As he hits Liverpool with his live show Emma Johnson catches up with bass culture hero DJ Fresh

Rita accompanied Fresh when he played his sellout gig at Liverpool’s O2 Academy in May.

The 21-year-old is too busy with her own world domination plans to join him for his return to the city this month but Fresh promises a fantastic show.

“Liverpool was great, one of my favourite gigs from the last tour.

“This time we are a five-piece band with me on keyboards and singing and it is a cross between a full-on band experience and the really heavy dancefloor sound of my production.”

The tour fits with the release of Fresh’s third studio album – Nextlevelism.

Out on October 1, it features a host of guest singers and rappers including Professor Green and Juliette Lewis. Says Fresh: “Juliette is really cool, lovely, just like the characters she plays. . .she is not a lunatic but she has got that ‘out there’ vibe about her. She is a very deep and interesting person.

“I met Professor Green in Ibiza and we got on really well. I was looking for a rapper for a track so I gave it to him. He loved it, wrote a verse for it and it worked really well. American band The Fray are on the track as well.”

Ah America. Amid talk of him working with US rockers Linkin Park, that looks like being the next stop for Fresh.

“I signed a deal with Columbia (records) a couple of months ago,” he says.

“I have never really chased the American Dream, it was never something that really interested me, I just wanted a platform to get my music out but there seems to be a lot of interest from America, people are really excited about it.”

Breaking America, it’s not bad for someone whose parents never really wanted him to pursue a career in music: “It was the typical story, my parents weren’t really into the idea,” he recalls.

“I love looking at my dad and going ‘told ya’!”

DJ FRESH plays Liverpool’s 02 Academy on November 22.