Q&A as Jika Jika! return with Drumcode in Derry this weekend

The tunes kick off this weekend at the Boneyard on Buncrana Road with thousands expected to attend a series of live concerts.
(Credit: Jika Jika)(Credit: Jika Jika)
(Credit: Jika Jika)

A list of major DJs have been confirmed for the festival over the Bank Holiday weekend including Swedish DJ Adam Beyer, who is set to headline the opening night. For more information see Jika Jika!’s Facebook page.

Q&A with Jika Jika!’s Stephen Porter as they prepare for the two-day festival in Derry:

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Q. What does the return of live music mean to you? Personally, music is my entire life. No-one ever imagined a situation where live gigs would be taken away from us and it was a very worrying time for everyone. The live events industry has suffered greatly so obviously it will be brilliant to see our staff and crew back working. I’m really excited to see the joy on people’s faces at the gigs, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

Q. When and how did Jika Jika first come about? We started promoting events in Derry in 2000 under the guise of Inertia and that continued until around 2009. I had met my business partner James Crossan at one of his Zutekh events and we decided to combine our ideas to come up with something fresh, and Jika Jika was born. Our aim back then was to create an event that had a good party atmosphere and not to take ourselves too seriously. Our music policy has always been a mixture of more underground and slightly more accessible stuff. We always wanted to appeal to a wide audience, not just purists.

Q. Will the Boneyard have an open air or a tent stage? Or both? The main stage at the Boneyard will be inside a large festival tent. We also have a wonderful, chilled, warehouse space where we will have DJs playing more laidback music.

Q. What have been the main challenges for you throughout the pandemic? Our main challenges were trying to remain motivated whilst having no events to look forward to. Early on we had tried to plan a socially distant event, however we realised the severity of the situation and soon the plans had to be shelved. Looking back I’m glad we didn’t go ahead with those events. Having people caged up or penned into areas just doesn’t sit right with me and goes against the spirit of what we do.

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Q. Is there any advice you would like to give to aspiring DJs and performers out there? For any young DJs or producers out there I’d advise them to learn their craft properly, remain humble, help other people and learn the history of the music they are listening to. A lot of artists these days seem to want everything immediately and will do anything to get where they need to be. Take your time, do it right and let the music do the talking. Above all, be kind.

Q. Have you got any concerns about the future of live music? I’d hate to think that we will be in a perpetual state of going in and out of lockdown. I’m quite optimistic about the future, there is a massive appetite for people to go out and enjoy their lives again. Hopefully the deaths and hospitalisations from this horrible virus continue to drop and some day we will come out of all this. One thing that is for sure is that people will always want to go out and listen to live music and long may it continue.

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