SLIDE's 13TH BIRTHDAY
At The Carling Academy Oxford
Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UE
Friday 23 November
11pm-4am
£10 advance

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13 years old and as strong as ever, Slide has brought to ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Oxford the cream of the world's electronic music talent over the last decade and more, including Groove Armada, Carl Cox, X-Press 2, James Lavelle & Simian Mobile Disco. Perhaps their favourite guest over this time, James Zabiela, returns after his sell-out show last year. Voted 'Best British DJ' in this year's 'Best of British' awards held by DJ Mag, James has become one of the biggest draws in the world of house and breaks...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Knowing what a great track should sound like - and the place it can be taken by warping and twisting it - is James Zabiela's forte. Layering different sounds with the aid of two Pioneer CDJ1000s, a Pioneer DJM800 a trusty Technics 1210 and with Ableton Live on his laptop, his hands and ears don't let up for a second, leaving any punters feet a-moving and mouth a-gap. And his demands for such kit, wherever he spins, is a reminder that he's at the forefront of DJs pushing things forward in 2007. And boy does this boy soar "Entertainment and education are the key," nods James sagely. "It's all about finding the balance. People have paid good money to have a party but you still need a balance." Which is why his FX unit is so crucial to his performance. "Anyone can mix two records to a degree," he grins, while still admitting to the odd bout of nervousness during radio interviews, if not behind the decks. "But I'm a hundred times more confident than I used to be. DJing has definitely helped my confidence as a person." Watching him play, its easy to forget that making things look easy takes time to perfect. But then he's crossed a few bridges - and a few national boundaries - along the way. "I haven't worked it all out yet," he adds. "But I do wish I could grow an extra arm sometimes!"

James' career so far has been stratospheric to say the least. After winning Muzik Magazine's Bedroom Bedlam competition with a string of well-placed mix tapes in 2000, he went on to win the award for Best Bedroom Bedlam DJ at The Muzik Awards one year later. Swiftly snapped up by Sasha's Excession agency a few weeks later, he spent the next year taking on the world, while still finding time to record well-received CDs for Groovetech, Hooj and unleash a string of fine remixes along the way.

Further compilations followed, including 'Alive' and 'Utilities' on Renaissance, and his production work continued to grow and grow, with singles including 'Robophobia', 'Weird Science' and most recently, 'Human', out last month.

James joined forces last year with Nic Fanciulli to form One+One. This involved marathon 4 to 6 hour sets where James and Nic would use their combined talents to rock the dancefloor. A world tour followed, taking in dates in the Far East, Australia and the US. Click here to purchase the One+One Compilation, out on Ministry Of Sound.

Still only 28, still pushing the envelope and still learning to cope with a real-life fanbase and life on the other side of the record counter, its unlikely that James Zabiela will be taking a breather anytime soon.