Like most things in life, DJing is often governed by rules about what you can and can't play, what is acceptable and what isn't. Stacey McDonald, aka Jung, is a perfect example of just how good it can sound to not just tear up the rulebook, but grind it down to a fine paste. Ahead of the next Chew The Fat! @ The End, he took some time out to answer a few questions about genres, blogging, and the state of DJing today....

Your DJing style is very diverse, taking in elements of breaks, electro, fidget and a myriad of other genres. What's behind your decision to include such a variety of genres?

The majority of the time I think it's an entirely subconscious decision, I just like good music and good tunes so if it feels right to play something at a certain time, and I'll just throw it in there without a second thought.

Other times I try and spice things up a bit by not sticking to the same genre for too long during a set, it keeps people interested if you do something they don't expect.

I think it's becoming a necessity as a DJ to show versatility, rather than just playing the same genre all night. Sometimes I wonder if people stand there and think ‘I like this record, and it would make people dance, but it's not Breaks so I can't play it.' Go on, throw that Tech House tune in there, you'll enjoy how dirty it makes you feel, and those Breaks will sound so much better after a 4/4 beat.

I mean why would you want to limit yourself like that?

Are there particular producers in other genres that you always check out?

Mr. Oizo has been consistent with everything he's done since the dawn of time,

Switch has been right on it for the last couple of years. Soulwax for their seemingly innate ability to turn any remix into absolute gold and Simian Mobile Disco for the same. Boards of Canada are right at the top of the list for starting out an early doors set. Micronauts are another big favourite, but I never get to play any of their stuff out because it's a bit noisy and tends to freak people out.

Oh, and James Holden who makes some of the best records I've ever heard.

Listening to some of your DJ sets gives the impression it's more than just a couple of decks and a mixer at work - do you add any of your own special touches when playing?

Everything is done in Ableton Live. I've got a midi controller and a laptop that I take to the club with me, I plug the output into the mixer and that's that.

No vinyl / CDs at all, and the only time I touch the mixer is if it's an Allen & Heath because I am in love with their filters.

Once inside Ableton there's a lot of looping and re-editing going on in the background, but I try to make it as seamless as possible, sometimes there can be two or three copies of the same tune being chopped about, but it still sounds like it's just the same tune playing, hopefully.

I'm really in to dropping beats over the top of House tracks at the moment to give them a lot more groove, which I'm sure you've heard on some of the mixes I've done.

I try not to overdo the effects because a lot of the time it sounds too much, some simple delays and a bit of reverb in the right places but that's it. Then again, sometimes I just let tunes play out as they were intended; you've got to know what's going to work, that's all there is to it.

I check my email sometimes as well.

How important would you say your blog is in terms of getting your name ‘out there'?

This is a good question that I don't really know the answer to. When I first started the blog it was the easiest way to get information about me up on the internet quickly, I just wanted to show people what I was into, share it with other people and hope they got from it what I did you know?

I did a couple of mixes and made a podcast, and it's kind of snowballed from there. I don't know whether people check out the blog and stumble across the mixes or whether they come because they've heard about the mixes and stumble across the blog.

Actually, I do still wonder whether people have the slightest interest in what I write on the blog other than the mixes but it's nice to have somewhere to illustrate your opinion.

A recent entry says you've shunned MySpace for general banter. Do you find the whole social networking aspect a bit too much at times?

No not at all. I'm a complete technophile when it comes to the internet etc, so I think social networking is a complete revolution. It's something that is beginning to define how we interact with not just each other, but also potential suppliers (be it record labels or whatever) and customers.

The only real reason I stopped using my personal MySpace account was that I was hardly using it anyway, so it was easier to just get rid of it and tell people to just contact me in the one place.

Given your large presence online, what's your take on the blogging and distribution of tunes?

Again it's revolutionary but also detrimental. There are a lot of producers, bands and labels around right now who I think have achieved their success to an extent by being the current big thing in the world of blogs; Ed Banger are a classic example as well as producers like Sinden / Kissy Sell Out etc.

They've really monopolised on it by appealing to all these kids out there who have blogs and are just looking for tunes day in day out, as soon as someone leaks a new SebastiAn tune the kids are over like a rash and it becomes the biggest thing since the last Justice remix.

This is great because it's potentially unlimited free PR for a label, but bad because by the time the tune comes out, all the fans have already got a copy and won't give any money to the label.

It's going to force a shift in the model for selling and advertising music because I think what the major labels don't realise is that the youth aren't finding out about tunes and artists through the major radio (whose playlists are paid for by the majors) anymore, but through all these thousands of blogs dotted around the world, which is in turn what's shaping ‘what's cool' at that particular time.

The problem is that they don't know what to do with this right now without losing money, but I think sooner or later someone will come up with an idea to capitalise on it. If I had a label I would definitely inject a few tunes into the ‘blogosphere' every now and again to drum up interest. Although it makes you wonder if that's what some of these labels are already intentionally doing?

Also it makes things a lot more difficult as a DJ, because gone are the days of relying on playing promos no one else has to pull a crowd, because now everyone else seems to have big tunes before I do anyway. Then again this is good because it forces me to go out and find tunes from other genres that they never even though of playing.

All it means is that there are a lot more ‘HypeMachine DJ's out there but you can spot them a mile away because they are all exactly playing the same records as Boys Noize or Erol Alkan.

Finally, there are the ethics and legality side to it all. I do pop on the blogs to see what tunes are doing the rounds, but then I'll go and buy a legitimate copy. I think if you're someone earning money from playing records to people, the least you can do is pay for those records.

Can you give us a run down of some of the tunes that are really working for you right now?

Florence & The Machine - Girl with One Eye (miles away from the dance floor, but easily the best voice I've heard in a long time)
Mr. Oizo - Half an Edit
Alex Metric - Pins
Holt Fuck! - Lovely Allen (Riton Rerub)
Blackstone - L.U.V
Metric - Monster Hospital (Alex Metric Bootleg)
Hot Chip - One Pure Thought
Superthrille - Just Wanna Dance
Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze Me (Jem Stone Mix)
Siobhan Donaghy - Don't Give It Up (Medicine8 Dub)
Basement Jaxx - Take Me Back To Your House (Speaker Junk Mix)
Buraka Som Sistema - Yah!

Do you have any special surprises up your sleeve for Chew The Fat?

If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise...