How a Ballina man took the European dance scene by storm
Ballina DJ/producer Jason Kelly was honoured at Ballina Salmon Festival in 2018 when Hothouse DJs John Moyles (left) and Dermot Rice (right) made a special presentation to him to mark the worldwide success of his 2005 single 'Angels Sing'. Picture: John O'Grady
A Ballina DJ and music producer is celebrating the 20th anniversary of a record he made in 2005 that took the European dance scene by storm.
With a head full of ideas, Jason Kelly made a train journey to Dublin in February 2005 to make his debut solo recording at the Raff Da Gaff Studios and what came out of an exhausting and creatively fulfilling 72 hours of work was .
The pumping trance track took some time to find its footing but one of the world’s leading DJs, Judge Jules, expressed an interest in playing Jason’s track on his next broadcast on BBC Radio One.
Jules would go on to play on his Saturday night show every week for the following several weeks and, suddenly, the young Ballina producer was having his music played in Judge Jules' live sets alongside industry giants such as Safri Duo and DJ Tiesto.
On the eve of St Patrick’s Day 2005, Jason attended a Judge Jules gig in the Radisson Hotel in Galway, which was attended by several hundred revellers. To his delight and amazement, Jason’s song was included in the night’s set list with Jules mixing it to the cheers of the crowd who obviously knew it well from the radio show.
In terms of the reaction of the crowd, was the tune of the night, as the proud Ballina man danced to his own record in the middle of the crowded dance floor. All that was left to do was to make an introduction to Jules and a quick thank you handshake and an ecstatic Jason left the venue after the set feeling 10 feet tall.
Jason had all the ability to advance to become an international star DJ himself, but he was unfortunately diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease in the years that followed, which prevented him from continuing with his career.
It has been 20 years since the great excitement of the Ballina DJ’s track being blasted across the airwaves but the memories live on. Jason later worked as a barman in the Broken Jug and as a DJ in Ballina for many years, retaining a love for dance music.
In 2018, he received an award at the 30th anniversary of the Hothouse for his outstanding achievements – the only DJ to ever receive an award from the club.
Jason continues to live in Ballina today, and his love of dance music is greater than ever.
