Sometimes the people making the biggest impact on a scene aren’t necessarily the loudest voices in it. They’re the ones asking different questions. The ones wondering how music can bring people together, how events can become communities, and how creativity can sit alongside kindness instead of competition.
That was my biggest takeaway after speaking with RIJ.
We first connected after he reached out to me on Instagram, suggesting a chat because he felt we were on similar journeys. By the end of our conversation, I understood exactly what he meant. Yes, he’s a DJ. Yes, he’s played Ibiza, produced music and built an event brand. But underneath all of that is someone deeply interested in people – what connects them, what inspires them and how music can become the thread running through it all.
Music found him early.
Growing up, it wasn’t production software or club culture that first sparked something – it was community radio. At just twelve years old he landed a regular slot on a local summer station after his science teacher, Mrs Burgess, put his name forward. It quickly became much more than reading links between songs.
“I learned confidence, speaking into a microphone, working a mixing desk and sharing music. It gave me the bug straight away.”
By fourteen he was presenting a weekly Chart Show, bringing friends into the studio, taking requests and opening the lines to listeners. Looking back now, it’s funny how naturally those early experiences mirror what he’s building today. Even then, he wasn’t just interested in playing music – he wanted to create spaces where people felt involved.
Music was everywhere at home too. CDs were prized birthday presents, speakers had to have enough bass, and like many of us growing up in the early internet era, he spent hours tinkering with music-making tools online long before he knew what production really was.
Then university arrived, and with it, dance music.
Walking into Birmingham’s legendary Rainbow venue for the first time became one of those moments that quietly changes everything. “I just remember thinking, this is something completely different.”
Not long afterwards, a friend handed him a pair of ageing DJ controllers that barely worked. They weren’t glamorous – “I’m being generous calling them decks,” he laughs – but they were enough to light another spark. House parties followed, then a proper set of Pioneer decks for his twenty-first birthday after his aunt and uncle offered to fund half, provided he invested the other half himself.
It wasn’t about owning equipment. It was about committing to the craft.
Like many DJs, RIJ taught himself through trial, error and persistence. He learned by playing wherever he could, first for friends, then at parties, then gradually in larger venues. Looking back, he admits he spent too long waiting for opportunities to arrive instead of creating them.
“The minute I stopped waiting for someone else to build it for me and took ownership, things started to shift.”
That shift eventually led him to Ibiza – almost by accident.
What followed wasn’t simply a collection of gigs on one of dance music’s most iconic islands, but an education in adaptability. Equipment failed. USBs crashed. Decks overheated in thirty-five-degree bars. Every set became another lesson in staying calm under pressure.
More importantly, Ibiza reminded him that relationships matter just as much as talent.
“You never know who’s in the crowd or who’s sat next to you in the green room. Just be a decent person. That goes further than any hustle.”
His sound naturally evolved alongside those experiences. House sits at its core, but disco, garage and soulful vocals all weave through his sets, shaped by childhood memories, family influences and countless hours behind the decks. He describes house music’s four-to-the-floor rhythm as something almost primal, while disco brings “warmth, nostalgia and emotion”. Garage adds groove and attitude.
“The warmth and melody probably come from my family,” he says. “The bass and the naughtiness? That’s all me.”
But perhaps the most interesting part of RIJ’s story isn’t the DJ career at all. It’s Naughty Parrot.
What began as an events concept has grown into something much bigger – an event series, podcast, creative platform and community built around one simple idea: Be Bold. Dance Free.
The philosophy behind it feels refreshingly honest. RIJ believes people shouldn’t have to choose between looking after themselves and enjoying nightlife. His phrase “Party with Balance” sums it up perfectly.
“Naughty Parrot was born from wanting to create spaces where people can show up unapologetically as themselves.”
That idea runs through everything the brand does. Events are designed to feel intimate rather than intimidating. Podcasts dive into wellbeing alongside music. Emerging artists are given opportunities to share their stories, while established guests help shine a light on the next generation.
Listening to him talk about it, you quickly realise Naughty Parrot isn’t really about him.
It’s about everyone else.
“How else are they going to get a voice?” he asks when talking about supporting emerging DJs. “If I’ve got a platform, however big or small, I want to use it.”
It’s a mindset that feels increasingly rare. Rather than viewing the scene as something to compete within, he sees it as something to contribute to. He speaks openly about paying artists fairly wherever possible, recognising the hours that disappear behind the scenes long before anyone steps into a DJ booth.
That same generosity carries into the wider community he’s building.
“Community isn’t just part of Naughty Parrot,” he says. “The brand doesn’t exist without it.”
In a world that often feels increasingly divided, he believes dancefloors can still offer something powerful – places where people arrive without pretence, connect through music and leave feeling a little lighter than when they walked in.
That vision continues to grow.
Following a sold-out London event, Naughty Parrot heads to Manchester on 4th July before expanding into Bristol and beyond, while RIJ continues balancing DJ bookings across the UK and Europe with growing the platform itself. Longer term, he’s already thinking about taking the concept overseas.
It’s ambitious, but it doesn’t feel rushed.
His advice to others reflects exactly the same mindset. “Pick your battles. You can build more than one thing, just not always at the same time.” It’s practical advice, but also quietly reassuring. Progress doesn’t always happen in a straight line, and creativity doesn’t need to move at everyone else’s pace.
By the end of our conversation, I found myself thinking back to why Fleckies exists in the first place. It’s easy to look at someone’s Instagram and think you know their story. Usually, you don’t.
Behind the Ibiza sunsets, sold-out events and polished content is someone who still believes music is fundamentally about people. About conversations. About giving others a platform. About creating spaces where everyone feels welcome.
If Naughty Parrot continues growing with those values intact, I have a feeling this is only the beginning.
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