electriks where I look after many Electric Chair related shenanigans!

Where was the mix recorded, and what is the inspiration behind it?

The mix was recorded in my bedroom studio and the inspiration came from a mixture of the sudden splurge of sunshine we’ve had (which will probably be long gone by the time this mix goes live!) and my love of movies & movie dialogue which gets stuck in my head. I’ve included a few vocal recordings dotted about along with some killer tracks from some of my fave films as well as tracks that I’ve come across from getting lost deep within Spotify or listening to 6Music when compiling playlists for two of the Unabombers’ venues.

Strictly vinyl? Strictly digital? Couldn’t care less?

Really not bothered. I always liked & preferred the identity that music had with vinyl and find digital very faceless and at times difficult to remember one track from another. But for pure practicality I use digital now.

‘Balearic’, seems to be a somewhat overused term these days, but if you had to – and we are asking you to – describe the essence of ‘Balearic’ in one record?

Herb Alpert’s Rotation always makes me think of sunny scenes & espadrilles. Was such a big track during our days of running Electric Elephant in Croatia and holds some really fantastic memories of those times.

Favourite place you’ve travelled to? And why?

Have had some fantastic holiday’s with my lovely wife Lisa. Lisbon was pretty special as after we checked into our “music themed” hotel (seriously!) we walked across the road to a big park to find them setting up for a 2 day festival which we of course entertained!

Sunset or Sunrise? And the best place to experience it?

In all honesty, I’ve only really experienced them both at Croatia during a festival I used to work on. Sunrise at Barbarellas nightclub was always pretty special, especially when on the dance floor and you hear one of the DJs drop one of your tracks. Pretty special!

Most embarrassing record(s) you’ve bought? Most expensive? And your best bargain bin finds you’ve digged out over the years?

I once spent £15 on a Mauro Piccotto record when I was deep in my Cream & Gatecrasher phase. I thought that was mega bucks at the time!

Favourite DJ you’ve heard play out over the years?

This probably sounds a bit biased but Justin Crawford/Justin Unabomber blew me away at our last Electric Chair event when he had to fly solo for the last stage of the night. Nancy Noise at our recent ‘Electric Weekender’ massively impressed me though with her track selection & vibe creating. I don’t think I’ve ever stood & shazam’d so much in my life!

Anything else we should know about you or what you are up to … and do you have a track listing for the mix you provided?

Good time to push my own Sprechen record label here which will soon be hitting 2 years old! I’ve been so pleased with ii so far and had some fantastic releases with some absolute corkers lined up for the last half of this year. Keep a heads up @sprechenmusic.. Tracklist:

Mac DeMarco – On The Level
Taj Mahal & Toumani Diabate – Queen Bee
Rodriguez – Cause
Pete Josef – Colour
Sade – Never As Good As The First Time
Dreadzone – Where Is My Friend
The Rolling Stones – Heaven
Four Tet – Parallel Jalebi
The Who – Eminence Front
Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train
Le Matos – Apple’s Hearts
The Cure – Disintegration

Thanks to Chris for taking the time out to answer these questions.