Quite possibly the hardest working woman in radio, Mary Anne Hobbs has just got back from a gig in Moscow when I speak to her, and she’s still pretty hyped about it. “I’ve never played in Moscow before, and you tend to find in Eastern Europe the reception you get is absolutely phenomenal.”
“I think it’s officially the coldest place I’ve ever been, it got down to minus 22, which is really pretty extraordinary, it’s kind of one of those things where when you inhale, your lungs feel as if they’re about to explode because the air’s so cold.”
It’s not just the cold the Radio One DJ has to deal with, it’s also 31 hour round plane trips, sleep deprivation, and a horrendous eye infection.
“My job description should be sustained endurance test!” She laughs, but is quick to add “I wouldn’t exchange it for anything, it’s such a privilege to be in a position when you can be an evangelist for the music that you love.”
The passion Mary Anne has for music, in all forms, is hard to miss. Since her formative days working for Sounds and the NME, her dedication to the sonic arts has been unwavering. She describes it as an obsession, and it’s an obsession that is mirrored by her fans, who trust her to deliver the freshest beats. All across the globe, the fans are there, packing out the clubs to hear her drop the latest sounds she’s discovered.
“The clubs are always full and people are so excited to hear the sound that you’re bringing,” Mary Anne says. Best known as the DJ responsible for bringing Dubstep to a massive global audience, she is, as she puts it, “possessed by this mission to create the finest electronic music show on earth”. That mission is far from over she spends at least ten hours a day on SoundCloud and scours Facebook and MySpace to find more new music.
“I’m always reaching out to try to find new artists every week, I mean that’s the mission for the show really,” she explains, “to constantly progress, to constantly move forward. To find the new producers who are working right at the fringes of sound every week.”
So, from the woman who knows, what’s going to be the next big thing in electronic music? “Funky is going to do well in the next 12 months, it’s really bubbling at pirate station level. And Joy Orbison – I have to mention him, he’s been blowing minds and breaking hearts all over the place. I also heard Flying Lotus’ new album at his place and I was speechless listening to it, it’s going to change the face of electronic music for all time!”
Mary will be Playing at the Hare & Hounds, Kingsheath, Birmingham on April 9th with Hudson Mohawke.
Mary Anne Hobbs Experiment Show, Thursdays 2am-4am on BBC radio 1
Liz MacArthur
