If you didn’t know by now, I run my own little trance night called iLLuMIDanCe. We are based in Portsmouth, UK and have featured up and coming talent such as Ben Nicky, Jordan Suckley and Laura May. Also we have had some great DJs in the form of Dave Dorrer, Dan Ascherl, Willzeh, Digital Harry and so many more.
On the 6th of June we celebrate our 2nd Birthday! Hooray! I originally started the night with my friend Sue Portman, but with Uni and work commitments during 2007 she stepped down and during that same period my resident DJs, Nathan Hunt and Alex Eneas, stepped up and became co-promoters.
I’m proud to say we represent what we truly believe in; hosting a trance night once a month.
Last year on Halloween 31st October, we also launched ‘iLLuMIDanCe Hard‘ to spread the word about the brand to those who liked things a little bit tougher.
This meant us hosting two nights a month at which point I also worked on the ‘iLLuMIDanCe presents‘ concept. This is where one DJ plays all night from when the club opens at 9pm and closes at 2am (told you Portsmouth does not have late licensing didn’t I 
). The DJ then gets to play a variety of genres in their collection, rather than being limited to the typical one hour set they are booked for. We now rotate those two nights every other month on the Friday night before we host the trance night on the Saturday.
The future is looking good given the current financial climate and with Nathan and Alex on board with me, we make a good team where we always able to talk things over and pull each other up if something is not thought to be right. One of those things is us re-branding the night as I’m not too happy with the name after two years, still not many people can spell it correctly and what use is a night that no one can spell right? It will be nice to freshen up things a little I’ve been thinking.
In August we are doing a fund raising night for my girlfriend who is running 10 miles for Chase, a hospice for life-limited children. Later in the year I hope to move to a bigger venue or host an event successfully out of Portsmouth involving DJs that are established in the trance scene.
Enough of my ramblings though, you want to be introduced to the DJ I interviewed I’m sure, but if any of you in the UK can come celebrate our 2nd Birthday I would be chuffed to bits!
For our Birthday I was very keen to have two particular DJs. One was a lad I had heard something of on DontStayIn.com named Gio, we went up to see him play at Passion and all good there so booked him. I hope to interview him real soon and get a mix off him for you to download.
The other was Stu Rush…
If you live in the North of England then you have no doubt heard of Stu Rush as he has played many nights alongside some of the top names in hard dance. He has a very techno influenced style, with some trance thrown in and a splash of hard dance. After listening to four demos of his, I was very much impressed and wanted that little bit something different for our night that he offers with his cutting, chopping and 3 decks with FX style.
I hope you enjoy the interview and find that it still suits the site’s format. Please leave feedback at the end and also enjoy the following mix that you can download in the background whilst reading. It showcases really what Stu Rush is all about 
MegaUpload Link
Tracklist:
1. Distek – Argon
2. Axel Karakasis – Speciation
(3 DEX)
3. Jerimiah – Treeman (Reaky Remix)
4. JOC – Marshmallow
(3 DEX)
5. Axel Karakasis – Timebomb
6. Marcel Woods – Static State (Tech-Trance Mix)
7. John Askew – Z List UberStar
(3 DEX)
8. Barry Connel – Frizzbomb (Bryan Kearney’s Twice as Bright Remix)
9. Jochen Miller – Vanity
10. Th3shold – The Beggining – Jordan Suckley VS aka Carl Remix)
11. Simon Patterson – Thump
12. Mallorca Lee – Dogma (Joey V Remix)
13. Moonyani – Heavy Rotation (Reaky Remix)
14. Mr Sam VS t99 – Anasthesia
15. Joe E – Your Love
16. TT Collective – Strings for Yasmin (Tidy Djs Mavis Remix)
17. Dj Misjah & Dj Tim – Access (KY Jellybabies Remix)
(Roll Scratch EFX Trick)
18. Organ Doners – Super Mario Bros
19. Remo Con – Prototype
20. Joy Kitikonti – Joyenergizer (Dj Choose Remix)
iLLuMIDanCe: Thanks for taking this time to do this interview Stu! This is the first iLLuMIDanCe interview to feature on www.ilovetrancemusic.com
Talking of first times… When was your first time playing out and what made you take up the decks?
Stu Rush: Cool mate no problemo!
My first gig was at a up’n'coming night called Super Stars. If you did well at this night you got to play at the bigger event Eat Your Words, which in its hay day was the biggest night here in hull. I’ve played many EYW events now with some top names. I got into clubbing when I was 19, I use to watch the DJs and think I can do this! I got my first set of decks and got straight into it!
iD: So for first time DJs you would recommend just putting yourself out there and seeing what the crowd thinks of you as you never know where it will lead?
Stu Rush: I was so nervous at my first gig I thought I was gonna be shit, but after 1 or 2 mixes I settled right into it and had the crowd eating outta my hand. I later realised that to get anywhere these days you need to be offering something different. From the first time I heard Eddie Halliwell’s bosh mix from Mixmag, I was totally influenced by him and decided I wanted to go down the technical route rather than the production side of things that everyone else seems to be going down.
iD: Yes Eddie seems to be one of very few who has been able to make a successful career from DJing alone on the merit that he does what he does on the decks so well.
How do you feel about the music industry where it is perceived that in order to be successful you have to be able to produce too?
Stu Rush: Don’t get me wrong, producing good tracks will make the DJ work come in time. Everyone seems to be making tunes these days as production packages are so accessible now, but I still believe strongly that a crowd love to see a DJ getting involved with a crowd and perform, rather than just play a handful of tunes that they have made whilst not entertaining behind the decks.
I have produced a track recently and really enjoyed doing it, but at heart I’m a DJ and that will always come first for me as I love working up a crowd!
iD: Well I will certainly look forward to you whipping up the iLLuMIDanCe crowd into a frenzy with your hard and techy style on the 6th June for our 2nd Birthday! Has this sound crossed over fully with your production do you feel?
Stu Rush: Yes the track I produced is a tech-trance slammer, with a dark and catchy hook. It’s called ‘The Dark Theory’ and I made it with a top young producer called Tomas Evans. I have been going a little more trancier lately, but still try to keep the cut-and-paste mixing style in there without killing the trance vibe.
iD: So Stu Rush in the studio, I’ll be looking forward to listening to that!
Going back to DJing again, what sets you have been booked for stand out in your mind?
Stu Rush: I have played at Helmsley Biker Festival four times. It attracts around 10,000 people each year, and around a third of them go crazy in the dance tent. Also NYE 2004/2005 I played at a massive all day rave at The Street in Skegness.
iD: Has there been any favourite DJs you have played alongside at such events, maybe those who inspired you to take up DJing?
Stu Rush: I have played alongside and also b2b with Jordan Suckley before. He is a top young DJ who has the same approach to DJing I have, to break the rules a little and mangle the tracks up. His stuff will always inspire and appeal to me. I’m still hoping to get the dream gig of warming up for my idols Eddie Halliwell or Kutski yet.
iD: Well if we ever book either we’ll keep you in mind
If you could only play three tracks back to back all night, what would they be?
Stu Rush: Tony Di Vit – The Dawn (Paul Janes Remix)
Signum – What You Got 4 Me
Dejure – Sanctuary
iD: And what three new trance releases are you loving right now?
Stu Rush: The Killers – Spaceman (Sander van Doorn Remix)
John Askew – Vandalism
Paul Webster – Istanbul (Fred Baker Remix)
iD: Nice choices there!
So your latest demo is called ’3 Dex & FX Extreme Bosh Mix’. How would you describe this mix to anyone not having heard it?
Stu Rush: A no holds barred trip into techno, tech-trance and hard dance, with loadsa my trademark tricks and scratching!
iD: Other than iLLuMIDanCe what other gigs can we catch you at?
Stu Rush: I regularly play for Ultrasonic, Lets Av It, Confusion and Eat Your Words all here up north (England, UK), so check places like Facebook and DontStayIn.com for their listings.
iD: Thanks once again for your time Stu, and as our final question that is always asked on iLove Trance Music… What does trance music mean to you?
Stu Rush: Trance music is powerful, emotional music. I love all different genres but nothing can create the feeling that trance can, 10,000 people with their hands in the air to the same euphoric tune can’t be wrong!
You can check out more of Stu Rush by visiting the following links:
Stu Rush profile on www.tothemax.co.uk
Thank you for reading once again trance lovers!
Stuart
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