London Calling

Plenty of people dream of packing up and leaving everything behind to move to the glamorous big city life of London. Not Olly. He went in the opposite direction: from the capital of Cool, Camden Town, to Antwerp - of all places. His motivation? Love, of course. Initially he followed the Belgian girl he was dating, but by the time the relationship was over, he'd fallen in love with the city and decided to stay.

"It's so close to London and they are so alike, but at the same time so different. Antwerp has some of the best //food? Fashion? flowershops? idk// in the world. I still like to just take a long walk or ride my bike through the city and always I end up somewhere I've never been before. Keeps life interesting."

There was one thing he missed though: "The music! I missed going out and hearing the music I love: soul, funk, rock&roll. On the radio you've got Indie & RocknRoll, you would hear all these amazing artists, but no place was playing them. Oh, and also," he adds, "You lot don't know how to do a decent curry."

Like it or not, he's got a point: there's very few alternative concepts on the Antwerp party-scene. "Clubs here all focus on house and techno; it's just beats, beats, beats. That's fine if that's your thing, but I had a hunger for something different. And I noticed other people were saying the same."

But a rock&roll club night? In Antwerp? Well, if anyone could do it, it would be Olly. He started DJ-ing at //refresh my memory//, where he was taught the most important lesson a DJ can learn: 'Just play the music the crowd wants to dance to.' "A good party is not about the DJ, not about the venue. It's about the vibe, the people, the music. You have to set your ego aside and give the people what they want. They want to jump? You play some Franz Ferdinand. The guys want to shout? You play them Oasis. The girls want something to sway and twirl to? You give them some Florence, and watch their faces light up once they hear it come on."