Patrick Topping's love of dance music stretches back to his early teenage years when he discovered mákina, a subgenre of hard Spanish techno that's popular in North East England. "I still love that music now," he says on this week's episode. Since those early days as a young raver in Newcastle, Topping has become an in-demand artist known for a wide range of styles that includes happy hardcore, classic pop and gospel-inflected house.

Currently holding down a summer residency at DC-10 in Ibiza, which he describes as "the pinnacle of my career," the UK artist explains how he reached this stage after starting out in the industry as promoter, following in his father's footsteps. After being mentored by Jamie Jones, Topping says he's now in a position to pass on insights to younger artists as well as support emerging talents through his residency and label, Trick.

Topping then goes onto his discuss why he prefers to play sober these days—"it changed my relationship with DJing"—and why he controls his own social media presence—"you're pulling together bits of media to tell your story, it's kind of like DJing."

Listen to the full conversation for more details.

EX.622 Patrick Topping

The weekly RA Exchange is a series of conversations with artists, labels and promoters shaping the electronic music landscape.