As co-creator and weekly resident DJ of Girls & Boys, Webster Hall’s acclaimed Friday party, Alex English has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the DJ world. In the past year alone, Girls & Boys has played host to Xavier de Rosnay, A-Trak, Boys Noize, Crookers, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Deadmau5 and Chromeo, among others.

With over 20 years of DJ experience under his belt, Alex English has become a fixture in the electro scene in New York City. Apart from his residencies at Thom Bar on Thursdays, Webster Hall on Fridays, and the Tribeca Grand Hotel on Saturdays, Alex also deals with booking the all-star DJ line-up for GBH parties at Webster Hall, Tribeca Grand, and North 8th in Williamsburg.

Tonight, Alex English and Dan Physics will make their debut as Disko Dali when they open for Justice’s sold-out DJ set at Webster Hall. Though Alex came up with Disko Dali back in 2001, he and Dan didn’t start working together until this past summer. The duo writes and produces original dance music and has done remixes of artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Dragonette, and Depeche Mode (check out some of their remixes on their MySpace page, or listen to their remix of “Plastic Caramelo” below).

Over the last few weeks, we traded emails with Alex to discuss his DJ career, influences, and upcoming projects. After the jump, read an excerpt of the interview that transpired.

We compiled photos documenting some of Alex’s exploits around New York City to celebrate The HiFi Cartel’s 100th Photo Gallery… click here to check it out. Be sure to listen to the Disko Dali remix of Plastic Caramelo’s self-titled track, streamed below, and check back soon for the Alex English edition of HiFi Essentials.

Plastic Caramelo – “Plastic Caramelo” (Disko Dali Mix)

How and when did you get into DJing?
1987 or 1988… I dont quite remember which year, but my parents would drop me off at my aunt’s place where my older cousins would watch or baby sit me. They were older and were already DJing at parties, so of course they wanted to spend their time practicing instead of watching me.  They taught me how to DJ so they could spin and watch me at the same time.

You’ve been spinning with some of the best DJs in the world, how did you get to this point in your career?
I used to be a rave DJ back in the early nineties and DJ’d with people like Laurent Garnier, Richie Hawtin and Moby… it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of it is being socially savy when you are networking. DJ skills used to be a big part of getting good gigs, but I feel that today, most new DJs lack real mixing skills. They use technology as a crutch instead of putting in hours of practice to be technically good at DJing.   And they use the power of the internet to skew other peoples’ perception of “who they are”.

I guess it helps to be a persona nowadays, but I hate it when it’s just image and no substance. I feel Girl Talk is a good example of this. ALL image. The concept of his work is nothing new, DJs have been doing that for years. When he “performs” he presses the space bar and goes and runs around the stage. I saw The Avalanches DJ at Summerstage back in 2003, and they totally blew me away. Dexter and the other dude both had two 1200s and a Pioneer CDJ connected to a mixer. They were layering three to five songs over each other using actual vinyl records and CDs. They threw everything in there AND the kitchen sink. At one point I heard “These Are a Few of my Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music which has a swing beat at 3/4 time. Do you know how hard it is to mix out of something like that then superimpose 4/4 and make it sound natural? Seriously, it was unreal. And they did it with ease and with THEIR EARS, not watching a goddamn computer screen.

I know alot of DJs like Diplo and Richie Hawtin who now use music software to DJ with. Many of these DJs have DJ’d for years with both vinyl and CDs and can beat mix anything unconscious with every limb tied behind their back. The point is, they have nothing to hide or prove to anyone. They are simply skilled. So to me, if they choose to use music software to DJ with, they have more than earned the right, and I trust the technology in their capable hands. They might do something new with it since they are not using it to accomplish the most basic of tasks such as beat mixing.

I just have a really huge problem with new DJs skipping the art and skill of beat mixing in their attempt to “catch up” to REAL DJs. If you can’t last more than an hour and half spinning WITHOUT the help of a laptop… hmmmm

Who were your influences when you were getting started?
Musically, I was really into New Order, Nitzer Ebb, Kraftwerk, Nine Inch Nails, Meat Beat Manifesto, LFO/Mark Bell, The Stone Roses, Depeche Mode and The Smiths.

DJ wise… I really looked to emulate this guy my cousins new named Richie. John Jopio also really influenced me alot. As far as DJs you might know, whoever DJ’d at Club Malibu and did the WDRE Friday night dance party on the radio – I’d record that every weekend and then go hunt for the records he played the week after. A little later on, Tony Fletcher from Limelight. During the NASA years, Ani and Joeski…  Joeski actually made me stop using the cross fader all that much. From the Storm Rave crew, Adam X, Frankie Bones and Heather Heart. Oh, and Doug Eisengrein… SKOPE was his tag name.

Who influences you now?
Now? Hmmm…

Again, musically, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Richard Devine and Phoenecia…  LFO/Mark Bell, Mr. Oizo, and of course, Daft Punk.   Love Surkin and Para One, I also get ideas from bands like People Press Play, Mum, Ms John Soda. Oh, and Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder.

DJ wise… Tiga, Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, 2 Many DJs, The Avalanches, Dexter, DJ Medhi, DJ Aura from Schematic.

What songs do you currently like to play when you’re DJing?
Wolfgang Gartner. The Twelves.

Who are your favorite DJs at the moment?
Boys Noize

Who are some of your favorite DJs you’ve seen live?
Haha really, too many… Aphex Twin, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Swen Vath, DJ Spooky, Feadz, Medhi, Mark Bell/LFO, Magda, Miss Kitten, Ellen Allien, The Avalanches, Kid Koala, Coldcut, DJ Shadow, 2 Many DJs, Tiga, Boys Noize, Xavier of Justice, Hardkiss Brothers, Garth, Wolfgang Gartner…  man there are so many but these are the ones that have stood out for me over the years.

Who are your current favorite artists to listen to?
I usually listen to soft chill music when i’m home. Lately I’ve been digging this girl named Mara Carlyle.

What techniques or music software do you use when you’re DJing?
I DJ with vinyl and CDJs… I rarely DJ w/ DJ software. I use my ears and not my eyes to beat mix. Music was made to be heard and not to be watched, therefore DJs should beat mix w/ their ears and not rely on lining up two vertical red and blue lines in Serato.

For those not familiar with your work, how would you describe your style?
DJ wise, I guess i try to spin like 2 Many DJs and The Avalanches. I really like the ‘throw everything in AND the kitchen sink’ approach….  I tend to select some of my favorite tracks cross-genre. But i’ve put the DJing thing on the back burner lately in favor of my new project called Disko Dali. It’s me and my friend Dan Physics. We remix, produce and write original dance music.

How did Disko Dali come about?
I started the project around 2001 with a debut DJ set at Limelight with Phoenecia, Richard Devine and Otto Von Schirach.  It was more IDM [Intelligent Dance Music] back then.

The name came from my misheard lyric of “disco dolly” from the song Sex Dwarf by Soft Cell. For years I thought Marc Almond was extremely poetic with the lyric “disco dali” but obviously it was just wishful thinking on my part.  I’m a huge Salvador Dali fan as well, so we’re kicking around the idea of having a graphic of a disco ball with a Dali mustache on it.

How would you describe Disko Dali’s sound?
I don’t know really…  we just sort of make tracks and it ends up sounding however…  it definitely is more 4/4 and dancefloor-oriented than when I first started using the name Disko Dali.

How does it differ from what you do as an individual DJ?
Dan and I come from the techno scene, so there’s a lot more of that influence. Dan runs a techno label called Tension Works. As you know, I used to DJ raves. We get a little more adventurous when we DJ together. “Alex English” is more electro.

Anything else you want people to know about Disko Dali?
Dan likes to wear black. I like the color Cerulean. I also love Chicago-style hot dogs. Dan is more of a burger guy. We agree on BBQ though… he gets a hard on about Brisket, I get all wet when it comes to Berkshire Pork Belly.

You spin at a lot of GBH events, how did you first get involved with them? How did Girls & Boys come about?
Alex Malfunction from Trash and myself started Girls & Boys at this club called Filter 14 in 2003. It is now a Scoop store in the Meatpacking District on 14th and Washington. Two friends that just wanted to do a party and be able to play music we loved.

In 2004, I worked for Joseph Baxley, who owned a bar called Drinkland, now Plan B. His brother, David Baxley owned Centro-Fly and was shutting down the club. I asked Joseph if he could get me in touch with David so I could throw a Girls & Boys party at Centro-Fly. David said yes, but that I’d have do it with GBH, who had been doing parties there for the last four years or so…  I booked Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce from the Smiths as the lead talent for April 3rd, 2004 and more than one thousand people turned up, which opened the eyes of Tom and Alejandro from GBH. They came to me and said “Alex, we need to work together more” and the rest is history.

What is a typical day like for you?
It depends on what day, but usually I wake up around 11am.  I spend time in front of the computer emailing people about bookings for Webster Hall, the new space at North 8th in BK, Tribeca Grand and any other venue I am dealing with for bookings. Usually at some point in the day I have my daily yelling match with Tom at GBH (::grins::). Around 8pm I get into DJ mode and start thinking about music to spin… I do my event from 10-4.   I usually get home around 5 and sleep around 5.30. On Tuesdays I get to the studio at 1pm and spend how ever long making music.

What are your goals in music?
To make people dance and smile…   and give them the soundtrack to their youth. Haha.

Seriously, I take it day by day.  I get asked to remix something. I try to do the best I can and be happy with it…  if it makes other people dance and be happy then great. Life is good.

What are some of your current remix projects?
The Sounds – “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” (Disko Dali Mix)
Dragonette – “Pick Up the Phone” (Disko Dali Mix)
Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – “Y – Control” (Disko Dali Mix)
Depeche Mode – “Enjoy the Silence” (Dali’s Designer Disko Drugs Mix w/Designer Drugs)
Ministry – “Stigmata” (Disko Dali Mix)
Phenomenal Hand Clap Band – Track TBA

Any advice for up and coming DJs?
Always have extra 1/4 adapter bits for your headphones.