How did you first get into DJing?
DJing was something I’d been interested in for a while before I started. Every time there was a set of decks at a party I’d always jump on and fool around. It was something I picked up on pretty quickly; none of my friends at the time were doing it, so it felt like something that was my own and I really wanted to keep getting better/improving. I was at a club one night at the age of 18 and was introduced to a promoter; I lied and told him I could DJ, implying that I knew what I was doing. He told me to show up the next week with some CDs and a pair of headphones. I got booked to play more and more and just went from there.
When you’re DJing, do you always get immediate feedback from the audience? Can you tell how they’re responding to each track?
Feedback from the audience is always pretty immediate; they’ll let you know if there’s something they don’t like. Now that (because of the internet) your average club/festival punter has a heightened knowledge of electronic genres, they’re much more savvy about what they will and won’t identify with or dance to.
What is your favourite set of all that you’ve played?
The Splendour In The Grass Mix Up Stage was pretty amazing; that would have to be a highlight for me. Funnily enough, playing to a massive crowd is a lot easier than a smaller one. I think that by virtue of being up on a big stage the audience trust you almost by default; in a more intimate space you really have to earn it.
How would you characterise Sydney’s musical scene at the moment?
There’s no denying that it’s struggling at the moment but it will be much more robust than ever when it overcomes its current set of challenges. There are a lot of young exciting, challenging acts particularly within the FBi Radio community that are untapped at the moment and waiting to be discovered by broader audiences.
How do you think the lockout laws have impacted the club scene?
You can definitely see/hear/feel the drop off in foot traffic when you drive around Sydney on a Friday or Saturday night over the last year or so. Yes there has been a definite negative effect; however as the recent Keep Sydney Open rallies have shown there is no shortage of enthusiasm or hunger from music fans for things to change, so that’s definitely encouraging.
Purple Sneakers DJs support Nicole Millar at the Metro Theatre, as part of V MoVement Sydney 2016, on Sunday October 23.
