I’ve been trying to get through to DJ Yoda for half an hour. My calls are diverting straight to voicemail, but that’s ok because the recorded message I’m getting is a personalised, 60 second rap by none other then the legendary Biz Markie.

When I do finally get through, a polite, well-spoken Yoda explains that Tube troubles are to blame for the delay - aren’t they always? - and we move on to the acclaimed DJ’s recent performances at both the DMC World Championships (he was on the renowned judge panel for three years in row), and his prestigious slot at Bestival.

“It was just amazing,” he enthuses, clearly still glowing with a euphoric, post-show buzz. “Best gig of the year so far. Ten thousand people, Saturday night… it was just unforgettable”. Any pedestrian highlights? “I got to see Kraftwerk, which was pretty important stuff. I also caught La Roux and Major Laser - they were good too.” The quiff donning, sulky electro-pop teen and Diplo/Switch’s swaggering, dancehall tag-team aren’t acts you’d necessarily expect to hear referenced in the same sentence, but it’s this kind of diverse, eclectic sound clashing that Yoda’s become infamous for.

His recent release, How To Cut & Paste: The Thirties Edition, is the fifth instalment in a successful series of innovative audio collages, which sees the DJ blend everything from mainstream classics and retro numbers to well-known theme tunes and obscure radio samples, all blended with an emphasis on light-hearted, often nostalgic fun.

As you expect, The Thirties Edition features some of that era’s greatest blues legends such as Fats Waller and Bessie Johnson, their golden oldies merged with tight hip-hop beats and fresh, mirth-inducing samples in typical Yoda fashion. I ask if he’s heard the legend about the infamous Robert Johnson, one of the artists featured on the album, who was rumoured to have sold his soul to the devil in return for superior guitar skills.

“One of the things that got me into thirties music was the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? by the Cohen Brothers. They have a Robert Johnson type character in it who sells his soul at the crossroad.” It occurs to me that there’s a parallel between modern DJs and the roaming strummers of old, who travelled almost nomadically from town to town with just one suitcase and a trusty six-string. If you swap the suitcase and guitar for a crate full of vinyl, international DJs like Yoda are doing the same kind of thing. “Yes, I suppose we are the modern rolling blues men,” he laughs.

The film connection is one that was bound to come up, since a love for cinema led to his inventive new medium of mixing cinematic samples alongside the more orthodox audio ones. It sounds a little irregular, but as last year’s ‘Magic Cinema Show’ attested, it’s a successful format that’s spawned an encore tour this year, one that will most likely continue annually for the foreseeable future. The ‘National Video Vocation Tour’ takes place across the UK throughout October this year, with a crown show on 31 October at The Forum in Kentish Town. “The difference this time round is that I’ve learnt how to get YouTube stuff on to the DVJs I mix with, which means the material I have access to is absolutely limitless,” he muses enthusiastically, sounding a little like a kid in a sweet shop with an all-you-can-grab voucher.

The wealth of obscure, vintage material available on YouTube must be a drool-worthy dream for a film buff DJ like Yoda. “I was really overwhelmed when I first sat down to plan the show because there’s such a staggering amount of really good clips to choose from. But I’m really proud of what I’ve put together; it’s going to be a great show.”

The pioneering ethos and festival acclaim are a long way off from Yoda’s early days; in fact, he remembers his first ever gig with heavy chagrin. “It was a tiny club in Golders Green for a mate’s birthday party. I had a friend helping me, and he kept knocking the needle off the vinyl. It was absolutely dreadful.” Ouch. Alongside these early initiations into turntable mastery was a degree in English and American Literature. “Yeah, I never really get asked to quote Shakespeare by potential gig promoters, so it didn’t really come in that handy,” he laughs. “But there was a module on film studies, so I guess that part of it was relevant to what I do now.”

He’s come along way when you compare the disastrous early gigs and mostly-forgotten degree to more recent feats, including collaborations with legends like Goldie, the Jungle Brothers, Princess Superstar and the aforementioned Biz Markie. Is there anyone else he’s keen on working with? “There are, but a lot of them are newer, upcoming acts. I got the chance to tick off pretty much everyone on my dream list when I did The Amazing Adventures Of ….”, (his successful 2006 release). “I have started on a new album, but rather than established stars I’m working with younger artists who no one’s really heard of.” He’s excited about the project, but can’t yet confirm a release date. “The artist albums are a little harder to put together then the Cut & Paste ones - they’re more time consuming, and require a little more perfectionism. But it should be out sometime around the New Year.”

A recent subscription to Love Film has been fuelling the cinematic obsession that occupies his spare time on the road. Recent watches include Freda (“bad script, bad acting”) and Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (“fun but ultimately anticlimactic”) whilst the ever-hyped, sci-fi thriller District 9 is next on his hit list. Riding the wave of film-related chatter to a close, I finish our banter with an obligatory Star Wars-themed question - it’s a running prerequisite that no Yoda interview would be complete without. Would he ever take on an apprentice like his 3-foot, green-skinned namesake in George Lucas’s sci-fi classic? “Yeah,” he chuckles at the jest. “If I make it to 800 years old, I would pass on my knowledge. I suppose I should start thinking about what kind of routines I’d get them to work on.” Visions of training montages involve levitating vinyl and mind-controlled mixes abound, but in the meantime, Yoda’s splicing up some horror-style treats for the Halloween show on the 31st.

Whether it’s the late, great Michael Jackson’s zombie anthem ‘Thriller’ or some obscure, B-movie slasher samples, you can be sure that Halloween DJ Yoda-style will be a ghoulishly good affair.

DJ Yoda plays the HMV Forum on 31 October 2009