There’s nothing more boring than reading an interview from a tired old music hack asking questions like: “So who would you say are your major influences?” That’s why we asked lady-of-leisure Emily Freud to start dating for us. Emily doesn’t care about things like tech house, or grime, or nu rave. She cares about high minded things like literature, nice restaurants and hot boys. Emily doesn’t do interviews, she does dates. This issue she interviews DJ/producer Silverlink.

The last time I had travelled on the over-ground a Burberry clad yute stole my right shoe and waved it in front of my face until I handed over my ‘digits’. I crossed my fingers and prayed that chat up lines had evolved since 1998.

My heart sank to new levels when a ‘beep beep’ alerted me to my phone, letting me know he [Silverlink] was going to be late. Good start. After what felt like a lifetime of standing (looking slightly panicked) outside Dalston Kingsland station, a long haired neon t-shirted giant came smiling towards me.

What ‘jokesters’ those guys are at Don’t PanicI. It materialised that the reason we were going to be spending the next few hours on a train was because my said date was actually DJ Silverlink.

We happily chatted, grabbing onto railings, wedged between various commuters. He spent his teenage years travelling from his home in Twickenham into central London on this service which is why he had chosen it as his namesake. Silverlink is known as part of the ‘New Rave’ scene, which daunted me slightly when thinking of a conversation starter.

“So…do you like the Klaxons?”

“I like them and think they are nice people; but they did kind of fuck up what New Rave meant and then backed away from the whole scene. I think the problem lies with the media. They hijacked what is seen as New Rave, commercialised it and packaged it before it had any true standing… Individuality is hard to sell and market. It’s easier if different styles can be explained in a pie chart.”

(Wow heavy stuff, I hope I’m nodding in the right places)… “So how do you feel when outsiders place you in that box?”

“What I am about is not premeditated at all. I’m into all kinds of music, Soca, Grime, Jungle… I want to hear interesting new stuff. I’m not cynical; I just don’t think enough experimentation is going on.”

“What’s next for New Rave then? Is it over?”

“I’m hoping everyone will boycott. It’s a Ying and Yang effect. Youth is exploited for its culture. Everyone is on Myspace. It’s become commercialised and the only thing to happen next is that there will be a rebellion.”

“But aren’t you on Myspace? (Silence) It’s always quite refreshing when I meet someone who has shunned the social networking sights…”

“Yeah… I mean, now records are just a promotional tool. You’re only as big as how many people know who you are, or how many friends you have on Myspace.”

(4674 know who he is; only 166 know who I am. I’m defiantly punching above my weight.) “Is this the weirdest place you’ve been on a date?”

I took a girl to one of my gigs once, it didn’t work out. I think it was a case of, wrong time, wrong place, and wrong date.

I really enjoyed spending the afternoon shouting over train noise with Silverlink. It brought a smile to my face at our parting when I asked if he regretted naming himself after a train service. He laughed and said: “only when I’m on the train and a mate shouts over: yes bruv! I’m riding Silverlink.” And what a ride it was…

Silverlink is 25 and lives in Stamford Hill. He is a full time DJ and has done Remixes of Lily Allen’s ‘LDN’ and the Klaxons ‘Third Eye Mafia’. You can listen to his tunes on www.myspace.com/silverlink. His forthcoming record (Title TBA) will be available to buy on www.cassetteplaya.com