Dave Budgen is a member of the UK breaks act The Freestylers, best known for the cuts Push Up, In Love With You and Painkiller.

Fresh from touring commitments, he has relocated from London to his home city of York, where he surveyed the club scene and decided one dance night was missing: breakbeat/electro.

This evening, he hosts Hijacked at the Judges Lodgings, in Lendal. Charles Hutchinson meets him.

What were your early musical steps, Dave?

"I'm from York originally, and I was in a band years ago called New Level, who used to play in York and around the north.

"I was 19 at the time - I'm 32 now - and we got moved down to London, with a management company paying for us to live in a posh house in the South East, living The Monkees' lifestyle!

"After that, I kept in the music business as much as I could with my brother Rich, like recording with Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook at their Heliocentric Studios, and producing and writing tracks with members of Corduroy."

When did you join The Freestylers?

"I had a couple of years out in York, and then an agent friend of mine, who works for Coda in London, said 'You've got a job playing for The Freestylers' without even an audition. I came highly recommended, apparently.

"I've been with The Freestylers for five years, playing massive tours. We've done three tours of our own in Australia, and we did The Big Day Out, which is like a touring circuit, starting in Auckland and playing Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast. Lots of fun.

"We were with Slipknot, the Chemical Brothers, Beastie Boys and The Streets, a mixed bunch, but we all got on really well and you all end up partying together."

What's happening in The Freestylers' world?

"We've been on the breaks scene since the beginning and we're now in the process of writing our fifth album.

"We have a new single out called Electrified, which features MC Sirreal, MC Bad Manner and Ragman, which we've released on Against The Grain, a breakbeat label run in Brighton by Skool Of Thought and Krafty Kutz.

"We're now looking towards the end of the year or the beginning of next year for the album release, as we've only just started writing it after our touring."

What has struck you about the York music scene since your return?

"I moved back about seven weeks ago and as soon as I was back here, I thought 'I've got to do something in York'.

"There are good nights already like Freakin' at Certificate 18; Uprooted at The Junction; Tinitus at The Junction; and the Herbal Mafia night as well, but I felt there could be more in terms of breakbeat in York.

"I don't know why there haven't been any breakbeat nights because there's definitely a gap in the market. We've done one night so far at The Judges Lodgings in March and the place was rammed. Everyone was saying 'why hasn't this been here before?'" How would you define breakbeat?

"Well, compared to stuff that's going on over on the dark side he means rock music, without specifically referring to it, it's a very urban, hard-edged sound. It does what it says in the title: it's based on the break beat in the old soul sounds, which have always been sampled, but now with fat driving bass and a black attitude.

"A lot of the breaks I play have quite a lot of ska influences on them, and it's all about live mixing, getting the records out and doing it old skool."

Who are you working with in York?

"Andy Kidd. He knows the scene, and he's the gem I've been trying to find in my first weeks back in York. I'd been asking around and Andy's name came up and within two days we had the flyers up for the first show on March 24.

"The idea is to take the Hijacked breakbeats nights to Leeds, hopefully Manchester, Sheffield; we're now setting up negotiations with clubs in other cities."

Why choose the Judges Lodgings as your venue?

"I've always had a soft spot for the Judges Lodgings as it's got catacombs and tunnels and bare bricks. We can deck out the function room with lighting and really make a big effort as people are coming for the night and they want to feel they're coming to something special."

Can you stir up the York dance scene?

"York has such potential for amazing things but, for some reason, it's never happened. There are some fantastic venues, but you get venues that play safe rather than charging £10 for a DJ night, which people would pay.

"In Leeds, there are lot more people prepared to take risks, so it's up to people like Freakin', Uprooted and us to make a start, make a difference and build something in York. To me, this city is a bit like Amsterdam, and it's up to people to turn over the stones: they might find something brilliant underneath."

Have you any messages for potential clubbers?

"We're very keen to promote Hijacked as a responsible club, as it's something we want to carry on each month, so it's up to people. To us, it's all about the music."

Dave Budgen presents Hijacked at the Judges Lodgings, York, tonight, from 8pm to 2am, with headliners Buddhist Punkz (Dave Budgen, Rich Budgen, MC Sirreal from The Freestylers), Idiotbox/Baff (shark v. i. p+londonbreakz), resident DJ Andy Kidd and Brooksy. Admission is £5.

Aspiring DJs and MCs keen to take part should take a CD and introduce themselves to Dave.