Dubai: He's among the few DJs to have ever played at the world's first Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa; he's the sound behind various dance nights including Plastik; international DJ Roger Sanchez has endorsed his music; he's graced the likes of Miss Moneypennys and Hed Kandi in the UK; and starting January, DJ Tim Kay is set to raise the bar at Atlantis Hotel's Sanctuary in the main room every Friday, playing big room house music — a feat not many local DJs can say they have accomplished.
"As a child, I was always musical. I was trained in piano, vocals and even played in an orchestra. Music wasn't something that happened to me by chance. It's been my passion ever since I can recall," says the Londoner.
Popularity
By 16, Kay had his first set of 1210's. Or turntables for everyone else…. "I was obsessed. Dance music had just come to the forefront in the UK and I was addicted. I spent the next two years of my life being a bedroom DJ. I was still too young to play the clubs, but in my bedroom I was king."
By the time Kay hit the legal age, his name had spread all over the UK and beyond. He won his first gig at Brixton Academy, playing for a crowd of 5,000, which led to a summer in Ibiza the following year.
Kay had landed on the music scene. Dubai was not too far away. A musical wanderlust had got hold of him and there was no escape.
In 2008, Kay flew to the sunny shores of Dubai. "This is a summer wonderland," he says. "The music scene has been growing in leaps and bounds and this is exactly the place I want to be at this point in my life."
Besides sunny days and party nights, Dubai has afforded Kay the luxury of time to create his own music. When he isn't selling real estate by day or DJing to packed rooms at night, Kay's in his studio creating tracks for his upcoming album. His debut tune Pump It Up was picked up by international DJ Roger Sanchez, who loved it so much that he promoted it as his number one track in Ibiza last year. It goes without saying then that Kay was on the map.
From the heart
Following residencies at Nobu, Armani Prive and Powder Beach Club, Kay is now Sanctuary Superclub's Friday night resident DJ, playing big room house music with the odd bit of commercial tunes fused in with progressive beats. It's a job that Kay does from the heart. Having played warm-up sets for the likes of Steve Angello (Swedish House Mafia), Eric Morello and Richard Grey, Kay is a deft hand at the decks.
He describes his music as intelligent, probing and teasing people to get into the mood for the rest of the night. "Improvisation is the key to being a good DJ," he explains. "I don't play the same kind of music as many of the other DJs play here. I play off the crowd." A task that means Kay can't come to the venue with a track list in hand. No set is ever played twice. "Everything depends on the crowds you're playing for. Sometimes there may be a smaller crowd at the start and if the on-going music is tech or deep house, which is a bit much for the early part of the night, it's up to the DJ to create the mood to attract people on to the floor. It doesn't mean I have to succumb to a bout of commercial tunes, but just a hint of commercialism, perhaps with layered vocals, may give people the energy they're lacking," he says.
However, since the music scene in Dubai is still relatively new, a DJ needs to learn to adjust to local crowds. "Not everyone in Dubai is heavily into dance music. Most people are just after a good night out. When I have crowds such as these, I'd play stuff with more groove and lay off the slightly more advanced sounds. Sometimes a little remix here or a bootleg or dubbed version or an a cappella of commercial music is all that's needed to turn an ordinary night, into an extraordinarily, unforgettable one," he says.
