Lee Haslam, Head of Events & Music for the one and only SLINKY brand tells us what makes their global events so unique, and what else Slinky have in store for us in 2009...

JK] Hi Lee. Thanks for joining us today. Most clubbers and DJs out there are probably more familiar with Lee Haslam the DJ and Producer than they are with Lee Haslam, Head of Events and Music for the Slinky brand. Can you tell us how you ended up in this role in 2007, whether or not this was something you'd always wanted to do, and if you can see this being your job for life now?

Lee] I’d like to think so, I have been in the industry now for 15 years and throughout that time I have been involved with the running of events through my time as Label Manager at Tidy. Richard Skaife, the MD for Slinky, was the brand manager for Tidy in 2002 – 2004 and we worked a lot together in that time. When Richard heard that I had left Tidy to move forward with my trance career he approached me to look after the tours and events for Slinky which then progressed to pretty much overseeing everything Slinky does today so it worked out really well.

JK] Slinky is recognised the world over as being one of the leading brands in the hard dance / trance scene, and the dance music world in general. The brand didn't get to where it is now by accident, so what is it that makes Slinky and every one of its events so special?

Lee] I think the level Slinky works at is one of the highest in clubland, it has always put on huge, successful events world wide as it not only embraces the bigger talent out there, but we also try and push new talent. We constantly try to come up with new ideas and new concepts that keep Slinky at the forefront of the scene; things like slinky.fm our internet radio station has been a massive global success and something no other brand offers. Also at our events we try to make them run and involve our fan base as much as possible and deliver cutting edge tour concepts. Next year we have a very new and exciting tour concept that again no one else has done, so we have to constantly keep driving things forward, even in these financially testing times.

JK] During your time as Slinky's Head of Events and Music you have had most of the world's leading trance and hard dance artists perform at your events. If you had to pick ONE, which artist would you say impressed you the most and why?

Lee] That is such a hard question as every DJ we book has a unique identity and following. Slinky is one of the few brands out there that can put on events in multiple genres from trance, hard dance and even house overseas but personally Eddie Halliwell is a DJ I always enjoy booking as I feel entertainment wise he is the best there is out there.

JK] I know you've been working on the relatively new Slinky label for some time now. Can you tell us what you've got planned for the label, which artists you have got signed up to it, and what we can expect to see from Slinky Records?

Lee] Slinky Digital has been going now for nearly a year and will continue to do so as long as there is good music out there. Going back to what I said earlier, it is another way of pushing the brand globally and a way of nurturing new talent to ensure the scene progresses. We believe in quality not quantity and so far this year we have released 6 tracks from artists like myself, Michael Dow, Guy Mearns, Lost Witness and have future releases from Allen & Donaghy amongst others so check out any download sites and see for yourself!

JK] You've also just mixed a new Slinky Classics compilation album. Is this mix available globally, and if so, when can we get on our hands on it?

Lee] The album is already released in Australia and New Zealand and hits the shores of the UK in early October, anyone who can’t wait that long of course can buy it directly form slinky.co.uk. It really is a great album and does not follow the “trance greatest hits” approach that other albums do. I tried to put an album together that really strikes a chord with the Slinky followers so there are many tracks on there that you probably don’t see on other compilation but certainly have a history with the club. The album opens with Laurent Garnier “The Man With The Red Face”, a track seldom seen on any classic albums but a track which is arguably Slinky’s biggest and the one that holds the biggest story.

Slinky fans will know that Laurent was in fact the act that Slinky booked for its very first show back on Friday, May 2nd 1997, making this track synonymous with Slinky from that point on. Other poignant tracks on the compilation like Southside Spinners “Luvstruck”, Tukan “Light A Rainbow”, Atlantis “Fiji”, Red Light District “Did You Hear Me?”, The Space Brothers “Forgiven”, Timo Mass “Der Schrieber” & Joshua Ryan “Pistolwhip” all feature along side recognised Slinky anthems like Binary Finary “1998”, Push “Universal Nation”, Delirium “Silence” & Energy 52’s “Café Del Mar” as testament to an amazing lifespan for Slinky.

JK] To support the launch of this mix in Australia and New Zealand you have just staged a Slinky tour in to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Auckland. How did the tour go and are there any plans for further Slinky tours this year?

Lee] The tour went very well. It was the first time we had been to Australia for nearly four years and we really wanted to return with a bang, hence the reason why the album was released over there the same time as the tour, so we could really show that Slinky was back! We are already looking at another tour early next year.