Whilst most kids were at school learning about Pyphagereses theory, Alex Kidd was at home getting himself a proper education, mastering the art of using a pair of 1210's! His first gig was at the age of 13, at a hotel function room for a friend’s birthday party. Fast forward 10 or so years later and Alex was busy taking the hard dance indusrty by storm, with regular gigs at major festivals, just about every major promotion going and some massive events in Holland such as HQXL. He got claimed by Mixmag as their future hero for both 2004 and 2005, and then the future soon became the present.

Today, you’ll find Alex smashing up dance floors across the land with the sounds of Hardstyle, Hard Trance and Hard Dance, performing with an extremely energetic stage presence that simply can’t be matched. But it doesn’t just end behind the decks: Alex is also the A&R manager for Goodgreef, a regular producer, has mixed several high profile albums, has even started his own outdoor events: Kiddstock and is soon to be launching his own label Kiddfectious!

Now on Saturday the 2nd of February, the Kidd comes down to ‘The Venue’ in Nottingham to top the bill at Xstatic for another one of their infamous 12 hour stompathons! We will be joining forces with two of the largest and most respected Hard Dance brands in the country:Storm and Sundissential who both have taken the award for ‘best club’. As this night will also see the exclusive Midlands lable launch of Kiddfectious, we sat down with Alex to find out how he’s going to make the night such a memorable one……

Alex, Xstatic have gone from strength to strength in the past couple of years and the next 12 hour stompathon is looking to be our largest so far. What are you most looking forward to about playing?

Hello howdy holla, im looking forward to getting some time to know the xstatic crowd. Last time I played I had come straight from Creamfields and because of the turd sound issues I left the site in a bit of a huff. We rocked up to the front doors of Xstatic and straight away I got rid of my moody pants. There was a pitch at the front door with a bollard in a car park space saying “reserved for The Kidd”. That was a nice touch, cheers Jimmy! The instant I walked in there we caught straight on to the vibe and it was a pleasure to be rocking Xstatic’s birthday party, I like the fact how the following around the midlands is predominantly hardhouse so I get the chance to inject something different into the mix..

Xstatic have built up a strong reputation in the Midlands and we are going to be joined by the long running Sundissential and the mighty Storm, that evening. What’s your take on all the top notch brands involved?

All in all bringing these brands together again is going to be another legendary milestone me thinks

I’ve been playing for Sundissential for absolutely years, about 2000 I started playing for Madders through the Goodgreef hook up and more recently Madders has shown me a lot of loyal and valued support so it’s a dream come true to headline his birthday and feature at his events. Sunnies is one of those brands that doesn’t need the recent hype and marketing that has come hand in hand with a lot of super brands, it’s born and bred hard house heaven and has adapted to the hard dance crossover with a massive cult following. Storm on the other hand are the most consistent and established brand on the hard house scene right now. They hype up there events with massive line ups but the difference between them and a lot of other super brands is they always deliver. Every storm party ive played at, which has quite a lot over the years, has always been jammed to the rafters with the best atmosphere you’ll find in the country.

There is a lot of diversity in the line-up that night with quite a bit of up and coming Hard Dance talent, plus a good choice of House talent as well. How well do you feel that the more down tempo House is going to compliment the stomping Hard Dance?

Yeh I see it in most of the bigger nights now, another area or arena to house the house for the house heads in the house. It’s all good, ill try and make sure I get in there and check it out if I can drag myself away from the anarchy in the main room.

The Venue isn’t actually that big (capacity 500) but the upside of that is you’re going to be playing in quite an intimate environment. Is that a setting that you enjoy playing in?

I love playing in these sort of venues, gives me a real chance to get comfortable and have a proper gauge for what’s going on in the minds and souls of the twisted bodies that are shaking the foundations of Long Eaton.

At Xstatic’s 2nd Birthday back in August of 2007, you headlined there as well. What fond memories have you got of that gig?

I debuted a new remix that night, it was my remix of Signum coming on Strong, I think ill have to give it a re-blast at this stompathon for those that didn’t catch it first time round.

I was with a couple of good mates that night and we had a blast just rocking in the box and getting down and dirty to it haha we almost ended up at some ravers after party in Long Eaton but I bottled it last minute..My bed was calling me!

Those of us who weren’t lucky enough to get a Sega 'Megadrive' for Christmas ended up with a 'Master system' and on there was a built in game called ‘Alex Kidd’. Is that were your stage name comes from?

Its actually originates from my early days of growing up in the Shaolin Temple in China, i spent many long years serving as an apprentice for Buddhist Master Shi Yong Xin and he awarded me with the title. It just kinda stuck from there.

On that memorable day at the Tidy Weekender, which became know as Kiddfeilds, when you played an impromptu set outside a chalet and suddenly hundreds of clubbers came dashing out of their chalets to hear it, what sort of feeling did that give you?

Some of it is quite a blur but one thing I will never forget is how surreal it was. I kept grabbing my mate Beorn over to one side and whispering in his ear. Everyone must be thinking im asking him to get me a drink or a cigarette. Infact I kept saying to him “Mate, what the fuck is going on, is this for real?”. He was just laughing telling me to carry on with it and that everyone was having a ball. So I did just that, forgot that we were in a shit hole in North Wales and just went ballistic and pushed my luck to the point that the whole campus, security, clubbers, staff and TV crew included were all witnessing something that was on such a next level that it could only ever be seen at an infamous weekender. The feeling after it was pretty cool because everywhere I go, and I mean literally every gig from London to Ireland to Australia...people ask me about it and tell me they were a part of it. I mean this is the sort of shit that I dreamt about when I worshipped other dj’s and just started out in the scene. For it to come true and for me to be responsible for something like that is a special feeling that is hard to top.

That even led on to your own outdoor rave Kiddstock. How did you feel the elements such as the secret outdoor location and the teaming up with Contagious club-wear really worked?

The secret location and the air of mystic was vital to the event , it was the first time I was put in the driving seat and I knew exactly how I wanted it to be. It might be a cliché but know one knows how hard it is to put on events, least of all mini festival, unless they really do it themselves. The work load was immense and the infrastructure we had to put in place to get the event launched to its fullest potential meant that it took up my whole life for 4 months solid. Seeing it all come together beautifully on the day was the only real feeling of huge achievement and sense of self satisfaction ive felt since the day of Kiddfields.

On your Kiddfectious label, you are going to be showcasing some of the leading artists in the scene and some of the freshest and most advanced new blood; which of those artists deserve a special mention?

Without a doubt, Kidd Kaos is a name to be looking out for. He has his own label off the ground and im working with him on collabs and remixes and the guy is absolutely on fire. The best thing about him is that hes so young and fresh and has barely even developed his skills so there is so much more to look forward to from him.

It’s also going to showcase some of your own productions, colab efforts, cheeky bootleg numbers and some of your remixes for good measure. Out of those lot, what can we most look forward to?

The first release is an atomic bomb. They don’t come much harder than this! Alex kidd v Organ Donors “Muzik”. Its a schranz re-work of Madonna’s hit Muzik (hard techno for those who aint in the know!) and its one of the peak time tunes in my sets. The remix comes from DbD and he takes it down a nasty hard dance hard style route with a demon DbD riff like only he knows how.

Im working alot with BK in his London studios and we’ve created some magical tracks. We have plans ready for more studio time as well so I imagine ill be doing plenty of stuff with him this year. The main reason for this is because we’ve been creating a new style which is so fresh and unique that it’s a project we’re both dying to keep progressing with.
So check out for the releases on the label from BK in the short future. The first release is an atomic bomb. They don’t come much harder than this!

You’ve always believed in evolving your style and for the past year or so, you seem to have been more Hardstyle orientated, so what is the next step for musical evolution for Alex Kidd?

The great thing about being in a position of doing this full time means I get to hear all the different styles of music from all the top producers and artists and it means I get the chance to play around with new styles and express my new tastes. There is music out there with elements of tech trance, hardstyle, hard dance, hard trance and techno that all give me the same buzz in the studio and behind the decks. So now I’m in all these different environments and clubs each weekend, I get to play all different sounds and styles in my sets and if I didn’t id be bored shitless. If all I played was the same record over and over but with a different stab and a different bass id be bored shitless .So this year will be more of the same. Pushing the hard style thing is something that matters to the clubbers, but for me I’m pushing my own style and sound at the same time and whatever falls in between that is what comes out of the speakers of whichever club im smashing the back doors out of. The label is a perfect way for me to push this concept because it will show a different depth to Alex Kidd from the musical side of me that you only catch at the big clubs and raves.

You’ve got a very strong stage presence which few (if any?) can match. What is it that’s filling you up with so much energy and enthusiasm in the DJ booth?

Now more than ever I feel like a huge part of a scene that is moving forward again in leaps and bounds. Imp sometimes humbled at playing integral roles of big events on the calendar like main stages of festivals and headlining big line ups. But I keep me feet on the ground and live for the moment because who the fuck knows where it’s all heading. I have had many good times and reached so many goals but more than that, the scene has so much to be proud of. I try to bring that out of people in a set and dig a bit deeper to get the reaction this scene deserves. Sometimes a lot of folk take for granted what a wonderful thing it is to be locked in a moment. I’ve been following the industry for almost 15 years and ive been working in it for 10 of those years. To be given the chance to live my dreams out all week and all weekends at all these amazing clubs, working with gifted artists, meeting beautiful people and playing to brilliant crowds...who wouldn’t be jumping for joy and giving it all they’ve got???

You believe that the best producers from your genre come from Holland and Germany. What’s your opinion on the current material coming out of the UK in Hard Dance?

DbD is the best UK remixer and I can’t see that ever changing, his skills are unrivalled. BK and the Organ Donors have been on fire this year and tie it for me as best producers. Like I said before, Kidd Kaos is the new blood that needs to be looked out for.

You’ve played at a lot of the larger events such as the major UK festivals and Dance Valley in Holland. How do you adjust your set when you’re playing to a crowd of thousands of people?

Sometime you’ve got to anthem bash it a little bit, because the festivals are only once a year and the nature of our scene is to entertain rather than educate. But I only chuck in a couple more classics into the mix just to get the atmosphere spreading throughout the huge crowds. Essentially though im booked to do what i do so I don’t alter my style too much and try to be something im not. I will say one thing though, you could play a cd of cats purring and dogs barking at the Planet Love Festival in Belfast and the crowd would still go bananas, they’re just absolutely mental over there!

You’ve always believed in not becoming too big head and keeping your feet firmly on the ground, no matter how successful that you get; how do you feel that philosophy has helped you in your career?

Yeah I’ve got a good set of people around me and I grew up at time where I had to work through the ranks to get to where I wanted to be. A combination of this means I live breathe and eat the scene and there’s no room for thinking im of any major importance or celebrity status. It’s not like I save lives or walk on water. If I turned up to the gig and started playing a recreation of Mozart on the grand piano then I get a bit big for my boots, but really I’m just having a laugh with it all whilst pushing some boundaries and taking a few risks and trying not to take it all too seriously at the same time. My main focus is concentrating on what I love which is playing and making the music and pushing the scene forward with new concepts and ideas. .

And finally, the Xstatic Clubbers are extremely happy to have the exclusive Midlands label launch of your label and brand Kiddfectious. To mark the occasion, have you got any thing planned such as free CD give aways?

Yes there will be plenty of free rubbish for you to fill your grubby mitts with including kiddfectious car stickers, kiddfectious all star cd giveaway and kiddfectionery for everyone that comes over and pinches my bum

ak x

Remember to catch Alex Kidd whipping ‘The Venue’ up in to a frenzy at Xstatic presents ‘the 12 hour stompathon’ with Storm and Sundissitental featuring Deprivation recordings on Saturday the 2nd February, at ‘The Venue’, Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire!

©Greg Lynn 2008
Feature by Greg Lynn on behalf of Indusrty Music Group (xstatic)