DJ Cuddle Up
a.k.a. Erik Blood, multi-instrumental member and producer of the Turn-Ons.
EVENT: Every Thursday, 6-9 pm, at the Baltic Room.

In addition to your residency at the Baltic Room, you also functioned as a DJ within your former band, Mountain Con. How did it overlap with your role as part of a group? "Well, the reason I have this gig at the Baltic Room is because of my DJ position in Mountain Con, but it was always a completely separate thing. I would never get to play Cocteau Twins on stage with Mountain Con, as I would never play "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" in my Baltic Room set. The Turn-Ons don't let me play records on stage. I don't know why."

What was the first record you bought and how does it relate to the last record you bought? "The first record I ever bought was Kiss' Destroyer because I dug the cover and could get my grandpa to buy it for me. Having been unemployed for a long time, the last record I actually bought I can't remember, but the last record I got was Radiohead's Amnesiac because I could get my boyfriend to buy it for me."

Has music broken your heart ever? "My Bloody Valentine's Loveless broke my heart. One, because I wished I could make something so perfect, and two, because I couldn't explain to my teenage friends why it was so beautiful.

Is there any song you play that people always react to? "Different people react to different moments of my set more than certain songs. Sometimes it's a Spiritualized song with an Air song, sometimes it's Science Fiction/Double Feature with Cherry-Coloured Funk, and sometimes the crowd is just not drunk enough to bother."

How does your childhood influence your experience or enjoyment of music now? "Everything I love about music now, I learned to love as a child. I knew it was a good night when my mom was singing to her Honeycombs record, and I knew I got turned on when I played Prince's 1999. Even today I'll hear new music that "sounds" like my family, or makes me feel like I'm dancing around my bedroom like a fool, singing out loud to the indistinguishable lyrics of Simon LeBon."