DJ Seb: Fontaine of talent

When DJ Seb Fontaine collected his payment of £30 after his first "proper" gig he never imagined he'd be playing in front of a crowd at the world's richest horse race more than 20 years later.

Growing up in West London, his initial musical interest was for ska, but soon dropped any preference in favour of being a DJ who played what the people wanted.

In 1989, Fontaine landed a residency at The Fridge in Brixton, London, but it wasn't until a year later he really took the dance world by storm when he secured a residency at Cream in Ibiza.

Fontaine chatted with tabloid! just before his gig at the Dubai World Cup last Saturday. 

What's the song you're playing over and over right now?

Party in Miami is a great tune and I chose Dubai over the Winter Music Conference in Miami this year so I play this and get the best of both worlds. 

Have your parents ever seen you DJing? What do they think?

Don't think so. I think they are used to it by now as I've been a DJ for over 20 years. 

When should a DJ retire?

When he doesn't enjoy it any more. You just have to evolve and realise who and where your market is. 

What songs did you love as a child and have they ever made it into your sets?

Some of the disco tracks have definitely crossed over but I don't make a concerted effort to incorporate my childhood rave records.(Laughs 

What's the most inappropriate thing you've ever done on stage?

I am a pillar of the community, so have no idea what you could mean. 

What's your biggest regret?

It would be in my personal life but with regards to work, nothing. I have enjoyed every bump and lump in the journey to where I am now. Maybe there are things that I would do differently now, but still no regrets. 

Describe the least appealing backstage dressing room you've had to endure?

Well I'm lucky enough to have been in some of the most amazing backstage rooms in the world but the other end of that scale is quite horrific. Throw in a nice mix of three-day festival mud and blocked toilets and you'd rather take your chances out in the fields. 

Who would you hire to DJ your 50th birthday?

I've only just had my 40th, give me a break! I'm still coming to terms with it, it was quite traumatic. In fact, next year will be my 39th for the third time. On a serious note it would be friends as opposed to names. 

What music are you currently excited about?

Some very old school-sounding house music and some really fun mash-up pop tunes. 

If you had to explain to an old maths teacher what you do for a living, what would you say?

I watch bits of plastic go around. 

Vinyl, CD, DVJ, laptop. Which one and why?

Laptop and Cdj2000 as controllers, as I can have the best of both worlds. I get the bells and whistles of Traktor which I think is amazing software but I still feel like I'm DJing properly as I'm still working the cdjs. 

What do you have coming up your fans might want to know about?

Re-launch of the Mono-type label in late April coupled with a new Reflekt single with Kim Wilde as well as new mix compilation on Nervous NYC.