DJ FEEL GOOD COLLECTIVE: DJ Robbie (R PROJECT)

“It feels incredible to make people smile and dance the night away to the small hours of the morning!”

Tell us a bit about yourself?

Hey, I’m Robbie and I was diagnosed with autism at eighteen. I enjoy playing sports and racing games on my PS4. I like spending time with my family and I enjoy watching ‘Big Bang Theory’ and ‘Back to the Future’. 

Tell us about the start of your DJ career?

Originally, I started a get2gether member around five years ago. I thought that Karaoke Disco nights were great, as well as other events in the community. Then I started helping DJ Andy at club nights and karaoke discos with the lights and this way people started to get to know me. I gained confidence and experience with DJ Andy.

At the time I was just a bedroom DJ but when the COVID hit and the world had stopped, get2gether at home came along. I thought that was a good opportunity for me to offer my services, offer the quizzes and DJing to the community. And now , it’s been over a year since I joined the DJ team and it’s been absolutely phenomenal!

Tell us about Sound Nation Radio?

Since the pandemic started, presenters can’t get to studios – so my dad and I started doing our own radio station part time. Now we broadcast 5 days a week in the evenings and we are actively recruiting for a presenter. I do shows on a Wednesday and a Friday evening, you can catch me here. 

What does the Feel Good DJ Campaign and being a DJ mean to you?

Becoming a DJ was always one of my dreams and my eyes have really opened since becoming a get2gether DJ. I had always admired Stephan and Andy and the work that they had done – that gave me an inspiration to give it a try and I was successful – it’s been absolutely fantastic. A lot of work goes into it; getting people’s requests, soundchecks, DJ meetings, music research and performing is a big thing.

Doing a big finish is a big responsibility as you are ending the night for everybody – and you need to make it a good experience to capture the vibe of the night, to enjoy them being together with friends. On zoom it can be quite challenging and at the beginning we didn’t know how will it work with sound, but we worked it out – through the pandemic this turned out to be one of the best options. 

I feel I have moved on and my confidence had grown with public speaking. I used to be nervous and suffered with anxiety. DJing for get2gether has completely changed that and has flipped my anxiety – I am not as nervous as I used to be. 

Who is your biggest musical inspiration? 

I thought long and hard about this and I’d say Calvin Harris because he is Scottish and he started producing music when he was young. Now he’s one of the biggest DJs in the world. I’d like to be that well known! 

What are your hopes for the future? 

I hope to start producing music and become more recognised. I also hope to move forward with my radio presenting on Radio Saltire (my local radio in Edinburgh) and Sound Nation Radio. 

Find Robbie on Twitter, Facebook and Sound Nation Radio on Wednesday – BPM SHOW & Friday – THROWBACK FRIDAY 8pm

Find Sound Nation Radio on Twitter, Mixcloud and Facebook