The Liquorice Pizza vinyl market is returning to Cafe Lounge for DoDarlo this weekend. What can you tell us about the event and its reception in the past?
This is the second Liquorice Pizza – the first one three months ago was a rousing success (even if I do say so myself), so we thought we had to go in for a second slice, and also it’s great practice spelling the word liquorice.
What makes this different from other vinyl markets?
Liquorice Pizza is a vinyl market by DJs and collectors, for DJs and collectors. Even though The Record Store is involved in the organisation, the store doesn’t actually sell records there. Not having professional dealers and stores involved means it’s a more friendly, easygoing vibe and you get a different selection of records (and heaps more bargains).
Have you made any spectacular discoveries from these kinds of events before?
I love to hunt for second-hand records. A significant chunk of the awesome records in my collection have come from these kind of sales. It’s hard to pinpoint one particular record, but I hope this encourages people to come share the love of digging and collecting records – plus, Cafe Lounge is a bar so you can have beers too. I lost a 300-dollar Tame Impala record at one of these things recently, so someone got a bargain!
You and Ben Fester will be spinning vinyl, alongside open decks curated by The Wax Lab. What’s your top tip for a budding DJ to win over the crowd?
Follow your heart and not the herd; think about what makes you want to party and how you can share that with each different crowd you play to. Vinyl actually helps you DJ better because you have limited resources, so you have to think more about how you’re going to curate and present your 100 records and work with the crowd. You can have way more songs on a USB or laptop, but 99.9 per cent of them you didn’t need anyway.
How strong is the vinyl DJing scene in Sydney at the moment? Where will it be in five years’ time?
It’s definitely on the rise again. There are more and more clubs reopening their turntables to vinyl DJs, but unfortunately this is swimming in the prevailing tide of clubs closing down due to Sydney’s draconian lockout laws.
Kato plays Liquorice Pizza 2 is on Saturday June 27 at Café Lounge.
