Skate Lates: Meet the DJs - The Art of Parties

Fred MacPherson and Cavan McCarthy's The Art of Parties takes over our ice rink for a night of eclectic party bangers and classic party hits on 5 December. We spoke to Fred, one half of the DJ duo and lead singer of indie-rock band Spector, about what they've got planned for their night on the ice.

It’s great to have you joining us on the ice for Skate Lates this winter. First things first, how are you skating skills?

I broke my wrist ice skating when I was 8 so I think the DJ booth is the best place for me. Cav floats so gracefully you'd think he was auditioning for Disney on Ice.

What can people expect from your Skate Lates set?

We never plan our DJ sets too much but we want to play music you can really skate to. I'm always impressed by how many bangers you hear at Winter Wonderland. I think our soundtrack will be somewhere between that and Torvil and Dean at the LA '84 Olympics.

Could you name one song/album/DJ that had a particularly formative experience for you growing up?

I used to go to Trash when I was underage to hear Erol Alkan DJ. I was always impressed by the anything goes attitude, him dropping The Smiths in the middle of a load of electro. And I don't even like The Smiths. Or electro.

And finally, what was the best piece of advice you’ve ever been giving about DJing?

What you play (and when) is much more important than how you play it. Or maybe it was the other way around…