Liam Palmer is intent on doing everything on his own terms. His energetic sets never sit in the same house groove too long, and the Appetite party he co-founded with his best friend Elliot Schooling has gone from a 100-capacity basement to a 7000-capacity festival in just a few short years. It is now branching out as a label that will deal almost exclusively in brand new talents as his own DJ diary takes him everywhere from DC10 to Fabric. It is fair to say, then, that there are few more driven or influential new school stars in the scene than him.
As a DJ, he toys with energy levels, upping the ante to get the floor in a sweat before pulling back and building once more. Rather than long and winding journeys, he's all about making an impact and expressing the varied taste in music he has acquired over the years. After so long living, working and playing with Schooling, the pair are so close they often get mistaken for brothers. In the DJ booth, they have that unspoken chemistry - they don't need to communicate with words to make connections with crowds as they work through a spectrum of engaging house, disco and techno.
Palmer and Schooling started the now notoriously welcoming and diverse Appetite while at University in Bristol. It was initially a way for the mates to play alongside each other and show off the house, disco, techno and garage they had become obsessed with. Dance floors were full from day one because they were always soundtracked by happy, fun and energetic music that never got too serious or moody. The party soon grew and sold out London spots such as Fabric, Village Underground and 93 Feet East with headliners like Chez Damier, DJOKO and Eliza Rose. In 2023, it goes to another level entirely and becomes a fully-fledged one-day festival, Appetite on the Farm.
Like everything Palmer and Schooling do, it is all about community and bringing through the next generation of talent. It's a community-minded affair with family members designing decor and only the freshest and most forward-thinking artists on the lineup. It's not about big names or getting headlines, it's about offering something both original and interesting. It will be the same case with the label as the pair are hell-bent on doing things their own way. Rather than calling on the same old names, they will mostly sign new talents and give them a platform to shine on the world stage.
Despite growing and achieving so much so quickly, Palmer is adamant he is only just getting started. His goal is to make a deeper impact than with good tunes alone and to take Appetite onto the world stage. That dream is fast becoming a reality.