Five Things with DJ Frenzie

I grew up in Melbourne in the ’70s. My father was the guitarist for a major Australian band at that time, so I was very used to being around the music industry, seeing the backstage of major stadium festivals, tour buses across the USA, and recording studios. It was just normal to me. As a child in primary school I had dreams of buying the vacant building down the road and turning it into a disco. This was before house music or clubbing was even a thing. It was just something that was inherent to me. My mother used to drive me to my first DJ gigs and help me hire the sound equipment. I was still in high school. When hip hop music started to get kind of big in the late ’80s, it actually allowed me to take it all seriously. DJing was suddenly a legitimate thing to do.

2. Inspirations

As a DJ, my biggest inspiration would be DJ Ransom from Melbourne. He taught us about style and owning your thing. I still rate him as one of the best DJs in the world. Beyond that, radio DJs like Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Latin Rascals and Tim Westwood definitely shaped my career in radio. I’ve been doing radio around Australia since 1991. My show on 2SER is now in its 14th year.

3. Your Crew

My crew is large. I lived in three states at a time when people were just figuring this industry out. A lot of my close friends have gone on to shape the local hip hop and dance music scene. They know who they are.

4. The Music You Make And Play

I consider myself a hip hop DJ, but that really gives me free rein to play anything I want – funk, disco, house music, soul music, whatever. Years back I helped pioneer the local drum and bass and breakbeat scenes. It’s all just good music, and an experienced DJ will disregard styles and genres.

5. Music, Right Here, Right Now

I’m a big vinyl record collector. These days I’m really into playing 45s just because it strips away the gimmicky laptop element. I like having to work hard as a DJ, and playing 45s is about the hardest format a DJ could use. Laptops are fine and I use one from time to time, but it’s way too easy for me. Give me a small box of 45s, a limited selection of songs, and let’s make it work.

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