Granite Island Discs: Daniel Michael

The Director of Gluttony Daniel Michael talks about his favourite albums, SA track and musical moments.

What five albums would you take to a desert island?

1. Grooverider – Mysteries of Funk

A drum and bass masterpiece, produced by Optical with Grooverider. It was a time when both were at the peak of their creative output. I think Ed Rush and Optical's Wormhole would have been in production around the same year.

2. The Prodigy – Experience

For grunge Xers, Nirvana may have been the sound of a generation, but in 1993, for the real underground of Gen X, it was the Prodigy. Absolute raving vibes.

3. Aretha Franklin – Greatest Hits

Too many good albums here. Can I say Greatest Hits? I’m not going to the desert Island without Aretha.

4. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Do I need to explain this one? Who doesn’t like Fleetwood Mac?

5. Sia – Some People Have Real Problems

Earworm album with suitably aligned emotions with being stuck on a desert island. The title is perhaps slightly ironic if you are stuck, however.

One more because you can slip the 12-inch into the cover of another record without the desert island police noticing – just get it between the paper and the cardboard.

6. Nuyorican Soul – ‘It’s Alright, I Feel It’ (Roni Size Remix)

It’s 13 minutes of pure bliss.

If you could only pick one, what would it be?

If I could only pick one, I’m picking Aretha.

What’s your favourite song?

Don’t make me pick a favourite child. It’s too hard and it depends on one’s mood, doesn’t it?

What’s your favourite song by an SA artist or band?

‘The Sentinel’ by Hilltop Hoods. But again, choosing favourites is hard, so ask me on a different day and I might choose a different tune. Could even be a different tune by the Hoods!

Favourite music-related memory?

DJing at the Big Day Out as a local warm-up in the Boiler Room. Dizzee Rascal was on after me. He was running late by 15-20 minutes and they asked me to keep playing. The bands on other stages were in a gap, so the room went from around 1000 people to 6-7000 people in minutes. It was a time when there were some big DNB records that had crossed over. So out came the Pendulum tunes and boom. Pase MC was with me and it was a good time for us both.