‘We didn’t plan it at all’: We spoke the DJs behind THAT Leeds Uni Tickets livestream

Today Hyde Park, tomorrow – Berghain????


On Wednesday evening, a bunch of housemates in Hyde Park set up decks in their front garden, popped their laptop open, and hit “Go Live” on Leeds Uni Tickets.

They streamed for over two hours, and though viewers dipped in and out, they rarely fell below one hundred viewers at any one time. In total, they amassed over 13,000 views. Anyone that bothered to check what the fuss was about was likely pleasantly surprised – far from a bunch of first years who have just discovered ‘Techno Disco Tool’ for the first time, they were actually pretty good.

The group goes by the name of Belle Vue Sounds. The Leeds Tab caught up with them to find out a bit more about them, the livestream, and whether we can expect any more virtual sets in the near future.

How many of you are there in Belle Vue Sounds?

“We’re a group of 11 boys and 1 girl that live on Belle Vue Road. We all study at LCOM apart from the girl who graduated from LAU last year.”

How long have you been DJing?

“Three of us in the house started DJing a few years ago – Oli Fletcher (Budaboy), Kieran Black (Kezby), Ben Howell (DJ Subaru). The rest of our house are either producers or in bands – three of the boys are in a band called ‘English Teacher’ and two others (spot the Mohawks) make up the contemporary hip hop duo ‘Draags’. We often DJ at house parties, either at our house or our friends’ houses.”

How would you describe your style?

“Our style is very chaotic and we don’t really put too much thought into what kind of set we’re going to play. We have the most fun when we’re playing songs we love and enjoy as a house. We all have different styles, and so our sets have this spontaneous energy as we never know what any of us are going to play. One minute Ben’s playing a French cover version of ‘I Feel Love’, then Kieran drops Katy B’s ‘Lights On’.”

What gave you the idea to livestream a set?

“During lockdown we have been doing a radio show on Mixlr under our name Belle Vue Sounds. We felt that during this time it’s important to stay connected. We’re lucky to live in a big house and constantly be surrounded by all of our friends. It felt important to show everyone that we’re still having fun during lockdown. The livestream wasn’t about doing an amazing set, we simply wanted to show a group of friends hanging out and having fun as it’s what we’re all missing the most.”

Did you prepare much for it?

“We didn’t really prep for it at all. Kieran was out in the garden yesterday, just having a little mix for fun, when Ben suggested it would be nice to bring out the turntables – then a few hours later we’re livestreaming. No one in the house had any idea about what we were doing. Two of the boys were cooking a lasagne and others came out to see a party going on in the garden which is what made the stream so fun to watch. This would have happened whether we livestreamed it or not – it just so happened we got a few hundred people watching.”

“Because we didn’t plan it and didn’t realise the stream would be popular, it feels like there was a missed opportunity to raise some money for charity. Our next live stream will include a fundraiser and some more lovely artwork that supports our key workers – instead of Stella Artois.”

We noticed the police interrupted you halfway through the set! What did they say?

“When the police came round they asked if we all lived in the house and made sure we were social distancing. They didn’t mind what we were doing and thought it was a bit of a laugh.”

ruh roh

Did you get any funny comments on the livestream?

“People seemed to be really interested in how we all looked, calling one of us ‘Jimmy Saville’, another ‘Sue Ryder’s version of Jesus’, or calling all of us the Manson family. It’s a good thing clubs are usually dark. Shoutout to Ben’s brother Jonny who kept everyone in the comments in check and made sure everyone knew we weren’t breaking social distancing rules.”

What would be your dream venue to play at?

“We would like to play events such as Armley Carboot Sale – you could turn up with no records, 20 quid, then go digging and in a few hours be playing a chaotic set from the boot of Fletch’s car.”

Can we expect another streamed set any time soon?

“We’ve been asked to do a charity stream at some point, but other than that, it’ll just be whenever we’re feeling funky!”