‘I’m getting 500 DMs a day’: Fish56Octagon, the dressing gown-wearing viral DJ sensation

Oliver Keens - TheGuardian - 24/06
He’s a 44-year-old marketing professional – and the toast of clubland thanks to his passionate TikToks. Ahead of three Glastonbury sets, ‘Fish’ explains how he’s defying the snobs
‘I don’t want to be beholden to anyone’ … Fish56Octagon with his TikTok DJ setup – and preferred breakfast choice. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
View image in fullscreen
‘I don’t want to be beholden to anyone’ … Fish56Octagon with his TikTok DJ setup – and preferred breakfast choice. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
Interview

‘I’m getting 500 DMs a day’: Fish56Octagon, the dressing gown-wearing viral DJ sensation

Oliver Keens

He’s a 44-year-old marketing professional – and the toast of clubland thanks to his passionate TikToks. Ahead of three Glastonbury sets, ‘Fish’ explains how he’s defying the snobs

This year’s biggest breakout DJ is a 44-year-old car influencer in a dressing gown. Six months ago he pivoted his social media account, Fish56Octagon, away from automotive advice to playing his decades-old rave vinyl in jarringly domesticated scenarios: listening to happy hardcore in the family estate car, chivvying the kids along in the morning with underground speed garage, or eating breakfast to hallucinogenic psytrance.

But his videos aren’t just for lols: they’re part music journalism, part informed recommendation from a well-meaning record shop guy, as he enthuses about a rave obscurity then explains its place within its canon, covering a wide range of dance music genres. Now, with followings of more than 300,000 on TikTok and nearly half a million on Instagram, he’s being booked to DJ at some of the best clubs and festivals in Europe, including multiple v...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]

Loading...