Wales’ youngest DJ lived out his dream when he met superstar Fatboy Slim after performing at one of Britain’s biggest music festivals.
Eleven-year-old Efan Williams – known on stage as Efan Electro – played a crowd-pleasing set at Kendal Calling in the Lake District before being whisked backstage to meet his hero.
The pair shared high fives, hugs and a chat in a moment captured by a camera crew from Caernarfon-based television production company Cwmni Da, with the heart-warming footage to be shown on S4C’s Stwnsh Sadwrn at 9.40am on December 20.
The programme will also be available to be viewed on S4C Clic and iPlayer from first thing on that date onwards.
Efan, from Llanllechid, near Bethesda said performing at the 45,000 capacity festival was “the biggest gig so far” and described meeting Fatboy Slim as “like a dream come true”.
The excited youngster said: “I love DJing and producing music. The type of music I play is house, techno, hip hop and electronic dance music in general. My favourite DJ is Fat Boy Slim – he’s the reason why I play house music.”
Efan’s father, Rob, said: “He’s heavily inspired by legends like Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim, and you can really hear that influence in his sets. Meeting him backstage was a really special moment.”
Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, started collecting records at school and began DJing aged 15.
He has a massive social media presence with 1.5 million Facebook friends and 860,000 followers on Instagram.
During his career he has won a Grammy Award, nine MTV Video Music Awards, two Brit Awards and an Ivor Novello Award.
In 2023, he was awarded the Guinness World Record for the most UK number-one singles by one musician as a member of different acts.
Rob added: “Efan has been passionate about music from a young age, I think he could dance before he could walk.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic our house was full of music, we were having lockdown discos and he got his first DJing deck as a Christmas present when he was eight. He’s moved on to some very high end equipment now and has really mastered it.
“Kendal Calling was a bonkers day for Efan. He played his gig to a large crowd and was treated like a star being taken around the site in a buggy, going backstage and meeting Fatboy Slim was something he’ll never forget.”
Before his 45-minute set at Kendal Calling, Efan went around the festival site placing his promotional stickers on fence posts, litter bins and boards here and there.
He said many famous people had appeared at the festival over the years including Beach Boy Brian Wilson and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Efan was delighted to see his name on posters and included in the festival programme.
“It’s really cool, it’s like wow to see myself in this,” he added.
Wearing a floral bucket hat and a flower garland around his neck Efan took to the stage in front of a large audience. They cheered loudly at the end of his set.
Sipping a well-earned drink afterwards Efan said: “That was really special. That was the biggest gig I’ve done.”
The Cwmni Da film crew followed Efan for more than eight months filming his gig at Bethesda’s Neuadd Ogwen where he supported rave legend Judge Jules and at Roc y Ddôl, Bethesda in June.
Efan was also filmed at Ysgol Llanllechid hosting a final disco before he moved to secondary school in September.
“When I see people dancing to the music I feel really happy. If the audience don’t enjoy it then I don’t enjoy it,” he said.
Producer Siwan Haf said the 20-minute programme celebrates Efan’s talent as Wales’ youngest DJ.
“It has been a pleasure to chart Efan’s progress as his career as a DJ goes from strength to strength. We followed him from Neuadd Ogwen and his gig with Judge Jules to his school and local festival to the huge Kendal Calling where he really shone with a seamless set to an enthusiastic crowd.
“Kendal Calling was a milestone, but for Efan Electro, it’s only the beginning,” she said.
The programme will be shown on S4C’s Stwnsh Sadwrn on December 20 and will be available to view on S4C Clic and iPlayer from that date onwards.
