Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2013

Damian Lazarus has been injecting devilish fun into the planet’s dance floors for a decade, and his celebratory tour traipses into Tokyo this week. Reinventing house music at the beginning of the ‘00s with his Crosstown Rebels label, Lazarus and co. have mushroomed into a diverse assemblage of musical misfits, a TV series and even a festival. The night at Womb will see Lazarus joined by stable mate Subb-an, who delves into the label’s most treasured moments of the past decade for its new retrospective compilation, Rebel Rave 3. Metropolis caught up with Lazarus ahead of his Tokyo visit.

Tell us about your first dance music experiences.
The very first time I DJ’d I was 13 years old and I was the assistant to the DJ at a youth club. He went to the toilet and I sneaked on a record. I knew then that was what I wanted to spend my life doing, playing music to people.

How did the UK house scene shape you?
I was really more into drum and bass in the UK when I was growing up, that scene was far more future-sounding than the house scene, but after the emergence of breakbeat, house music started to get more interesting for me again and I just began to settle into it after many years of experimenting with many different sounds and scenes. Records like 4-Hero’s “Mr Kirk’s Nightmare” were very inspirational to me then, the kind of record that crossed over into various different musical territories.

How does your experience as a music magazine editor feed into your DJing and production career?
It was great back then as it enabled me to get sent all the latest promos, before I was considered a DJ. It enabled me to get a very broad understanding of the record label world and what it means to be an artist. I discovered the inner workings of the dance music industry and met some of the most talented people back then (mid-’90s), who are essentially all now either running the music business or regarded as the best artists in the world.

Why did you leave the UK?
I was feeling a little creatively stifled in London and needed a new challenge. The hot sun of the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles, seemed like a good place to move to.

Why did you found Crosstown Rebels?
After co-running the City Rockers label I felt I was ready to begin my own quest with my own ideas and focus. I was discovering a new, exciting place to be in electronic music and felt ready to take up the new challenge.

What is right and what is wrong with worldwide clubbing today?
There is a new consciousness opening up around us that is being reflected in some very interesting new artists and new music; people are finally opening themselves up to higher places and allowing a freedom of expression in their work and art which is fresh and exciting. I try not to think too much about negative stuff.

Tell us about a new remix or production.
I have made a very special track with Mathew Jonson which is to be released later this year on Crosstown Rebels.

What you and Subb-an learn in the process of putting together Rebel Rave 3?
For me it is great to compile some of my favorite moments from the previous year on the Rebel Rave compilations. At the end of each year I sit down with all the music we released and try and find some order in it all—it’s actually quite amazing to make it all fit together for this album. I select some of the biggest tunes, some of my personal favorite b-sides and remixes, and try and throw a couple of special things in. Each time I ask a different artist, usually an artist that is just coming through and on the rise, to select their favorite Crosstown Rebels tracks from all the years and mix them in a style that is unique to them. It’s an interesting concept and they are all very different from one another—the previous ones from Clive Henry and Droog. This new one from Subb-an is amazing.

How does Damian Lazarus chill out after a show?
These days I have been so lucky to play so many incredible parties that sometimes it takes me a while to chill out afterwards. I have recently been coming off the decks really buzzing from playing, with super-charged adrenelin as I have been so locked in this special headspace, really playing my heart out, so…. I’ll probably carry on partying for a little while after the show and then head off to bed so that I have some time to rest before it all starts again.

Womb, Feb 22