Phil K. I believe that respect comes from intent and Phil’s intent has always been to innovate, entertain and share his passion for music,
regardless of local politics and fleeting trends. He’s represented Australia on the world stage as well as nurtured and supported the
scene locally. He’s always ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, forever experimenting to find something new; Phil K represents
everything that is exciting about electronic dance music.
Dave Juric
Having been overseas the past 18 months, it’s been a little bit harder to keep my finger on the pulse, but from everything that I see and
hear, LNTG (Late Nite Tuff Guy) is about to blow up in a really big way. He’s pushing a really current, dance floor friendly sound, has 20+
years in the industry, respected by all, and has both production and DJ skills beyond most could dream of.
I would like to see an honest
representation of what’s going on in
the scene and not by ad driven or
money driven agenda’s. If they do a top
100 it needs to be based on something
else rather than votes that can be
bought or influenced by money.
Possibly Rufus, given their
popularity at the moment. As far as
pushing sound I’m liking Willow
beats for innovation.
For me I’d like to see long articles, with in-depth research, so the magazine becomes somewhat ‘collectible’ along the lines
of Wax Poetics or similar. Features on the history and current state of particular scenes around the country. This would allow
residents of other cities to get a taste of what is, and was, going on in Perth, Brisbane, Tasmania etc. One of my customers
in the shop the other day was Angelo, the guy who taught HMC how to DJ, at Rio’s (currently Red Square I believe). Interviews
and old photos from those guys would be amazing, so long as it’s actually in depth and not just a nod in their direction.
What I hope not to see is just a print version of RA, where all the photos are of guys faces, the articles feature a complete
lack of humour and pathos, and it’s just a by-the-numbers lets-all-move-to-Berlin race to the bottom (or top?) or worse,
focusing on plastic piss-head CDJ festival culture. Local scenes and local DJs are what interest me. One of the problems I
have with Rip It Up is that the one ‘Beats’ page (!!!) is really just about internationals who are touring, and ‘festivals’.
I’ve thought about this long and hard, but I can’t think of anyone who is really respected in the Aussie electronic music
scene. Although I no longer have any respect for him, I guess HMC is respected here, for what he did in the 80s and 90s.
Kana Broadcasting
In the context of what we’ve spoken about and in Australia’s techno scene in
particular, I’m going to go with Brisbane’s DJ Fuzion. He’s been on top of his
game for many years and definitely one of Australia’s best.
For me, the same basic questions remain, and are oft overlooked in much Australian dance-music discussion - which seems demographically ‘restricted’ (18-25) and
obsessed with a certain hyper-competitive notion of DJing/performance (as evidenced by the plethora of top-100 polls, mimicking the mainstream obsession with
Ben
validation and comparative ranking). In short, after years being involved in a wonderful and inspiring international scene, I often feel that Australia’s dominant danceHopkins
DeepchilD
music voices absent in nourishing the fringes of the scene, but rather bulldozing them with imported notions of legitimacy. I’d love to see a new type of electronic-music
voice emerge - one which gives an insight into more female voices, more Australian Indigenous Voices, more collectives and their evolution (e.g. Wagga Space Program,
Clan Analogue and so many more). More non-commercial broadcast entities (2SER, FBI Radio), more so-called ‘secondary’ voices (the engineers, the coders, the, mastering studios) who give our culture its fibre
and tenacity. I’d like to see a magazine delve ever-deeper into explorations of dance-music’s history (ENOUGH stories about Detroit’s glamorised dead-city porn - I perform there regularly, and I ASSURE you
there’s more to the city than its demise, and it’s old-guard producers. Similarly, with Berlin - Berghain is a wonderful club I enjoy playing very much, but there is so much more to this city than these dominant
voices). I am digressing somewhat...apologies. I am seeking a new dance-music publication that realises that ‘dance music’ is about so much MORE than it is. Electronic music remains more than a source of
‘career’ and financial support for me, personally - it is a force for transformation, resistance