One half of Edinburgh’s soulful disco hub at Sneaky Pete’s, The Mirror Dance, and a regular voice one on of our favourite community radio stations, EHFM, Ann Tweak is rapidly becoming a staple of the Scottish capital’s small but mighty party scene. Following his stint with Microsteria on The Viewpoint this summer, we caught up with the DJ about antique furniture, magic moments at The Boat on the Hill, and why horny house is essential listening on morning radio…
Hi Ann Tweak! Can you start by introducing your mix for us?
Ann Tweak: I was thinking about the stage I was playing at Kelburn this year, which was The Viewpoint, looking out onto the castle and that big plateau.
I went very much for a sunny upbeat mix to get people warmed up, because I was warming up for the Microsteria takeover on the Friday night – starting to get people moving, but to leave enough space for the rest of the night. Not to make everyone peak too early.
There’s a good bit of disco, some italo, upbeat house.
What were some of your early music experiences growing up in Edinburgh?
The first proper gig I went to was Bombay Bicycle Club, and I absolutely loved it. I went with my mate Tim, and we had school the next day. I remember thinking, “This is class,” going to a gig and drinking pints and then having to go to school the next day. It felt like the first touches of adulthood, I guess.
My friends’ group were in two rival bands as well, so I went to a lot of their gigs. We used to get into arguments with our friends about selling tickets for each other’s bands.
I remember getting into a fight with my friend Mary because her brother and boyfriend at the time were in one band and I was trying to sell tickets for the other band. She got really raging because whoever sold the most tickets got to do a warm up for this big band.
How did you start DJing?
I was DJing in Capri Collective. It was a group of guys between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
There were seven of us, and I remember we got a gig at Sub Club this one time. It was the first time we played, and we were so gassed. The promoters were going to play for two hours, and we worked out that we were each going to play for 12 and a half minutes.
So we were all like, “Okay, how am I going to play the best 12 and a half minute set at Sub Club?”
When was Ann Tweak born?
Ann Tweak was a name I came up with when I was working for my dad as a polisher restoring antique furniture. My Auntie Ann used to work there as well. It was one moment where she was in the polishing shop, and I was like, “Her name’s Ann. I work with antiques. Ann Tweak. Bada bing bada boom.”
When you’re building sets, do you have any particular go-to labels or artists you get music from?
It’s very dependent on the set I do. I quite like trying to find stuff from labels like Klasse Wrecks, because they do more peak time stuff, but then there’s usually a couple of B-sides where they’ve got these slow chuggy numbers that I really enjoy.
Sound Metaphors is a great label and record shop in Berlin that I’m constantly keeping an eye on. They put out amazing reissues.
More recently I’m getting more into trying to find stuff closer to home. People like Accident Machine, I’ve been following a lot recently. They have amazing 303 analogue stuff with Mairi playing the bongos on top.
How did you come to set up The Mirror Dance?
Myself and my cousin, also called Paddy Dixon, set that up. A lot of the nights we were going to were quite heavy, hard nights, and we wanted to go to more disco nights where it didn’t end on ridiculous techno numbers. So we set up the The Mirror Dance to be a more upbeat night. It’s definitely moved in different sounds over the years, but I feel like it’s stayed true to its roots.
Who is your favorite DJ to play back-to-back with?
Oh, it’s got to be Cousin Paddy. We can find our flow really easily. We’re actually going to upload a mix from Dayes Festival that was at The Pitt a couple months ago. The only planning we had was a house party set. It’s got everything from DJ Deeon to Calvin Harris.
As a resident at Sneaky Pete’s, what role do you think those small, more intimate venues have in the music scene?
It’s such an important space to have these grassroots venues for local artists to build their sound and build their crowds. It’s great having a place like Sneaky Pete’s, where they focus so much on local artists, and then it’s also such a desirable place to play for touring DJs and international artists. It’s a sweet spot to be able to call home for the The Mirror Dance.
How long have you been doing the EHFM Mornings show?
I’ve done a few different shows with EHFM. I’ve been there for three or four years, but I started doing the morning show last summer. I’ve been doing that for just over a year, and my flatmate and long time school pal started joining me when we started living together over the summer.
It’s been really sweet doing it with her. She’s had no prior experience of DJing, so she’s learning on the go. I feel like it’s quite therapeutic for us, because any beef we have with flat stuff, we take it out on air. Anything that needs to be aired out on air is done there and then.
What sort of mood are you trying to create for that morning crowd?
We always start off quite chill, but then it always ends up very chaotic, playing a lot of horny house. But I think it’s actually what the people want on a Monday morning. You don’t want to play two hours of ambient free jazz. You want a kick up the arse to get you into the week.
Finally, can you share a favourite memory of Kelburn Garden Party?
The most recent Kelburn Garden Party 2024, we were quite a big group that all came. The nature of the beast is that you’re never really with everyone throughout the whole festival.
But then on the Sunday, I went for a walk through the Neverending Glen, and on the group chat, there were a couple people up at The Boat at the top of the glen. I was like, “Okay, cool. I’ll make my way there after the Neverending Glen.”
I got there and the whole group chat was there, in its element. The sun was out. We were looking out. It was amazing. That was definitely the highlight of the whole festival. It was unplanned, and we were all there, and we’re all just hanging out. It was great.
It’s a really special point. It’s a really special place.
Thanks Ann Tweak!
