It was with great anticipation that i got the chance to chat to up and coming mash-slash DJs, KABLAM! - Over the past few years these boys have made their name in the rainy city the hard way. By that i mean they've done their fair share of hustlin' with tryhard, egotist little boys who want nothing more than a late night set at a drug-infested club every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday night.
The road definitely hasn't been easy, considering that there's a current ratio of 1 DJ for every 5 meters on Planet Earth, and granted most of them can mix relatively well, the only catalyst is their song selections. The key is don't play what everyone else does. But obviously I'm preaching to the converted here as KABLAM's regular online mix-tapes have received waves of praise on the mercurial forums - which is not surprising, the two Melbourne boys possess a record collection that would shame Beck and a skill that seamlessly melts the old funk of the day with progressive noise...what results from this is fun, unpretentious house music that gets people boogieing like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, and that's something for everyone to enjoy.
I'm not the only kid on the black who's noticed though, interest is steadily growing in the multimedia and film students following memorable performances supporting the likes of Bag Raiders, Ajax and the legendary French electronic bassist Fred Falke. Now with their forthcoming support gig for Alan Braxe, the brain and fingers behind the Upper Cuts and famed (if not over-played) anthem "Music Sounds Better With You", the boys finally seem to be receiving the recognition they've earned for their eclectic and unpredictable sets.
So there i sat with them, as much a fan as i was any sort of professional. The Lucky Coq provided the $4 pizzas, if you've never had saganaki on pizza before, i recommend it highly...
So, second year into the job and you're already playing with the dude who's worked with Thomas Bangalter (Mr. Daft Punk sans helmet). How the hell have you landed here?Marty: (laughs) Umm I guess we just fluked it. We hung around DJ booths too much i guess...
Tom: Yeh we were just DJ clingers at Eurotrash for like ages and the promoter for (DJ) Streetparty very drunkenly asked if we could DJ.
Marty: The next week i think we got offered a gig at Pogo but it got canceled ten minutes before we were supposed to play. That was shattering, so we got drunk and went out.
Tom: Haha yeh that's the night we partied with (famous European DJ) Kissy Sell Out, that was so random. Streetparty made it up to us though by giving us a gig at Fashion Keyboard the next week. We fuckin' nailed that gig.
So do good performances fuel the scene? What do you guys think of the scene at the moment?Tom: Well it's a hell of a lot better than Sydney that's for sure. Melbourne knows how to party, but Sydney just chin-stroke and watch you play.
Marty: Yeah the scene is good but it's very DJ fueled, the venues struggle a bit because the crowd goes just where the good DJs are. It has taken (Melbourne night club) Third Class at least a year and a half to get a regular crowd. There's no loyalty to the clubs themselves anymore.
Tom: There's no good sets anymore either though. Back in the day when every second person on the street wasn't a DJ you would have decent sets. At least 2 hours. Now you're lucky to get an hour, which isn't enough time to build a set at all, it's like you're always playing a greatest hits set.
Do you find yourself in competition with other DJ's for billings or slots?Marty: Not really, we'll usually help each other if we can, but we still have to push to get numbers, ask to get people to come down and see us. The only time DJ's get shitty at eachother is when a night gets big numbers and certain timeslots get pushed back, and there's delays and stuff. People just get angry if they feel as if they're being fucked over, the same with any job.
Is there any back-bitching between different club DJs or DJs with different styles?Marty: There's more conflict between promoters, because if one of us plays at one event and the other plays a different event, the organisers will get shitty if we're advertising two gigs.
Tom: Which sucks balls! That's why we get left off the posters and ads sometimes because angry promoters don't like that we're playing several places in one night. As for other DJ's, the only thing that gets me is the people who play purely Ableton or only CDJs and call themselves a DJ. if it's all going to be pre-made you might as well be playing it off your iPod.
Marty: I don't hate people who play CDs, but there has to be a live element to it. We use Ableton sometimes to clean up our sound, but if you're playing at a club and you are going to add a vocal track, do it live. The Yacht Club DJs are probably the best for that. They do great live mashing.
So has your style changed over the past year? What direction are you guys going in these days?Marty: At the start we were just following the blogs. Mainly Discobelle and the like, which was good at first but it meant that a lot of who we were playing with were playing the same tunes as us.
Tom: These days we want what other people haven't got. Or we like to play what people used to love but have forgotten about.
So how are you finding music now?Tom: Recommendations from people mostly.
Marty: And mixtapes. Just listening to different people's sets and getting tracklistings and exploring artists we don't know. I think we're getting a lot more confident in playing weird shit.
So who would you say your main influences for DJing are?Marty: Well DJ Yoda's (BBC) Essential Mix started it all for me. Then i guess the Bang Gang DeeJays and the Dreamtime Mixtape, DFA and definitely Monkey (Marty's brother, a local funk/soul DJ hero). But now it's kind of changing, more chill people like Aeroplane, the things i'm listening to at the moment are influencing what i want to play.
Tom: For me it was the Discobelle Christmas Mix a few years back, Bag Raiders as well, I've learned so much from
those boys. And even (Tom pauses and starts grinning) I'm going to go out on a limb here and say even Van Damage back in his early days. (Marty starts laughing)
Where do you guys see the electronic music scene in five years?Marty: (with the straightest of faces) Robots yeh? It'll all be robots. Haha nah umm i don't really know, the scene is moving so fast, the large clubs can't sustain themselves, they keep closing down and having "grand" re-openings. i think how Berlin is now is where we will be in 5 years, hopefully anyway. Just lots of small clubs catering for niché groups and tastes. Kinda like what we have on Fitzroy St, except more widespread.
Do you two find yourselves increasingly separated from eachother for gigs? What do you think of performing separately as opposed to as a team?Tom: Well i guess we take it as a compliment, if more than one person wants us it's a good thing. We're certainly getting used to it.
Marty: I guess we're more spontaneous together, because one of us will have a great idea for the next track and just interrupt and go with it. Plus we have very different styles of playing separately so when we play together it keeps things interesting.
Tom: Yeh we definitely don't ever play the same set twice.
Friday night. Packed House. What are your substances?Tom: Vodka Redbull with lime!
Marty: Vanilla vodka and apple, that shit is the bomb! Little Creatures Bright Ale is also a good one.
Tom: The deal is when DJing, only alcohol.
Well considering your meteoric rise so far, where do you see KABLAM in a year's time?Tom: I dunno, our dream is to get booked at Thirds. (Third Class)
Marty: I got booked, then got canceled for Bongmist. (owner of Third Class)
Tom: Hahahaha oh yeh that was funny, well you can't argue with the man can you?
Marty: Nah wouldn't want to, Bongmist is the shit!
To what extent does the crowd govern what you play?Tom: It depends when and where you play i guess. If we're playing for Streetparty then the crowd is a big factor, especially we can't get anything out of them. I usually just drop Trentemøller's remix of "What Else Is There?" by Röyksopp. That always saves the day haha.
Marty: Somewhere like the Croft Institute, you can play whatever you want,
because the crowd isn't focused on you. You're there as part of the furniture. Sometimes i like that, but sometimes i just want to get the crowd going.
Tom: I like to get the crowd going.
So you touched on it a bit before Marty, but what are you guys listening to at the moment?Marty: (points to roof. Groove Armada has just finished as Mylo's "In Your Arms" begins) Cosmic Disco. I'm all about cosmic disco at the moment. I'm getting a lot of my music from fox and his mixes. (The Fantastic Mr. Fox - reputed Melbourne fringe DJ). Just a lot of Lindstrøm, Aeroplane and Pryda. Plus a bit of old old house like Stonebridge.
Tom: I'm really into Tangoterje. His edits are just amazing, Jimpster as well...
So, before we go do you wanna say hi to your mum?Marty: Can i actually say hi to Hugh Waters?
Tom: (laughing) Yeh apparently the new thing is not to mix...
Leaving confused but very satisfied, the bill came to $12 and i left the boys to their afternoon of record shopping as i trekked home with a full stomach. If you want to catch the boys in action, they play varying weekly sets across Melbourne clubs. Check their myspace:
www.myspace.com/kablamlovesfruit or if you're interested in seeing them with the one and only Alan Braxe, go to the facebook event page:
http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21988339573Until next time fellow groupies,
peace and love.
I think the check-out chick at JB Hi Fi thought i was on speed or something. Such was my excitement at having Death Cab For Cutie's much hyped, long awaited LP Narrow Stairs in my hands. After 4 back-to-back listens, i will now boldly state it is an accomplished masterpiece of both melody and lyric, and that Ben Gibbard's eloquence and intelligence is unsurpassed in pop music today. Watch this space for an impending full review. I expect this album to be high on every critic's list come December.
