8 DJs tell us how they stay sane on tour

Mental health in dance music is being discussed more than ever. Although still a taboo in society, the topic's come to the surface in the last year, with Benga, Midland, Scuba and Ben Pearce among those to have shared their troubles. Benga went into great detail about his battle with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and Ben Pearce cancelled a run of dates earlier this year due to depression. Bearing in mind the relentless travelling that's done, banishing any chance of a normal schedule or familiar resting place, plus the well-known availability of vices at their disposal, it's no surprise that a study pointed out that musicians are three times more susceptible to mental illness. With that in mind, we spoke to eight DJs, including Skream, tINI, Heidi and Patrick Topping, to see how they stay sane when out on the road.

"Every weekend is different so it's hard to have any sort of routine in my life. I try to go to the gym whenever there is one in the hotel and sleep as much as possible - that's one of the most important things when on the road. Each weekend requires a different kind of preparation as there's different music. I tour with my tour manager Roberto who combines as a best friend and takes care of the little details. He's been with me about three years now and I take him everywhere. Life on the road gets lonely sometimes so it's awesome to have company. On the work side, he does the soundcheck and helps me with checking in and things like that. On a personal side, just providing me with company and being there. Happiness is only real when it's shared, so being in South America, seeing amazing things and not having to see them alone is also amazing. I have my best friend with me."

"I always make sure I eat, nothing too heavy, before I go out. But that depends if I've been out the night before. If I haven't slept and I'm on the way to the next gig, it can be anything like a Burger King. When I first started touring America, I'd have these massive steaks before I went out and I'd feel it hitting the bottom of my stomach during my set. I try to have fish pasta dishes, like crab spaghetti. I remember doing a gig in Amsterdam years ago with Mala. We went to this steakhouse and ate the biggest steaks. You could see us all flaking on stage about two hours later.

In terms of routine, if it's a long car journey we'll just play a decent mix on the way to the show, to get us in the mood for it. I always try to sleep once I'm in the hotel room, but I normally end up sitting there listening to tunes, buying tunes and making folders. It feels like it takes me forever to do that and to gut stuff out, like tunes I've been playing too much. I always attempt to watch a film before I have to go to the gig as well, but usually fall asleep and waking up to my tour manager Dave or the promoter saying "We've gotta go" on the hotel room phone. That nearly happens every time!

I can't make tunes on the road. I went through a phase of really trying to do it, but it felt forced. It never really worked out. My missus always keeps me in a positive mindset. She keeps me sane – she's almost like a safety blanket, as weird as it sounds. However crazy it gets, she sort of has these eyes that calm me. Also, she's not from this whole music thing – if a set wasn't that good, she won't just mince her words to keep me happy or anything."

Skream's currently rolling through the UK and Europe, see where he's playing here

"My routine depends on where I'm going and what country I'm in. Obviously, when I go to the United States, it's a little bit different because I've got a lot of friends there to catch up with. That's quite nice as there's always something to do and obviously speaking the same language always helps. Plus, I can visit my family in Canada. When I go to South America or Asia, it can be quite difficult because I've never had a tour manager. I've always been flying solo for the last 12 years. Basically, I really like travelling on my own as it's quite therapeutic and I get some downtime.

I've sort of got into podcasts because voices help me to relax and I listen to a lot of 'This American Life'. Also Alec Baldwin's podcast 'Here's The Thing'. His voice is so soothing. David Attenborough as well. He's definitely a Xanax for me. His voice just calms me down and sends me to sleep all the time. It's nice to listen to other people talk for a change because when I land I usually have to be on form all of the time and talk to the driver, the promoter and the fans and making sure they feel comfortable around me.

In the last year-and-a-half I've definitely knocked the drinking on the head. Not totally but I have to pick and choose my battles nowadays. I've definitely hit a few walls in the past where I've overdone it and felt like I was losing my mind in different time zones. I've started drinking champagne as it doesn't get me super wasted and I can gauge how much I'm drinking. Good tequila and water doesn't give you much of a hangover, either. I like to swim if there's a pool at the hotel, but other than that, not much exercise. I just sit and power-watch TV series. The Night Manager was a recent one."

"I recently started doing loads of edits while travelling on trains or planes. I can’t seem to get into the head space to make full tracks on the road yet, but I’ve really started enjoying edits. It doesn’t take as much thought as an original track and sometimes I haven’t slept much when travelling, so making an original is too much. I usually do about two or three edits a week. Even just adding a high hat to a track can make it fit better with my sets.

I try to use the gyms in hotels, but it's hard if you're travelling. I've started requesting hotels with gyms now. I suppose that's one of the few downsides of being a DJ as I don't get to exercise.

I'm playing sober a lot more now. I used to drink all the time, but I don't anymore now. The first year I was DJing, I was partying all the time. I still do a bit now, but what happened was, after Ibiza last summer, I did a month sober after the Paradise closing party. That was the first time I'd really done it and I really enjoyed the gigs. My girlfriend comes away with me quite a bit. I don't have a tour manager, but I go most places by myself. My girlfriend will come with me for the long-haul tours to Australia or America. She works as my assistant now so does all of my logistics and American bookings. She's got the freedom to come now and it's so much better because when she had a different job, we didn't see each other that much. Having the freedom of her coming has completely transformed it."

"This past year I’ve been travelling a lot more and really trying to watch what I put into my body, whether it’s food or alcohol. At home, I generally eat super healthy and try to exercise as much as I can. I used to run a lot of half marathons but the more I’m travelling, the less I feel like getting home and running so I’m really trying to change that. The travelling side of things doesn’t bother me too much, especially when I’m on a plane, as it means I can really get some work done. Although, saying that, I haven't seen my boyfriend for the past month as we’re constantly missing each other in different cities.

If I need to zone out, I always have a TV series and a few films with me. I’ve had some experiences of being trapped at airports and this has saved me so many times. I’m currently watching The Sopranos for the second time. It always feels like such a treat when I put it on. I also try and keep a few podcasts on me. Adam Buxton is a new fave on Spotify and The Combat Jack Show is a really great one if you’re into hip hop.

My go-to routine is always drinking as much water as possible and then nicking as much as I can before I leave the club! I always stack my bag with at least four bottles and make sure I drink a couple before I go to bed and then have some for the airport before I board. Trust me, it's a real life saver."

"The more I travel, the more important it is to take care of myself. Being away most weekends means that I'll want to take Monday or even a bit of Tuesday off because I need downtime. Even though you can relax on the flights, it's still work if you're travelling as a DJ. It's important to have downtime and understand that travelling is part of the job. If I've been playing Friday and Saturday, for example, I'll most likely be travelling back home to Stockholm on the Sunday and I'll try to chill on Monday. Just a few hours of relaxation and isolation. I've only started actively thinking about it recently.

I've started taking better care of my apartment and planning stuff for my home when I'm in Stockholm. Just putting effort into that to balance the feeling of being all over the place. I used to use hotel gyms quite a bit, but for me to be able to exercise, I have to build up a very specific sort of routine. I'm going on a US tour soon and that's the mecca of gym culture so I'm definitely planning on doing a tour of US gyms. When I was younger, I was super fit and doing weightlifting all the time!"

[Photo: Hjalmar Rechlin]

"I try and invest in good luggage to keep me organised, otherwise I feel like my head's all over the place. I like a good wash bag with all the little bottles labelled, otherwise everything just goes all over the floor at the hotel. I feel more on it when I've got luggage with pockets. I learned my lesson with my Australian tour, because everything ended up stuffed anywhere and bursting at the seams. Now, I'm quite OCD with it. I've also taught myself to sleep on planes. I find it's not worth doing that tiny bit of work for an hour because rest will make you work better later in the long run. As soon as the plane takes off, I'm out like a light. It helps so much because you often can't have a nap in the hotel.

The day after a show, no matter how hungover I am, I try to visit the botanic gardens of any city I'm in. I've seen so many different botanics. I've seen Oslo, Antwerp, Paris. It just freshens you up so much. Food wise, I like to eat light, but also have a lot of protein. My favourite thing is steak, espresso and a glass of red wine. I need to change my rider but at the moment it says 'no Mexican, no pizza, no burgers'. When a lot of promoters meet me, they think, 'Oh, she's a diva', but I tell them I just want to play good for them. On top of that, I carry a bottle of liquid B-12 vitamin with me. It really perks me up and makes up for when you don't get a meal. I keep fit at home, but I'm terrible on tour. Louisahhh!!! from Bromance can play until 5am and go for a run at 7am. I don't know how she does it!"

"I'm in a weird position where I used to not keep any routine, but now I'm trying to. I half do, half don't. Half the time I'll go to the gym, but half the time I'll be rolling in at 10 in the morning, eating my breakfast and checking out of the hotel. It depends where I am. If you go to America, it's usually quite quickfire. The routine is usually go and DJ, go for a few drinks, maybe go to sleep and then head to the airport. But if you're in Australia or Asia, you might have the week off because you're just doing shows at weekends. It all boils down to how aggressive the dates are on your tour. If it's a show day after day after day, you've got no time to do anything. If I go to America for a month, by the time I get back, it usually takes me about a month to get up-to-date with my life. It puts you so far behind in terms of emails and general tasks.

I can't make music when I travel. I might put down a few notes, but ultimately I need my studio to make the music I want to make. What I do on the road is a lot of field recording. Me and Logos recently went to Detroit and went to that famous car factory where they did the techno parties. It was cool going to a place which was part of the timeline of techno to capture the ambience, to use in my own music. If it's a UK show, sometimes I prepare for the set on the journey there. I usually get to the hotel quite late in the UK. If I'm away for a weekend, I like to take in as much of the city as possible. I only played in the UK about five times this year, outside of London. A lot of my shows have been in Europe. A good thing about being on the road is, you're lucky you have promoters who know everything about the city. Generally, they can take you to places off the beaten track. It's rare that I go to a city and won't know someone now. I've got an international network of friends from being a DJ. Every city I go to, I've got someone to hang out with. When I started it was quite lonely, but now it's not lonely at all."

We Are Hummingbird is a charity which helps musicians worldwide who may be suffering from mental health issues. If you would like to learn more or feel that you may need help go to: www.wearehummingbird.com/

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor. Follow him on Twitter

Eliot Wyatt is a freelance illustrator and regular contributor to Mixmag. Visit his website