Trance Awards

My Trance Story

Lee Haslam

Where did you discover trance?

I was first introduced to trance by a good friend of mine back in 1996. He took me to Gatecrasher in Sheffield and up until that point I was a dance music virgin but from that day on I was hooked. So much so I went nearly every week, making the Republic my second home and giving me inspiration to do what I do today. For the following 4 years I travelled all over the UK visiting clubs like Passion, Godskitchen, Slinky and of course my new home and pretty much wrapped myself up in trance music even to the point where I bought some decks in 1997 and began to teach myself how to mix. I consider myself very lucky to be one of the clubbers that was around at that amazing time. There were so many huge records being produced in the late 90's and early 2000's that you simply could not get away from the sound that in my eyes made me the person I am today. I wouldn't have met all the amazing people on the dancefloor or got into the industry which I so love today if it wasn't for those years.

Who has been your biggest influence?

This is such a hard question as there were so many but if I had to pin point one person then that would have to be Scott Bond. Scott was the DJ that I used to watch week in, week out at Gatecrasher and was one of the most influential people for me in terms of the style of music that he played and how he played it. It's quite weird now because I know Scott and have played on the same bill as him many times, Russell Pate my old boss at tidy and who used to run Gatecrasher in the days when I used to go always used to love taking the piss out of me when he was on the phone to Scott in the office because he knew Scott was that influential to me. His track selection, style and stage presence really opened my eyes up when I was learning to become a DJ making him without doubt one of the greatest trance DJ's around in my eyes.

What moment would you live again if you could?

I would love to just go back to Gatecrasher for one night in 1999 and relive the atmosphere again. You had to be there to appreciate how good it was and it is something me and my friends still talk about today! Impossible to beat

Where in the world is trance-central?

I think the UK is very blessed with the amount of top nights we have in such a small and confined country but to choose one place would be hard.. Obviously my allegiance is to Slinky so of course it has to be there!!!!

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