Meet: Will Kirk, the deaf DJ appearing on BBC Radio 1 this Christmas

From nightclub sessions during university, to presenting on BBC Radio 1 this Christmas, Sheffield-based DJ Will Kirk talks to Liam O’Dell about life with music, being hypercritical and what it’s like to make the last Drum and Bass mix of the year.

“It wasn’t an email to say congratulations,” says 22-year-old Will Kirk in a Google Meet call. “What sort of happened was I got an email from somebody the BBC, and it just sort of said, ‘hi, we’ve heard your demo, we really like it. Can I just check that you’re able to record mixes at home?’

“So I just sort of said yeah, and it was either one or two days before I got a reply back,” he continues. “Then they explained the situation that they wanted me in for the guest mix and it felt surreal, to be honest.”

Our conversation comes after Will, who is severely to profoundly deaf, was announced as one of 33 new presenters selected to host a show on BBC Radio 1 this Christmas. A fan of artists Dimension and Fiction amongst others, he’ll be producing the Drum and Bass mix for the station’s Drum and Bass show.

The opportunity is the “highlight of the year” for Will, who tells me he his relationship with music is “natural” and not something he has to think about.

✨ ANNOUNCEMENT ✨

We're welcoming 33 new guest presenters onto Radio 1 between Boxing Day and New Year's Day😍

Press release with all the details ➡️ https://t.co/tgRSBJpW2o pic.twitter.com/KUzYlRI8fd

— BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra & Asian Network Press Office (@BBCRadio1PR) December 3, 2020

He reminisces on an experience from when he was around eight or nine years old. “I’d come down[stairs], Sunday morning, and I’d turn on the music channels,” he explains, “and you would have the Top 40 music videos playing. I’d just sit there and watch the full thing for three hours.”

What followed was an exploration into hip-hop – something which Will thinks may have subconsciously been to do with his deafness.

“I’m more deaf in high pitch terms,” he explains, “so I think the thought of [a] stereotypical deep male voice going over that, I could understand the lyrics a bit better than maybe I could with other things. I don’t know whether that if it is the case, or if it was just a subconscious thing, but it’s something where I felt I had taken notice of that.

He continues: “Another thing is, say, if I was sending a promo mix to promoter to try and get an opening set or something like that… They might not know that I’m deaf and the first thing that they’re hearing is my output, which is my music, or what I’m doing with that.

“Then it’s saying, ‘right, you see my ability’, and they say, ‘oh, you’re deaf’ – there’s no need to question that,” he says.

While his interactions with music started young, Will’s journey into DJing began with nightclub sessions and radio shows at university – in what he describes as an “unconventional” way to get into the industry compared to most people. After graduating last year, a Sheffield station he wanted to contact had gone off-air. His attempt to get the ball rolling at the start of year, meanwhile, was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now, I started my own show, which I’m just putting online,” he continues. “I bought the equipment. I even taught myself how to use Photoshop so I could do the artwork myself. It’s still not perfect – there’s still an absolute shed tonne of work to do on it – but I just thought that I’ve got to get out there.”

Always on the lookout for opportunities, Will went on to apply for the Radio 1’s Christmas Presenter Search in 2019, but wasn’t selected.

“Then it’s saying, ‘right, you see my ability’, and they say, ‘oh, you’re deaf’ – there’s no need to question that.”

Looking back on his application last year, however, Will confesses he wasn’t good enough at the time of entering.

“If you spoke to me a year ago to go and present the show,” he says, “which I was applying to do, I definitely wouldn’t have been ready for that.”

“I did that demo, was unsuccessful, and then I’ve been doing a lot of work this year on radio, and improving my links and things like that, so I applied this year.

“I’m probably hypercritical of my own skillset,” he continues. “I still don’t think that I would be ready for that, but that’s just me being me, I reckon. I can only point out the flaws in what I do.”

Such a mindset is likely to throw up some challenges when mixing for a station as big as BBC Radio 1. “I think it’s a lot of pressure – you’re right,” agrees Will. “It’s all been sent off, and I’ve just told myself I’m not going to listen to it, because I’ll pick out things.

“Even when I do listen to it, I’m going to be picking up the little details that only I will be able to hear – which is ironic that I’m the only person hearing things when I’m deaf,” he jokes. “I think it’s just me being me and wanting to constantly be better.”

As we talk, to the right of him – he tells me – just out of shot, is his vinyl collection. It comes complete with 80s pop legends such as Duran Duran, Eurhythmics and The Human League. Yet these charity shop finds from Will (who reveals that he’s also a massive Kanye West fan) probably won’t appear in his mix later this month.

“It’s got some high energy vibes,” he explains. “You know, it’s Radio 1, I’ve got to go for prime time. You’ve got to be high energy, middle of the night.

“It touches on a range of different styles. I’ve not said, ‘right, we need to go from one end of the spectrum to the other’.

“Even though it’s half an hour, I’m hoping it takes you on the journey through drum and bass, ready for the last set of the year, really – the last drum and bass mix of the year,” he concludes.

Will Kirk’s mix will premiere during the Drum and Bass Show on 29 December, between midnight and 2am (BST).

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By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.