Master Pasha Centreforce Radio interview
Paul Rayner·
Interview
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Master Pasha Centreforce Radio interview

DJWORX meets Master Pasha

DJWORX talks with Master Pasha, owner of Centerforce Radio, well established club and festival DJ and all round top man about his DJ journey, his DJ tech and what the future holds for both Centerforce and himself. In this honest interview he talks about his ADHD and how it influences his DJing in a positive way.

How would most people know Master Pasha?

I’m Master Pasha owner of Centerforce Radio. I’m a DJ and producer from London.
I started out in the game when I was 13 years of age. I was brought up around some of the biggest names in the music industry, especially in the garage and drum and bass scene, such as Artful Dodger, Robbie Craig, Miss Dynamite, Craig David, some real legends in the game as my mum and dad were running the Labello Blanco label alongside my godfather Jimmy.

And then my journey in music came to a halt when I was given a football scholarship and I had to pick between music and football. I played at West Ham for a few years. I was at Arsenal on trial a few times. I was always trying to crack it but I think looking back on it now, I mostly had all the right skills but not enough dedication. I stuck with football until I had enough of getting injured and not making it to the Premier League, so I decided to step away from it and made the decision at 16 that music was the route for me.

Master Pasha Centreforce Radio interview

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What is your home DJ tech set up currently?

I practice at home and plan. The way that I DJ, the way that I mix is I’d say quite unique in comparison to a lot of others. I’m not saying that I do it the right way or the wrong way, but I’ve just got my own style. I like to combine tracks with three or four tracks running simultaneously. I like to get creative with things. So at home at the moment, I’ve got a set of Pioneer 2000 CDJ tours with the screens. (Ed – the rarely seen Tours!!).

I like to be able to have that freedom to really see the wavelengths of the tracks, set my cue points really easily and ultimately have the four decks running at the same time.

I have set of Yamaha HS7 speakers. And then I’ve got some KRK Rocket 8s as well that I like to use. I sort of switch between the two. But I’m blessed enough to be able to come into Centerforce Radio every day and just jump on whenever I want. So I’ve got a set of 3000s at my disposal and a9 mixer.

So from your producing point of view, what’s in your tech stack?

So our producer along said Max for a station, I work with a load of other artists in the
studio as well. I use Logic. But in all honesty, I’m really considering the switch to Ableton.
I’m going to sound like a traitor here but I was with a friend of mine, Nikos, Dimflow, he’s an incredible, incredible artist. And basically we’re setting up an academy here and teaching people how to produce music, DJ and everything (Ed – Watch this space).


And one of my things was Ableton versus Logic. And Nikos was like, let me show you the difference right now. So we had a project open in Logic and we started from the bare bones. By the time I’d finished time stretching a vocal on Logic, he’d made a track in Ableton.

Not saying I don’t love Logic because everything I’ve ever made has been on Logic. I’m just considering now the switch because I feel like I’m at a stage in my career where for one of my sets, I make eight edits. When you’re making that many tracks and you’re playing that many gigs, if you can save myself a half a day that day that’s a lot of time.

When you’re going to bring kids in, you’ve got to choose one. And look, I mean, one of my good friends, Jamie Fielding, he’s just had a release on You and Me.I think it’s top three in the charts at the minute. He made it on Fruity Loops. It doesn’t matter what you make it on.
I think it just matters how good it sounds, you know what I mean? I’m seeing kids on TikTok making tracks on GarageBand. Don’t let any technology hold you back.

What are your headphones of choice?

V-Moda. I’ve never really used another set of headphones. I got given a set of Beats early on through the label that I was signed to. And then one day my agent Danielle Montana came in one day with a set of V-Modas. And I was like, yeah, this is me forever. This is it. The thing is with Sennheiser, it’s not got a big enough ear cup for me. They are too small. The way I mix depends on me really having the clearest possible audio over my ears.


And I really don’t use booth monitors. (Ed – This is pretty unusual)
I use booth monitors to reference, but most of my mixing is done in my headphones because I just get a truer sound. I feel like the way that my brain’s programmed. (Ed – The lesson here is – Do what suits you best)

So are you playing out on Pioneer CDJ-3000s more than 2000 these days?

I’d say that a majority of the gigs I play are now on 3000s. I think the last gig I actually played on 2000s was the biggest gig I’ve ever played, funny enough. Playing at Tenerife Carnival in front of 400,000 people. They had 2000 and a DJM-900 Nexus. And that kit to me is special. I feel like if I walk into a club and I see that set up, I’m home. The gig was fantastic.

What about Denon?

In all honesty, I’ve never played on a set. So I don’t know. I mean, I’ve seen, don’t get me wrong, the kit looks pretty cool. I love the fact that you can pull your stick out and it doesn’t fucking turn off.
I love that, which is really, really helpful when you play back to back with your old man. (Ed – Master Pasha often DJs with Pasha the founder of Centerforce Radio). He does it on a regular basis!!

But if the functionality is the same and I can create the same sound, No problem. If you’re a DJ and you can try and you can make it work as much as you want to make it work. Every time I walk up on that stage, I feel blessed to be in that position. The fact that people have supported my music and supported me and given me that opportunity. That’s why I’m not as over the top with my tech stack..

Have you tried In-Ear Monitors?

I can’t get on with them. I don’t like that disconnect. I should try though – I got a hearing test a few weeks ago and yeah, I’m on the way up. (Ed – This is good advice for al DJs, check your hearing regularly). I played with them for about three months and I had to get, I couldn’t do it.

I still can’t get the filters right. I went to ACS. I had a meeting with one of the engineers there and he said that he’d make me a custom set of headphones. They filled my ears a really, really good service as well. I was just like, do you know what? I can’t get it, I haven’t got enough time to adjust. If it was five years ago, it’d be ok, but right now I’ve got too many bookings. I would need too long to adjust.

What’s on the tech shopping list? 

Pioneer RMX-1000

What’s been your favourite ever gig?

Tenerife. Watching the videos now, that brings a tear to my eye. It’s a goosebump moment. It’s such a party place. I love about the community up there. I played at I think two in the morning or something like that. And there were still kids out on the street, raving. And I was like, do you know what? This is how it should be. It’s just about a community of people having the most amazing time and enjoying the vibe. It was the quickest hour in my life.

Ed – How many tunes did you play? – I think I played about 20. I felt like I could gauge what they wanted to hear. Beforehand I said to the promoter – “I’ve got about 15 different sets. What one should I go with?” He just said, play what you feel like, I’ve booked Master Pasha for a reason. Go and do you.
Honestly the best bit of advice I’ve ever, because at that moment, I was really nervous. And at that moment, all my nerves went because I was like, do you know what? They’ve booked me for me. Let’s go and do it.

Throughout your career is there a piece of equipment that you have just never got on with? 

It’s like anything. When the tools aren’t what you used to, you can either make the best of it or not. I mean, I’ve turned up at some gigs recently and, you know, you’re playing on a controller. I’m not slating controllers, but it’s not the same. I don’t care what anyone says.
It’s not the same. You know, just having a full-size jog wheel and stuff like that. I think that, look, for a DJ to be able to do a job, depending on where you are, you need certain levels of equipment.

I’m a big believer that I can play on anything. But like I said, if you want a full Master Pasha experience, give me the right kit that I asked for on my rider and then, yeah, you’ll see what I can do with it.

From a DJing point of view what three things do you always take to a gig apart from USB and headphones obviously!


A bit of Vix and some chewing gum. And sour patch kids believe it or not.
I love them, they gives me something to concentrate on as I suffer with anxiety really, really badly and also have ADHD. And I find the sourness of the sweets kills the negative thoughts in my brain.

I view my ADHD as a superpower if anything. That’s why I’m mix the way I do. I can go and do a gig and have the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had. It’s like my gigs just release everything I need to in an hour. That’s why I go so mental behind the decks. It’s like all the energy comes out. After a gig I am absolutely knackered, walking out of a gig feeling half dead!

Any advice for those trying to make a career in music and DJing?

I think the thing is with DJing, it doesn’t have to be your full time job. There’s how many DJs in the world versus how many full time DJs there are in the world? I think lockdown made me appreciate gigs even more. So now when I have a gig, everyone’s under the impression that there’s thousands and thousands of people there. And that’s not always the case. I’ve played to more empty rooms than I’ve played to full rooms. (Ed – We hear that..)


And in all honesty, I’ve seen DJs go into a into an empty room and fold. Me, I’ll thrive off that because I’m like, do you know what? Let’s give whoever’s here the best time. And also you never know who it is listening. Some of my some of my best bookings have come from playing nearly empty rooms. (Ed – This is superb advice. It happens to everyone)

At the end of the day, if you can have a career in music, it’s the most special career you can have. Don’t get me wrong, it’s full of ups and downs, and it’s full of shit paydays 90% of the time. If the reason you’re doing music is for money, don’t get in it. If the reason you’re doing music is for love, get into it and get with it. I think that music, it’s a healer. It’s a great release for anyone. it helps with cognitive behaviour. Why wouldn’t you want to be in this space?

See also

Outside of DJing and production, what tech do you use at home? 

It’s actually not something that I have got, but it’s something that I’m so keen to get. I’m a sneakerhead massively. And one of our partners, Carillion, they’ve got this kit that cleans trainers. Literally, you put the trainers in the box and I don’t know it works but they come out box fresh… I need one of those (Ed -Sign us up)

Can you let us know three apps that are essential to you?

Trackstack. Inflyte. Centerforce Radio

What app would you like to spread the word about? 

Centerforce – we made that.

My phone. I’m glued to it 24-7. Having a radio station and doing what I do, I find that my phone does not stop ringing.

Any DJs or producers that we should watch out for? 

  • Jamie Fielding is an absolute trooper and one of the most talented kids I’ve ever met.
  • Another is Dimflow. His music is next level and he’s got some great releases coming up.
  • And then there’s an artist called Citrine. This kid’s great and he’s got a release coming up on Polydor soon.
  • And then I’m going to have to say three more.
    • Max Isaac.
    • Link London.
    • Sonny Kane.

Been to any great clubs or events recently?

  • Tenerife Carnival, I want to big them up massively.
  • The Crew at House and Classics always put on some great shows.
  • Jacfest.
  • And then of course the Clockwork Orange family. I can’t thank them enough for taking me on board. It’s been an experience, man. I love it.
  • Oh, and as well, Solana.

Football team?

West Ham (Ed – no comment)

Cheers to Master Pasha for this brilliant and honest interview. Catch him on Centerforce Radio and DJing around the world. We’ve spoken with loads of other top DJs in our DJ interviews including DMC world champion JFB, phenoms Archie and El Figo and Cafe Mambo legend Pete Gooding amongst many more. Check them out to find out about their DJ tech, career journey and importantly what football team they support. Make sure to sign up for the DJWORX newsletter so you never miss an article.