Rob Tissera

In this episode, Chris Hawkins sits down with hard dance pioneer Rob Tissera to look back on more than 35 years behind the decks. Rob recalls arriving in Manchester at the height of the acid house explosion, practising in a tiny room in Chinatown and getting an early break DJing at the Haçienda before going on to become a fixture at some of the biggest clubs and raves of the era.

He also tells the story of the illegal warehouse rave that ended in a mass arrest, after Rob took to the microphone and urged the crowd to fight the police — ultimately leading to a three-month prison sentence.

Rob and Chris discuss his rise from pirate radio and the Blackburn rave scene to international DJing, his approach to selecting records, embracing new DJ technology and why, after more than three decades, he’s still chasing new music, making records and loving life behind the decks.

How to DJ is a Listening Dog Media production.

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