With legends of the 90s rave scene coming to Ipswich to play at his High Energy nights, IP1 caught up with Stevo Colley to learn more about the DJ’s multi-genre club nights at Ipswich’s KC’s Nightclub

What’s your name and what do you do?
I’m DJ Stevo and I play at various events and also promote the High Energy nights.

What’s High Energy all about?
It’s a multi-genre rave event that takes place at KC’s Nightclub in Ipswich every few months.

What styles of music are played?
Old Skool, Drum and Bass, Jungle and Hardcore. It’s multi-genre so you will hear all sorts. I’m trying to recapture that 1990s vibe I experienced as a teenager and I also give out free horns, whistles and glow sticks to add to the atmosphere like back in the day!

What guests have you had headline so far?
Most of my musical heroes have played so far which is a great feeling to have come full circle since hearing them on tapes at school. Over the course of 14 events I have had Slipmatt twice, Kenny Ken twice, DJ SY, Dr. S. Gachet, Spirit, Nicky Blackmarket, DJ Vibes, Funky Flirt, Brockie, Fat Controller, MC Fearless, Ellis Dee, DJ Ratty and more.

When is your next event?
The next one is on Friday 2 October: Birthday celebrations of High Energy featuring the return of Brockie and DJ Vibes. This also marks the two-year opening of KC’s Nightclub.

What’s the crowd like?
I am very proud of the following. The different styles of music brings in a variety of young and old who are always up for it and open-minded to the sounds on offer.

How long have you been into rave music?
I first heard it at school around 1992. Back then though there wasn’t all these different genres, it was just called Hardcore – before Jungle and Drum and Bass even existed. I started raving around 1993 even though I wasn’t old enough to get into the events, and I got my first turntables in 1994 – Soundlab belt drives!

Who are your biggest DJ influences?
My favourites and those that influenced my mixing style are Carl Cox, Ellis Dee, DJ Ratty and DJ SY. It’s great that I have now booked three out of four of them, although I don’t think I will ever be able to afford Carl Cox!

What producers do you rate?
I don’t listen to that much new music but my favourite producers from the past are DJ SS, Aphrodite, DJ Hype, Luna C, Slipmatt and Zinc to name a few.

What are your plans for the future?
I would like to continue playing out in as many places as possible as well as carrying on with High Energy and bringing more rave scene legends to our town. I would also like to take High Energy on tour to other venues out of town and maybe host rooms at other events. I would also like to progress with producing my own music, something I got into recently.