Music has always played a pivotal role in Niall F’s life and it’s easy to see how his musical journey has rubbed off in his sets today as a regular of the KL underground scene. Growing up in Scotland, between Aberdeen and Glasgow, Niall played piano and trombone as a kid and started DJing at the age of 16.
It wasn’t until he moved to London as a 19-year-old in 1988 that his passion for Indie and early dance emerged, doing the rounds at the local record shop on King’s Road and falling in love with the Happy Mondays, Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets, to name a few.
And it was a landmark performance of English record producer and trance DJ Paul Oakenfold as opening act for the Mondays — the first time Niall had seen a DJ open before a band — and Oakenfold’s remix of Happy Mondays’ WFL in 1989, that fuelled is fire for a new kind of dance music.
Other artists to have influenced him over the years include Orb, Air, Zero 7 and DJ’s Sasha, Hernan Cattaneo and John Digweed.
More recently, it’s been Kuala Lumpur DJ’s Obadius and Terence C. Of course, there’s also his memories of raving in Glasgow and across the world, which have left an imprint on his live sets.
“Glasgow raves and in particular the tunnels in Glasgow were insane and always one of the best places to go and see good dance music growing up,” he recalls.
“Then there was Beirut. Beirut has an amazing party scene and some of the coolest clubs I have ever been to. BO18 is a disused bomb shelter in the middle of a car park that only gets going at 4am. Coffins are tables and when the sun comes up or it rains, there’s a roof above the dance floor that opens to freak people out.
“I met my wife Noura at a Tiesto concert in Beirut in 2006, as well. It’s well and truly one of the best kept secrets of the world.”
Like his esteemed Connected colleagues, the formula is simple for Niall F. Reproduce, recreate and share those amazing experiences that have shaped his memories and music, though the sets he plays and events he hosts today.
Be sure to check out Niall F and his melodic progressive House, melodic Techno and Deep House tunes at venues such as Elysium, Pisco, Como and of course Privi weekly.