He Said She Said With Mantra Collective

How did Mantra Collective come together?

Sometime around summer 2012, we were just four bros trying to get booked to play music we love. We also wanted to see more of our favourite DJs/producers touring Australia, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. Two years later, we can proudly say we’ve booked some truly talented international and local acts to play our parties.

What’s been one of your biggest achievements?

It’s been a steep learning curve but bringing out Keinemusik label bros Adam Port and &Me from Berlin to the Imperial was definitely the biggest achievement for us to date. September 13th also marked the birth of Aboutjack’s little girl Olivia, so we’ll be talking about this special date for a while, or what we remember of it at least.

Introduce us to the team. If each of you were one of The Beatles, who would you be and why?

There’s no denying that The Beatles are one of the biggest music icons, but none of us want to end up getting shot so let’s steer clear of that comparison. Instead, how about we tell you which Ninja Turtle we always aspired to be? Whitecat – Donatello; Antoine Vice – Leonardo; Space Junk – Raphael; Aboutjack – Michelangelo.

You’re throwing parties in the midst of a difficult time for Sydney nightlife given the lockout laws. Is the market tough, or have you managed to avoid the issues?

We can’t say it hasn’t been tough for Mantra Collective, even before the lockout laws. But it’s particularly hard watching venues we consider our homes undergo so many changes to comply with these ridiculous laws. We’re being forced to adapt as well and the solution was simply to look for alternative venues outside of the lockout zones. This has pushed us deeper underground, which is where we always saw Mantra Collective going from the beginning.

Who’d be on your dream Mantra party lineup?

That would be an interesting lineup as all four of us have different tastes. I think the dream would be celebrating 15 years the way Fabric are, with 30 hours of non-stop music from our favourite house and techno heavyweights.