Twitch DJ Profile – Guddah (UK)
To most people in the Twitch DNB community the name Guddah needs no introduction. Streaming live from his home in Leicester, he has built a solid reputation for playing hard hitting music, giving new producers a place to air their latest tracks, and giving tirelessly to charity by broadcasting mammoth 24 hours streams and more famously, offering to shave his beard live on air for extra charitable donations. If ever there was a fella using his place in the scene to do good, Guddah is him! We caught up with him for the very first of our Twitch DJ profiles.
How did you discover Twitch?
I’d always kinda known about Twitch for a few years before actually coming on to the platform. It wasn’t until I got a PC in 2018 and started playing games with my friends that I made an account, back then though I was only watching a select few game streamers so that I could understand and learn ‘Escape From Tarkov’ a bit better. It still seemed like a crazy concept to me, people watching people playing video games…
Who were the first DJ’s you started watching?
Back on May 25th 2020, lockdown was finally getting to me and the lack of raving was beginning to leave me feeling empty. I had an inspiring moment trying to reconnect with DJ’ing after falling out of love with it for 18 months, this led me to discovering Helmahof. From that moment on I was absolutely hooked, I discovered the Drum’N’Bass Discord and jumped straight in. After many welcoming messages from Abstractamcr & Tmocs, I followed every member of the Twitch team right then.
When and how did you first think about performing on the platform?
Within a day of discovering the community, I knew what I wanted to do and started working on what needed to happen! I already had everything ready to go but there was one thing that needed to change, my Pioneer DDJ- SZ. That was one of the main reasons why I had fallen so out of love with DJing. I knew that having a standalone unit would give me a way to reconnect with what I once loved, as did playing on CDJ’s when I performed at my weekly residency in Northampton.
I reached out to my parents to see if they would lend me the money for a Denon Prime 4, even jokingly offering my Dad a cut in future earnings from Twitch to try and persuade him. Luckily he agreed without the catch, little did we both know how that would end up…
What would you say are the most positive things about DJing live over the internet?
There are so many incredible answers that I could give you right now but also the wonderful fact is there’s so many other ways that it has been positive for others, everyone has had their own experience. For me though there’s quite a few I need to mention.
Twitch has allowed DJ’s to be closer to the crowd than ever before, the community that has formed due to this is something that I’ve never experienced, it’s truly special to me. DJ’s have been breaking down the conventional walls of the Dancefloor standard and started allowing themselves to entertain in a way they never could before. It’s not necessarily all about the music being perfect anymore, we’re here to put on our show however we want.
Another one to mention is how Twitch has levelled the playing field for getting exposed as a DJ, it doesn’t matter if you’re John B with nearly 25 years in the scene or myself with no following at all, your skills are laid bare for everyone to see. I was never interested in pushing myself into the DNB scene as it seemed more about who you knew and not how well you could play. Twitch flipped that.
And the negatives?
Whilst I’ve experienced some of the best moments of my life in the middle of my living room, nothing quite beats the feel of being on stage and having that special connection with the crowd. Nothing will ever match that feeling of what makes raving such a beautiful thing.
What stream teams are you part of, and how did you become part of them?
My first stream team was drumandbass. This is the community I first discovered and what made me fall in love with streaming. If it wasn’t for the original members of the community who were here long before the pandemic, I don’t think my journey would’ve brought me here.
The second team is 1134. When Catch22 got Partner, he created the team to bring together creators of different styles. Over time the community has grown into a wonderful meme infested place.
Team 3 is Team Brisk. Brisk discovered me during my 40 hour stream and immediately questioned why I wasn’t a Partner yet. Brisk’s team is jam packed full of an amazing variety of DJ’s across all dance genres.
Team 4 is my recently announced team, United By Breakbeat (UBB). Our aim is to create a hub for all of DNB on Twitch. We’ve been campaigning to get a DNB tag on Twitch but that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere just yet so this is our workaround. If you include DNB in your streams at all, come join the collective!
and finally, Team 5 is the brand new team ‘Junglists’. At the time of writing, the team isn’t even 24 hours old so keep an eye out for them as they grow!
What does it mean to be in a stream team?
It’s totally down to the team and the connection they have personally. At first there was a real close family feel within team drumandbass but as the pandemic went on, the whole community grew at an even expanding rate. For me this totally blew things open in terms of teams and was the start of what inspired me to create UBB. Whilst supporting within the teams is a given, it should never stop you from supporting further afield, without this the community wouldn’t be where it is.
How much of a challenge did you find setting up initially?
As mentioned above, I already had everything needed to start streaming here on Twitch, the only thing that was new to me was using OBS and creating my stream visually. Over the week after discovering teamdnb, I worked with someone who created an overlay for me and taught me some basics with OBS. That overlay is the same one you still see today on my stream!
The interactive chat while streaming has bought performing to a whole new level. You have a fan base that can reach out and talk to you while you play. How do you find that?
This has been one of the key factors in my journey on Twitch. Having been on the opposite side for a week and loving chatting with the DJs, when I started off I made a point of interacting with chat as much as possible. I never intended to use the mic though, it was there to thank people for their support and that was all. I absolutely hated using the mic due to personal issues with my vocal confidence but over the time, typing my response to every single viewer became a bit overwhelming. I feared that starting to talk on the mic would push viewers away as I know a lot of people enjoyed to lurk n work. This totally changed everything for me and really helped me change as a person, now you can’t shut me up sometimes on stream.
So, on the subject of subscribers and donations, those ‘bits’ must come in useful in terms of keeping equipment running and buying new music?
The support from the community is a massive help in allowing me to keep doing what I’m doing. My setup has evolved so much that my living room and kitchen are basically studios now. I’m currently working towards the dream of quitting my day job and taking this full time so the ‘bits’ will certainly be useful going forward! I can’t wait to get stuck in and really give people the content they deserve for their support.
Do you see ‘Bit’ donations as an immediate reaction to how you’re performing, and what you’re playing?
Not always. There’s numerous reasons someone gives you some bits, an immediate reaction being one of them. Some viewers just love to spread love and support and will give bits regularly.
What is the role of the ‘mod’, or moderators within individual streams, and how important are they to you?
So this is kind of a funny question for me. Mods have a very integral role in a streamers channel normally but for me it’s a much more laid back environment for mods in my channel. I personally keep and eye on chat and interact with everyone I can and if we ever do have any issues, I can address it myself most times.
Do you feel like you’re being exposed to more new music now, as artists and producers can send stuff to you live while you’re streaming, ready to debut ‘in the moment’?
Certainly! My taste has become so much more versatile over time, would you believe I never really knew much Jungle before Twitch? My love has expanded from just the harder side of things to anything and everything Drum and Bass! A beautiful thing about my setup is that I can be sent music and have it on my decks in less than 30 seconds. I’m always happy to play whatever producers feel confident enough to send in to me and normally just put it straight on! If it wasn’t for producers, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do so I’ve got to pay that support forward to them all!
There is a Twitch D&B community out there that is growing daily. This is a really exciting time to be broadcasting from home! (discuss).
It certainly is a very exciting time to be at home! We are truly a worldwide community and you have the power to do what you want, when you want.
What are your views on the longevity of D&B on Twitch post pandemic?
This community isn’t going anywhere. I was worried at first that after the pandemic, the community would dissipate as clubs opened back up. It was then that I realised something… People aren’t in the clubs every single day of the week are they? No, they’re a staple in the chat daily though… After realising that, the dream of taking this full time really hit home. I believe that by creating UBB, we can continue to grow this community and make us a part of DnB History.
What would be your counter argument to those who might say that Twitch could damage ticket sales in clubs, because people might choose to stay in during the current climate?
It may be due to the fact that things are just reopening but I believe the club scene is stronger than ever right now. I’m seeing events consistently sell out up and down the UK and there’s always more and more new promoters taking the step into the industry. If anything, the popularity of Twitch is reigniting the love for DnB throughout many people who wouldn’t consider stepping back in a club again.
How can people find out more about you as a DJ, and do you think using Twitch right now will help you get back out into the ‘real world’,
The best way to find out more about me is to check my streams out and get talking to me. One thing I’ve always tried to put across is that I’m always open to talk with people, if you’ve got a question, ask away. I may be here providing entertainment through music but that doesn’t always need to be the main focus of the stream. The beautiful thing about what I do is that we don’t need to stick to the plan, if things aren’t going so well I can stop the music and just talk for a while, allowing for a greater connection with my viewers.
What would you say to somebody with no experience of Twitch who might be looking to try it?
Take the jump! You may not always find a streamer you like straight away but with the incredible worldwide community we have, you will definitely find someone that you enjoy. From there on the path is endless, you’ll find streamers and viewers worldwide to connect with and it can lead to some amazing things!
Any last comments you’d like to make or anything I’ve missed which you feel needs a mention?
Please come and check out United By Breakbeat! We’re only just getting started but our plan is to make this the one stop hub for all you need to know regarding Twitch DnB! If it wasn’t for the support of this community since June 2020, I wouldn’t have a dream in life and now I want to repay that by making people know what we’re doing. This is a serious movement and it is here to stay!
