Name / DJ name: DJ Lubi /Lubi Jovanovic
Regular night: no regular nights now.
Founder member of the DIG! Family DJ crew 1985 with Chico Malo & Gip Dammone. We rocked the Leeds/north of England dancefloor jazz/soul/funk/global beats scenes from 1985 to 2002.
After that, I DJ’d regularly at Hifi Club Leeds (weekly residency at Sunday Joint 2020-2023), The Social and Jazz Cafe London.
Also played salsa music internationally in 20 different countries (EU, Balkans, Baltics, Los Angeles, Gran Canaria, Turkey, Singapore).
How did you first get into DJing?
1979 – Splash Night Club, Bradford – playing post-punk records at a gig featuring my Bradford post-punk band Mephisto Waltz (I was the bass player) – they had some decks, I had tons of 45s and LPs (The Fall, Cabaret Voltaire, Magazine, Monochrome Set, Joy Division, The Slits, Talking Heads etc). I enjoyed it so after that gig, I started taking records to venues we played if I knew they had some decks. Eventually, maybe 1982, I became a DJ playing dancefloor jazz music then Latin, funk/soul, Brazilian music and more….
What was the first record you remember obsessing over?
”Saturday Night At The Movies” by The Drifters. My first ever record. I went to a record shop with my older sister and her mates and my mum gave me some money to buy myself a record. I was overwhelmed by the record shop and didn’t know what to buy. I was only 8. So I just pointed at the top 20 chart behind the counter and asked for no.2, which was this one, and the only act I knew. I’d seen them on Top Of The Pops a week earlier. I took that 45 home and played it maybe 20 times until my mum threatened to break it if I didn’t stop.
Who or what shaped your musical taste early on?
Aged 8-12, definitely older sister (3 years older and into music by the time she was 12). Radio, especially Radio One, which was on in our house all day until our dad came home from work and flipped the station to Radio 4 and the news. Weekly chart rundowns on Sundays (which I wrote down). Weekly TV with the Top Of The Pops show every Thursday night. I watched it every week. Aged 14-17 (post punk years), Radio One again but nightly John Peel show 10pm-midnight. Religiously. Recorded it, especially the Peel sessions.
Which artists, labels, or scenes still define your sound today?
James Brown, Roy Ayers, Horace Silver, Eddie Palmieri, Aretha Franklin, Jorge Ben, Toots & The Maytals, jazz, soul, funk, salsa, bossa, samba, jazz-funk, reggae.Blue Note Records, Stax Records, Fania Records, EMI Brazil, Troj
If someone stayed all night at Smokestack while you were playing, what would they hear?
Jazz, soul, funk, salsa, samba, classic reggae, rhythm & blues, bossa, jazz funk
What kind of room do you love playing to?
Small room, dark ambiance, dancers all styles, great sound system, dj booth tucked away, the focus being on the dancefloor and not the dj
What record always gets a reaction when you drop it“Running Away” by Roy Ayers
What’s the most unexpected track you’ll happily play if the moment’s right?
“Babalonia” by Ricardo Marrero
Which DJ, selector, or musician do you think deserves more credit?
Chico Malo
Describe your DJ style in three words.
DJ Lubi Style
What’s your rule behind the decks?
No drinks near my 45s please
