A Liverpool DJ who started raving at 16 has said he is delighted to be part of Liverpool’s “close knit” music community.
Michael Dowding, known on stage as DJ DOWD, said he was fascinated by music from a young age. The 30 year-old from Huyton enjoyed partying as a child in Greece with his extended family in Greece.
Michael said: “My mum got me into dance music when I was around 10, taking me to parties. We were going to Greece a lot.”
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In his teenage years, he began to explore Liverpool’s music scene himself. He said: “I started going to raves a lot when I was 16. The promoters were letting me in because they knew I was into music, and then from there I became a resident DJ at local events.”
In 2017, Michael moved to London and gained experience in music production. He has upcoming headline gigs in the capital this year, but is now back living in Liverpool in the Aigburth area.
Michael claimed that it has taken a while for the city to embrace his music, which is a blend of house, techno and drum and bass genres, amongst others . He said: “I think Liverpool’s taken a while to warm up, but I think now it’s starting to kick off, I think it’s the start of something really good for the future of the city and myself.”
His monthly slot on radio station Melodic Distraction, entitled The Anything Goes Show, has been a huge help for him. It has not only promoted his work, but introduced to other creatives who regularly meet at the London Road venue.
Michael said: “You’re meeting all the other hosts in the city as well, so it’s a real community there. It’s kind of a hub for all the creatives in the city, especially with music. It’s going really well, and I’ll be probably putting more parties on there over the course of the year.”
The DJ has argued this is an example of Liverpool’s welcoming and thriving music culture. He said: “It’s almost like a big village isn’t it? You get to know all the different artists and musicians in the city, which is good because you can chill out with them on the likes of Lark Lane."
One connection he made is with Eliza Rose, who he met at the Baltic Weekender in 2021. Rose is a British DJ who blew up last summer when her song B.O.T.A became number 1 in the UK charts last September.
The song was impossible to miss last year, seemingly blasting from every car as it drove past and popping up in everyone’s DJ sets. He said: “We kind of met up and just partied the whole night.”
Michael has regular gigs at city centre bar Metrocola on Leece Street. Later this year, he will be performing at several festivals including the Baltic Weekender.
Michael again reiterated that this packed schedule is only possible because of Liverpool’s music scene. He said: “It’s not like London which is spread out across such a large area, so people don’t get to meet each other unless they’re at a party or something like that.
He added: "The fact that Liverpool’s smaller, it’s a real tight knit community and that’s how everyone just gets inspiration from each other." You can find out more about Michael’s work here.
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