CORE resident Jack Speed returns to Manchester in April for another night of sold-out techno. New to the scene, Jack spoke to us about his background, what listeners can expect of his sound and his high hopes for the future as CORE Music Ltd continues to soar.

Their next event sees Jack grace the line-up alongside renouned Drumcode DJ Piegaja and the other Core residents.  Check out the event here.

Listen to Jack's guest mix below:

Tell us a bit about your early musical influences.

Music was always around in my childhood, mainly through my Dad’s CDs in the car. It was mainly Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC and Oasis. Out of all of them I have continued to listen to Oasis to this day, which led me to get into more indie music around the age of 15.

How did you first get into techno?

Mainly through one of my friends, Alex. I was never into house music as I thought it was shite to be honest. I was more into my indie music. Just through going to a few parties I discovered tech house and thought it was quite enjoyable for about 6 months but once I had discovered there was a much darker side to it all I have never really looked back to be honest with you.

How would you describe your sound?

Definitely loud. I like hard hitting songs that are hard to swallow. I’m also a huge fan of some more melodic / electronic genres of techno that are a little different. Maybe the odd 303 synth for an acid track or two but nothing too heavy on that front.

Who would you say is your biggest influence from the scene?

Since getting into techno two acts have stood out from the rest and grabbed my attention, them being Adam Beyer and Tale Of Us. It would be a lie to say most of my tracks don’t originate from their labels or even mixes. They both have their labels spot on with releases being frequent and content also being of a good standard. Most importantly though it’s their DJing ability that influences me the most.

What are your thoughts on the Manchester scene right now?

From an outsider looking in, I would say quite healthy? On a large scale Parklife and Warehouse Project are always massive hits with everyone, including myself. On a smaller scale I imagine it’s rather good considering we managed to sell out our small scale event. Manchester is a place of culture so it would go hand in hand with a busy ‘scene’.

You recently played in Manchester in January for CORE's event at AATMA. Are you excited to be playing Manchester again in April?

Since starting up with CORE I’ve realised that playing to people gives me a massive buzz, so yeah I can’t wait to be honest. We’ve got a great little team set up, management and artists, so hopefully we can continue on from last time 'cause that was one hell of a party.

What's the best event / live techno you've experienced?

Recently I went to Tale Of Us 'All Night Long' at Fabric. They played for 10 hours and it was unbelievable, no doubt the best performance I’ve seen and I’m sure it won’t be topped for a long time.

Can you tell us a bit about the mix?

This mix I’ve put together is a collection of new songs that I’ve recently come across and some favourites of mine. I tried to keep a bit more of a heavier vibe to this mix as it’s what I will usually play when I play out.

How does this compare to your other stuff?

A couple of my other mixes tend to have a more ecliptic and melodic-ending compared to this one, I thought I would keep this one more heavy.

What are you listening to at the moment?

The two latest releases from Drumcode by Wehbba and Boxia are getting a lot of plays at the moment. Most of the tracks off the Fabric 97 CD especially Sequence 01 by the Adana Twins. I'm looking forward to the full release of that at the start of April. The new Adriatique EP on Afterlife is also fantastic and I’m a huge fan of Charlotte de Witte at the moment, she’s got some great stuff.

Make sure to follow Native on Mixcloud for exclusive mixes, with everything from Techno to Hip Hop!