How does it feel to be tidy’s latest DJ signing?

Incredible! I’m so honored to be part of their world famous roster and it’s a dream come true for me.

You’ve recently relocated to the UK from Canada, what brings you to our shores?

The recent move to the UK is because only in the UK can I actually make a career out of what I do. Back in Canada our hard dance scene is so much smaller in comparison with very few gigs in a month so the move was inevitable if I wanted to continue doing what I love.

Is there anything you miss?

There’s tons! First and foremost I miss how affordable everything is in Canada, almost everything in the UK is double the price of what it is in Canada so I often compare the two and get depressed at how much money I’m spending on something as little as a Burger King meal. Sushi seems to also be very expensive out here as well so I really miss going out to eat Sushi a few times a week. Now I’m limited to maybe once a month on a special occasion.

I miss my friends and family as well but I know they’re behind me in whatever I do and I can’t wait until the next time I see them again!

How would you describe the hard-house scene in Canada?

The hard house scene in Canada is in a slump at the moment in comparison to how things were a few years back but I’m so proud of Canadians like the Beatranch boys who are really working hard to raise awareness within Canada and globally. My “Hard House Revolution” series events have been running for quite some time now and although there are only about 3 a year, it’s always rammed with a great local response and it’s just a huge pleasure to see the support our music style has in Canada.

How did you get into DJing and producing?

I really got into electronic music in 2001 and picked up my first pair of decks near the end of that year and just got practicing. Producing was sort of the natural progression of the career because it’s so important to be able to spread your name around through productions.

If you had to chose between producing or DJing, which would you chose?

That’s a tough one for me as I think I would pick DJing because of the performance aspect of things and being able to mess about with the music on the fly. However being able to translate ideas into reality through production is also a very satisfying thing so only choosing one would be disappointing.

Where does the name Rodi Style come from?

The name was inspired from a Chinese comedy rap called “Tai Mai Shue” where the artist thanks someone called “roadie, or wody” style for bringing his belt back or something of that sort. Between my friends and I, that became the ultimate style and when I started to DJ, it was one of the first one’s that popped into my head (as well as Uncle Benny like the rice but it makes me sound old haha). I did some research online to find out what exactly was being said in the comedy rap and found a flash cartoon where they had written “wody style”. I’m still unsure to this day what exactly is being said in that rap but I know there’s no other artist out there with the same name.

How would you describe the Rodi Style, erm, style?

My style has slowly changed over the last year or so. It’s still quite hard and filthy but I’ve found that I’ve been adding a lot more melodic appeal to my productions and sets. I would still class it as fairly full on stuff though!

No sooner are you here and already we’re working you hard, you’ve just mixed one half of the next compilation album in the “Music For A Harder Generation” series, what can we expect from your contribution the album?

It was such a pleasant surprise when Sam asked me to mix cd2 of the album and I put a lot of time into how I would build up the flow of my CD. It starts off with a few groovier/chunkier numbers and slowly builds into a lot more peak time material and then some full on “in your face” filth. I also tried to include a lot of tricks and scratching into my CD to capture the live feel of my sets without overdoing it because doubt anyone wants to listen to a CD that has too much stop and start to it.

What tracks are currently amongst your most played in your sets?

Paul Glazby – The Thrasher //Vicious Circle
Dave Curtis – Weekender //Flashpoint Records
Rodi Style – Hybrid //Oktane Records
Rodi Style – Tug of War //Kung Fu Wax
Rodi Style & DJ Pseudo – Pistol Packing (Rodi’s Kung Fu mix) //Kung Fu Wax

Those have been doing the rounds in almost all my sets especially “weekender” by Dave Curtis. I don’t think there’s been a single set where I haven’t played that track ever since he gave it to me!

Tidy have announced that they will no longer sell vinyl, what’s your view?

I think it’s really sad to see such a loved format go from our scene’s biggest label but it’s a tough sell from a financial point of view with manufacturing costs so high as well as so many people completely converted to using CDs or Serato.

What Sam has planned with the CDs is very exciting though, and the quality of releases and bonus mixes will really appeal to everyone I think.

What other projects are you working on at the moment?

I’ve been focusing a lot of my time lately working on my house productions under my real name alias “Benjamin Leung” as well as my pop/house stuff with a few buddies in Canada “Sound Language” myspace.com We are hoping to finish our album soon and I’m very excited about it.

Music For A Harder Generation - The New Generation mixed by Andy Whitby & Rodi Style is availble now from the tidy.com store, and is released in all good record shops from June 30th