When his dance hit Tell Me Something Good hit the charts two years ago, Ewan McVicar was employed in a cold storage facility.
The earworm has since been streamed more than 75 million times, has become a favorite in clubs, and served as the inspiration for a regular segment on Greg James' BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show.
The huge dance music festival would serve as the catalyst for the 29-year-old DJ to realize his long-held dream of revitalizing the rave scene in his hometown of Ayr.
Now that that incident has been documented by a BBC iPlayer documentary, McVicar is also working with another legendary Scottish DJ.
As a regular DJ in the storied Ayr clubs Club De Mar and Furys, he first had the idea to organize a festival there.
He wasn't able to purchase an expensive kit because he was a student by day.
According to him, he was DJing using an ironing board as a sound system, a PC speaker system, and a laptop computer that cost $100.
At the end of the night, he would stroll through Low Green, a sizable parkland area next to the beach, and consider what a fantastic location it would make for a festival.
He claimed that it had been a dream for a very long time, but he never imagined it would actually come true.
McVicar chose to pursue music instead of becoming a teacher after earning his degree in education and deciding that the field wasn't for him.
Then, about five years ago, he made the decision to leave Ayr.
"I was about to give up music because I felt a little lost, but then I was like. I want a new beginning. I consequently relocated," he said.
My career "just kind of went from there" after I signed with Patrick Topping's [Trick] label the week after moving to England.
"However, I never lost sight of my roots. As much as I can, I wax lyrical about Ayr. ".
When McVicar's cover of the US hit song Tell Me Something Good by Rufus and Chaka Khan from 1974 spent 13 weeks in the Top 40, his music finally broke through.
During the lockdown, he claimed, "I was working in a cold storage warehouse.".
Because people on the shop floor were listening to my tune while I worked there, it was a truly bizarre experience. ".
Despite moving away, he never lost his love for his hometown; in fact, he named an EP Heather Park after the Kincaidston street where he was raised.
Although the DJ's father was killed before his birth, he has a close relationship with his mother and younger brothers and is motivated to succeed.
While watching rave documentaries with his friends as a teenager, the foundation of his career was laid. These days, he makes an effort to replicate the "soulful and raw" 90s sound of that scene.
His two greatest loves—dance music and Ayr—finally met in April when he organized the Pavilion Festival in his hometown.
They brought 7,500 ravegoers to Ayr for the first festival with the aid of STREETrave, the organization that organized some illustrious club nights there in the 1980s and 1990s.
Working with the seasoned promoters, who were visiting the Ayrshire coast for the first time in thirty years, was, in his words, "biblical.".
"I was clueless about organizing a festival. I just had this thought in my head," he claimed.
"I can always picture stuff like that, but you never know how it's going to work out until the people are present and everything is set up," the speaker said. I simply didn't believe it would occur. ".
Along with acts like Skream, Kettama, Karen Dunbar, and Optimo Espacio, McVicar served as the event's headliner for the two days.
The DJ stated that the event was all about enjoying oneself and celebrating being Scottish.
"Don't be a dafty," was one of his house rules.
He said, "It worked. "Everyone was so nice, and the customers who came to Pavilion were deserving of praise.
"I put my faith in my hometown, and they have repaid that faith tenfold. ".
He claimed he wanted to help a town whose fortunes had declined since he left because he had left.
He said, "I want people to have faith and see a different part of Scotland that doesn't usually get talked about.
The South Ayrshire Council leader has now supported plans for the festival to be held annually over the next five years because the event was such a huge success.
But McVicar keeps his future plans for Pavilion under wraps.
"All we're concerned with is improving the experience on the site, and hopefully we'll be able to increase the capacity a little bit each year. ".
He now has "successful festival organizer" next to his name on his resume, but he is not letting that detract from his music.
With one of the most well-known DJs and record producers in the world, he is collaborating on a new album.
"I'm currently writing an album, and Calvin Harris and I have already completed a track for it. I haven't told anyone that, by the way; that's an exclusive," he said.
They are both Scottish—Harris is from Dumfries—but, in McVicar's words, they come from "different realms.".
The amount of respect I have for him, for everything he's accomplished, and the fact that he's Scottish as well, is just insane. We both play different music.
Then he turned to face me and said, "It's nice to finally meet you. He's so sweet; what a nice guy he is.
"I plan to release the album next year, and I believe it will mark a significant turning point in my career, moving me from Ewan McVicar, the wee happy DJ, to actually people taking me a little bit more seriously.
"It's no longer just enjoyable. I want to showcase my music to the entire world. ".
Watch the Back Tae Ayr documentary on the BBC iPlayer to learn more about Ewan McViar's Pavillion Festival.
Ewan McVicar is playing Back Tae Ayr on BBC Scotland's TUNE.
