HIS STORY Danny Rampling, 52, acid house DJ
We first got talking at a charity event where I was DJing. We went on to an afterparty in a shed in someone's back garden in Hackney and connected instantly. I pursued her for nearly a year after that. It was a fun chase. I thought, "She's just got it": Ilona is wild, wacky, creative and glamorous. At the time she was a core part of the Jonny Woo crowd – an outrageous bunch of highly creative east Londoners – and she worked with them at Gay Bingo. We got married a year later.
I've been a DJ for 25 years but recently we've formed a duo, Rampling & Rampling, and we've played a lot in Asia. I never thought I'd DJ with another person, but it works. It's great being able to travel with a partner who shares the same interests, sense of fun and zest for life. We are kindred spirits – the Johnny Cash and June Carter of the dance world.
When we DJ'ed together in the beginning, there was a small amount of arguing. Once I played a track and Ilona didn't like it because she was going to play it. She threw a tantrum and stormed out of the DJ booth. In the end we laughed it off. There were another 500 tracks there to choose from anyway. Since then, we've been fine. Some people may look at us and think: are they just a gimmick? But it's not. We're on a parallel musically, and we inspire each other. I believe the couple that plays together stays together.
Female DJs do on occasion have a hard time; they get a lot of criticism. But Ilona's been DJing for nine years. She is very good – and I'm not saying that just because she's my wife. I'm always surprised by her technical ability, which is particularly fantastic. When we play together she's always – how do I say this? – fiddling with my knobs.
HER STORY Ilona Rampling, 33, DJ and performer
I've always been a wild child. I moved to London from Oregon in the mid-90s and got the psychedelic trance bug. I was going to lots of clubs. I started DJing around then and signed to Dragonfly Records, one of the first psychedelic trance labels. Funnily enough, I was going through some of our storage boxes recently and I found a trance compilation that Danny did with Paul Oakenfold for Dragonfly in 1997, so we do have similar roots.
When I first met him, I didn't know he was "Danny Rampling The DJ". I didn't know who he was at the time, or that he was DJing at that party at all. Even so, I knew instantly that he was the one. His energy is incredible; he radiates a huge amount of positivity, and people gravitate towards that. It was inevitable that we were going to get on. We're very similar: he's a big character, I'm a big character, and we share a spiritual outlook.
We got married with just the four of us: Danny and me and my mum and dad, in Scotland. My parents live up there, so it has a lot of meaning for me. When Danny suggested Gretna Green, I thought it was a wonderful idea; it has so much history. Danny's astrologer friend did our charts and picked the wedding day for us – 4 January this year – and it worked out really well. It was so emotional and romantic.
Working together is the cherry on the top. We both play clubs, we both do music, so it was natural that we became a duo. The synergy we've got is really unique. I'll think about something, and then he's finishing my sentence out loud. We do that with music, too, so we've never disagreed with each other's tastes. If one of us doesn't like a track then that's it, we don't play it. It's so great to have a shared passion like that.
Shoom's Summer of Love Weekender is at West Exit Club, Hastings, from 23-24 August (ramplingandrampling.com)