Although I've only had the privilege of attending Mindset once -I do have uni sometimes- I'll definitely be back. I had an absolute belter of a night filled with lots of bass heavy house and techno mixes, the icing on the cake being it cost nothing to get into (I got to see Maksy for free!!!).

"We've had some really amazing nights, but also some not so amazing ones. That's the reality of it"

Their upcoming collab with Say No More is 100% a night I won't be missing (fingers crossed my assignment deadlines support me on this). I was gonna say what more can you ask for, 2 unreal acts for the price of 1, but considering it's also FREE (b4 12) it's just a win win situation.

"Everything is easier when you've got all the kit in front of you, you can find the sound you've been wanting to create"

I had the pleasure of chatting to part of Mindset's core -resident Liam Gourlay- about his journey so far as a DJ and promoter in Glasgow.

1. What DJs have inspired you most and to what extent does your own personality shine through in your music choice?

There's way too many to choose from man, this is tough. Ricardo Villalobos because he's an absolute don! I could listen to his sets all day. He takes you on a journey via his selections and immaculate blending. Being able to replicate that is a goal of mine.

Diego Krause, who I’ve yet to see in the flesh but is definitely on the cards for future nights, is an absolute boss. Another favourite is Apollonia who I’ve been fortunate enough to see at SWG3, they sell out everywhere across Europe so it was great to see them preform in Glasgow!

As for me, I'd say I express my music through my personality in many ways. My friends will tell you I'm a very outgoing and bubbly person. However, I'm also pretty chilled and I take everything seriously, especially music. My selections, differing from a lot of nights in Glasgow, have a more deep and minimal sound reflecting this.

2. You’re the resident alongside Craig Hamilton. What’s the dynamic like between the two of you? Do you usually play b2b have certain time slots?

To be honest, we play our own slots majority of the time, we both feel it allows you to create a better story. Having said that, we did recently play b2b at The Club in Paisley and it worked really well! We bounced off each other, our track selection merging as if it was only one of us playing.

3. How do you discover new tracks and material?

My main source is probably Craig, he has his own record shop – Discogs- where he gets new stock in every week. I can pick tracks from most deliveries and if not, I can look at online outlets such as Deejay.de and ask him to order in material for me. Deejay.de is great as it allows you to pre-order tracks as well as listen to a preview clip, so you can try before you buy. Although, buying wax 24/7 can be expensive, so I have a great collection of both it and digital.

As well as this, Bandcamp can be great for finding hidden gems and I also receive promo tracks through email. I’ve found loads of dope stuff though all of these. Having mates that are into the same music means we’re always on the group chat posting stuff we’ve seen on SoundCloud or from artists on FB. It’s also a good way of learning from one and other, I continue to evolve musically as a result.

4. What advice would you give to others when it comes to developing their own night/securing a residency?

My best advice would be if you want to run a club night then you have to be patient, as realistically you're not going to be established in Glasgow after one successful night. You've got to stick with it. We've been running Mindset for over a year now and we're in a decent position. We've had some really amazing nights, but also some not so amazing ones. That's the reality of it. But when you do get a disappointing turn out for whatever reason, we still play our sets, people still come and dance and you just move on to the next night and focus on that!

As a promoter, your network is one of your most important tools. Having a good number of friends who are into the kind of night you want to start helps a lot. They will come along with their mates and eventually their mates’ mates until you’ve got a good crowd. Having a good relationship with other promoters and DJs in Glasgow is essential, so my advice is to reach out and make as many connections with people in the scene as possible.

5. What else have you got coming up or looking forward to?

We've got a midweek residency launch at La Cheetah on Wednesday the 8th of November, a collab with the Say No More boys that has been in the works since earlier in the year. We also have a monthly slot in Broadcast too where we recently brought up Maksy, it was great to finally see him play in the flesh - you could say we are big fans of his!

I've spent lots of time at Craig’s studio recently, being able to use his resources and hardware to get lots of different ideas down. Before I was just using Ableton on my laptop, creating beats manually. Everything is easier when you've got all the kit in front of you, you can find the sound you've been wanting to create (shout out to Craig and Scott from Platform 18 for being sound with me in their studio!). It’s great having my own tracks written, although none are “perfect” just yet, when they’re ready to be released, I’ll be buzzing!