1. In your bio you talk about "the trademark Chymera feeling". Can you explain to our listeners what that feeling is all about?

I guess it's just that warm, emotional, melodic feeling - sometimes energetic, sometimes more introspective. I think a lot of my music has that sort of vibe to it. People have told me that they can recognise my tunes no matter what genre they are, so I think that's a good thing. I definitely have a recognisable sound. It's not so much intentional, just that I am limited in the type of music that I can create. Those sort of melodies are the easiest for me to make.

2. You recently moved to Berlin after 3 years in Barcelona and you are not the only dj to make this move. Do you feel something is missing in the BCN scene right now and if yes, what do you think it is?

It's weird and I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there's something stale about Barcelona for me. I spent three years there and met some really cool people who are dear friends, but to be honest already in the six months I've spent in Berlin I've probably met the same amount of people as all the time I lived in Barcelona and I keep on meeting new people and making great contacts for music. Barcelona is a beautiful city and will always have a place in my heart but I've no regrets about leaving it. Musically the Barcelona scene just doesn't inspire me at all. The authorities there have also been cracking down a lot on the clubs and bars over the last few years. It's very hard to run outdoor events for instance, and they have installed limiters connected to a central database in the clubs and cut back the opening times. It's a shame because there is still a strong club going community in Barcelona. I had some excellent times there but towards the end I was definitely getting bored, feeling like I was walking around in circles and not making any headway.

3. Chymera went from a small town in Ireland to releasing in some of dance musics top labels in a a very short period. Was this a natural progression for you or do you feel that building up with time might have been better? Is your musical diversity one of the ways to handle that?

Well it depends how you define a short period. I've been making music since 2002 and have been sending demos out to labels since early 2003. I sent out so many demos and got so many rejection letters that I almost gave up completely in 2006. Then luckily I managed to get some tracks picked up shortly afterwards and it escalated from there. It's still been a gradual, steady progression though to where I am today and indeed my profile is not by any means widespread, but my music is getting out there more and more. I only quit full time work three years ago and I've been supporting myself with music since then. My own productivity tends to come in waves, usually I have two or three months where I am able to churn tracks out on a daily basis then followed by a couple of months where it's really a hard grind to come up with anything at all. I learned long ago not to get depressed or worry if I'd ever break out of the writer's block, it always happens eventually. I'm sitting on a large amount of tracks which are unreleased. Some are waiting for the right label, some I use exclusively in my live sets and others have just been consigned to the scrapheap never to be heard by anyone else. I don't like to be constrained to any one style, though I usually don't stray too far from house and techno these days. But even within those two parameters there is room for dynamics and it definitely helps in spreading my tracks out between stylistically diverse labels.

4. Like in many small countries, your fellow Irish dj's are spread around the globe. How dose this effect the local scene back home? Do you feel part of that community living abroad?

Well to be honest there's many reasons why the scene back in Ireland is struggling, but it's not for lack of DJs. There are great local DJs in Ireland and there are also international guests playing every weekend. Irish clubs have been on a downward slope since the early 00's to be honest. One of the biggest blows to Irish clubs was when the opening hours of certain bars were extended from 11PM until 2AM. Club closing times vary between 2 and 2.30AM. Couple that with entrance fees to the clubs, versus no entrance fee for the bars, and the overall exorbitant price of alcohol in Ireland, and it's no wonder that clubs are suffering. However there are some clubs and promoters who have been ploughing solidly through it over the years and as a result of their efforts I've had many great nights out in Ireland. Still, I really don't see how Irish clubs can regain their footing unless there's a complete revision of the opening times and unfortunately I don't see that happening any time soon. There is a huge Irish community in Berlin as indeed there seems to be in every city and town all over the world. It's always fun being in the company of fellow paddies because we have all grown up with a similar set of values. That said, I don't hang around with my fellow Irish all the time. There's so many people of different nationalities here, not to mention the native Berliners, that you'd be a fool not to get out there and mingle. However, considering the Irish sense of humour is almost entirely built on sarcasm it's nice to have people around who actually "get" it. Something that some other cultures rarely understand! (By some, I mean Germans ;)

5. What's next for Chymera? Any big plans for 2011?

Yes indeed. I'm currently working on an album. As yet, I don't know how it's going to turn out... we'll just have to wait and see but if all goes to plan it will hopefully be coming out in May 2011. Before that I've got several EPs coming out  - My release "Dream Runner" is out now on Outpost, at the end of November  I have another EP on Komplex De Deep and December will see a 4 track EP on Dirt Crew recordings. In between are various remixes on assorted labels.
I'm also in the process of making a bed. So, in fact, I will make my own bed, and then I'll sleep in it.

Artist of the Week: Chymera will air Tuesday November 9th at 18:00, with repeats Wednesday at 12:00, and Saturday at 10:00.