I was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on the 30th of May 1973 (shortly after the release of Pink Floyd’s
‘Dark Side of the Moon’) to newly immigrated English parents (originally from Kent). I spent the first 10
years of my life in Wainuiomata before moving to Auckland. I now split my time between Auckland and Bath.
I attended Fernlea (Wainuiomata) and Mt Albert Primaries, Kowhai Intermediate, and Mt Albert Grammar (before they
let girls in, much to my dismay). Speaking of girls, I married Jo Rose at Sorrento in the Park in November ’01
(the only completely fine day that particular November), and we have two beautiful children, Joshua (born July 2004), Rebekkah (born May 2006).
I have worked as an inbound call-centre telephone operator and call-centre supervisor, Desktop Support person, IT/IS
Manager and Database Administrator before moving into DJing full-time (which allowed me to be at home with my kids and
spend more time with my music).
My background in IT has had a significant impact on my DJing, as DJing is 90% preparation (in this case a database),
9% perspiration, and 0.9% inspiration (as the saying approximately goes). I have also trained in live sound/studio
recording at SAE (School of Audio Engineering), Auckland.
In my spare time I am an occasional poet and an avid reader, particularly of psychological and sociological
non-fiction, as well as Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Comedy (Terry Pratchett being a favourite). I also enjoy TV and movies in
a similar vein, especially Scrubs and Boston Legal, Monty Python and Kevin Smith (Jay & Silent Bob).
I used to play Scrabble to a nationally competitive level (I placed 13th in the New Zealand Scrabble Masters when I
was 16) but have let that side of things slip since taking up DJing (opting for cryptic crosswords and sudoku instead).
In response to a comment that has been made to me a couple of times recently - yes, Alan Duval is my real name, the
one I was born with - it is not a stage name or nom de plume.
Without music life would be a mistake. ~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche |
