Deejays
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| Having started Djing seriously in 2008, Jason Whitehead aka Dj_Hazzard has taken Brisbane by storm and is a force to be reckoned with. His inspiration comes from the likes of Joey Riot, Dj Kurt & the well known Raver Baby Label. He got his big break when he won a local Bedroom Bangers comp to play at a Radio Station sponsored gig at one of Brisbane’s few and well known Hardcore clubs. Proving himself, his talent and dedication to music – he was offered a residency at the same club after this one occasion. . Since then he started the Production group 3Styles. 3Styles began putting on some of Brisbane’s finest events, including DEEP IMPACT featuring Scott Brown and Weaver, and of course they UNLEASHED the fury that was Raver Baby Crew at what was said to have been one of the best raves Brisbane has seen in years. More recently 3styles have been involved with holding The Final Transmission party at The Planet Nightclub alongside Mystique Promotions, which was a sell-out event and a mega success. . Holding strong that he is not scared to mess with the big boys, Dj_Hazzard has a very bright future ahead in the hardcore music scene and is not looking back! Over the past two years he has played at some of the biggest clubs and events in Australia, such as Sublime at Home Nightclub and 3D Melbourne, and supporting massive Happy Hardcore acts including Breeze, Squad-E, Orbit1, Inverse, Brisk, Joey Riot, Scott Brown, Compulsion and a number of Australia’s leading hardcore Djs. . Recently Dj_Hazzard was lucky enough to have the opportunity to support Dj Lee and Magara at Sublime in Sydney, encouraging him to branch out in to playing different styles of music from his usual bouncy Happy Hardcore sets, and begin playing Hard Trance and Hardstyle. . As he busts out some of the best UK Happy Hardcore around, allow yourself to be indulged!! |
KAZUKI (click to show profile
| The stereotypical Japanese gentleman is depicted as an emotionless nerd; likewise passive and socially inept surrounded in an aura of mysticism and martial arts, conservatively dressed with straight blue-black hair cut into a bowl style, almond eyes set in a yellow face and framed by large rounded glasses, sitting for hours behind computers, fascinated by the latest electronic gadgets and getting good grades in school. . Kazuki Tamanaha professes to defy the stereotypical Japanese man. With his pierced lip, raver style t-shirts, mohawk hair style and his love for hard trance and happy hardcore, DJ Kazuki can be found in a clown-like pose, tongue sticking out as he pulls faces at the camera; shuffling on the dancefloor, his face creased into a beatific grin as the music surrounds him; or arm pointing forcefully towards the audience as he stands behind the decks, fingers twirling at knobs with headphones clasped around his head. “I am definitely not the stereotypical Japanese guy,” Kazuki intones in his distinctly Australian accent. “You know: smart, wearing glasses, sitting on the computer all day. I like to be street smart, dressed in the height of fashion and sitting behind the decks all night.” . Born in Tokyo, Kazuki came to the Gold Coast at the age of 8, leaving behind a city at the centre of the global economy and populated with twelve million people for perpetual sunshine, golden beaches, bikini clad Meter Maids and a strong surf ethos. A shy kid in primary school, Kazuki was nevertheless the class clown – though he certainly made good use of his innocent looks to stay out of trouble. “I was always the nice guy – the inscrutable Asian,” Kazuki grins. “I had a pretty sheltered life. But I am a clown inside. Really, I’m an abnormal Japanese boy.” . His first CD was Slipknot though the rapping rhythms and dark emotions of TuPac also took over Kazuki’s ears. It was at 15 however, that hard trance and happy hardcore would attract Kazuki’s interest. “They both captured me,” Kazuki states. “I like being happy – and music makes me happy.” But Kazuki affirms that he wasn’t specific in his musical tastes until he started clubbing. “When I turned 18, I went to Family. It was the very first club I went to,” Kazuki reminisces. “It was such a huge surprise, everything about it seemed unreal. The DJ really knew how to control the music. The Beat would be the second club I would go to. Clubbing gave me a preview, a taste, on what sort of music was out there.” So Kazuki set about exploring what this music was. “I got onto Kazaa,” Kazuki smiles sheepishly as he mentions the legally-stricken music-sharing application. “I typed in ‘techno’ and all this random music came up. So I checked them out.” . This discovery led Kazuki through multiple trails into the world of electronic dance music, until he finally ventured into record store Butter Beats where DJ Tiamos took the dance enthusiast under his wing. Tiamos would also show Kazuki what to look for in equipment, and subsequently how to put it all together. “Tiamos has definitely been a major influence in my music,” Kazuki asserts. “There have been quite a few people who have influenced me actually. DJ Hazzard from 3 Styles Productions and Deeplex from Mystique Productions have been big influences. Hektic has an influence over me – but don’t tell him that though,” Kazuki laughs. “I love that he does stuff on the decks no one else tries to do.” . “I idolise the people I play,” Kazuki reveals. “Steve Hill has been a huge influence. DJ Sully from SHOCK:FORCE in the UK is really inspiring me at the moment. I think SHOCK:FORCE are pushing a really unique sound for the dancefloor. I picked up a record at Butter Beats and absolutely loved their stuff. However, XDream has been really huge for my music. Seeing her perform really motivates me. She has a natural energy behind the decks, and I love how she dances between her sets. She’s become a huge influence in my life. She told me ‘Practice and work hard, and keep your head right. Always do things for the right reasons.. and anything can happen!’ I’ve really listened to this and believe this. I’m really focused about my music and where it can take me. I want to stand on my own opinion. I say to myself ‘I can take this chance. I can take this risk.’ Playing is a way of expressing my emotions, though I love the dancefloor too. I really love to make other people happy. And the decks make people happy.” . Starting out, he looked at refining his skills as a bedroom DJ until he felt confident in his abilities for some performance experience. He played at Operon’s Open Decks nights at Step Inn, “my first experience on a system,” Kazuki recalls. He then scored gigs with hard dance crews Subsonic and 3 Styles Productions, eventually landing a residency at The Valley’s hard dance epicentre Rockafellas. He also entered The Beat DJ Competition, a great experience for him musically. “It made me question my abilities and focused me as a DJ,” Kazuki declares. “I learnt that DJing is not just about the music. Watching Hektic, I could see how he entertained the crowd. Before, I just wanted to play the music. But now I have taken it that one step further. I realised it was about taking control.” Of his style now, Kazuki maintains that he “loves to play lots of dark stuff – heavy bass lines synths. I also like to play hard – uplifting melodies with driving hard beats. Hard trance and happy hard give me such goosebumps,” Kazuki affirms. |
HEKTIC (click to show profile)
| When the announcement was made that The Beat DJ Competition was seeking entrants, the news spread like wildfire throughout Brisbane’s underground community. DJs from across Brisbane’s bedrooms, promotion crews and clubs in RnB, hiphop, house, hardstyle and trance heartily battled for the chance to claim first prize of $20,000 worth of DJ equipment and a $35,000 year long contract with The Beat Megaclub, as well as a stash of other equally amazing prizes. Eighty six entrants and vinyl hardcases, a bunch of heats and semi finals later, a young hardstyle upstart, DJ Hektic emerged the victor from a very taxing final. Though a newcomer to Brisbane’s scene, The Beat DJ Competition cemented it in the Brisbane community that Hektic was more than worthy of consideration, while the offer of a residency with Family Nightclub proved it. Now with a residency for Fridays @ Family and formerly Saturdays @ The Beat Megaclub under his belt, Hektic is facing a promising future and leading the way for hardstyle to really infiltrate Brisbane’s dancefloors. . As Brisbane enjoyed the wonders of World Expo 88, Andy Nguyen was still waiting to be born, with his parents and brother aboard a boat fleeing the communist agrarian and commercial instabilities of Vietnam. Growing up in Adelaide, Andy would become accustomed to the sounds of hard dance as Nick Skitz blasted from his brother’s speakers. It would be coming to Brisbane to study a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Politics, that Andy would find a new existence as DJ Hektic. “Moving to Brisbane has changed my life,” Andy asserts. “Brisbane has a great scene,” he confirms. . Transmission in April 2007 saw DJ Zany performing at The Arena, inspiring Andy to follow the Donkey Roller’s path. “The way he entertained the crowd, the way he connected with them,” Andy notes, “I wanted to be like that.” Trolling Central Station for all his hardstyle and DJing needs, Andy would teach himself how to setup and play on his equipment, focusing especially on his scratching skills to enhance his mixing. “I really like collecting vinyl,” Andy states. “It can be impossible to play though. Turntables at clubs are rarely stabilized properly making it really hard to play vinyl. With vinyl, you feel so much more in control.” Andy notes. “You can’t talk your way out of a problem. It’s all up to you in the end. But the advantage of CDJs make it more entertaining for the crowd. As a DJ, I want to give them something special. It’s about the mix – not just the music. Progression in the mix is very important too.” Keen to explore production with Cubase, Andy notes that it will be a while before he gets his productions out there. “For now, I’m just someone who likes to party hard behind the decks,” Andy affirms, acknowledging his lively interactive performing style. “I’m just making that person happy on the dancefloor.” . Within five months of stepping behind the decks, Andy took a nickname from his childhood and used it as his DJ moniker for his first gig with Klub Kandy at Family Nightclub in February 2008. As DJ Hektic, he immediately caught the attention of the Asian and Hardstyle communities and was propelled into the spotlight. More gigs followed so that by July 2008, Andy had teamed up with local hard dance and style crew, Subsonic Promotions to launch Pure Hard Dance at The Madison. From here, there was no turning back for Hektic to climb the ladder of DJ/Promoter. . It was in August 2008 that his flatmate and comrade in decks Kazuki would see the advertisement for The Beat DJ Competition. “He told me I should enter,” Andy reminisces. “The prizes are really sweet”,” he recalls Kazuki as saying. And so Andy became an entrant in a competition that has become part of the Hektic legend. Steadily making his way through each heat, the semifinals and then the final, the judges were very much aware of the mischievous hardstyle DJ. With a very lyrical approach towards potent rhythms that kept at the 145 -150BPM range and using his excellent scratching skills to embellish the melodic textures, it was also his agility in jumping up, down, behind and over The Beat’s decks that caught the judges eyes. . With a thirty minute set that revolved significantly around the Hardforze remix of September’s Cry For You amongst a mashup, mix and fusion of German trance and European hardstyle tracks, DJ Hektic would surface triumphant. Graciously accepting a Saturday residency with The Beat Megaclub along with $20,000 of DJ equipment, Hektic is now a permanent fixture on The Beat’s bill of talented local artists. This Friday March 6 will see Family Nightclub introduce Hektic as a new resident to Fridays @ Family. Even now, he still finds it hard to believe that he is travelling a path he once traversed only in his dreams. “It doesn’t feel real yet,” Andy declares. “Winning The Beat DJ Competition has made a huge impact. It’s opened more doors to music for me. But I’m the same Andy,” he promises. “I say to myself, stay true to yourself and be grateful. I will always live by what DJ Pulsar once said to me: ‘Don’t give up.’” . He has also had the privilege of playing b2b sets with 2 of his biggest influences, DJ Pulsar and Suae. He has also warmed up the decks and supported big interstate & international names such as Zany, Donkey Rollers, Showtek, Proteus, Walt, Duro, Lee Haslam, Scott Brown, Al Storm, Weaver, Breeze, Squad-E, Rob Gee, Haze, Steve Hill, Luca Antolini, Nik Fish, Amber Savage, Bexta, Nick Skitz, Inverse, tyDi, Soul-T, XDream, Hardforze, NitrouZ and we can only expect to see the list to grow bigger and bigger from here on in.. . Winning the Australian Hard Dance DJ Championships at Defqon 1 in Sydney proves Hektic as an unstoppable force on the Australian and very soon the world rave scene.. |
| Trance fans are a notoriously passionate bunch, but it’s hard to imagine a more passionate trance fanatic than Angus Gibbins. And with his upbringing it’s hardly surprising that he eats, breathes and sleeps hands-in-the-air synth melodies – while most children of the 90s would have been chuffed if their parents were cool enough to be into Hendrix, Zeppelin and Floyd, Angus’ father brought him up on a steady diet of Sasha, Digweed and Global Underground compilations. It’s little wonder that once he was old enough to rebel against trumpet and French horn lessons at high school he invested in turntables and developed a nasty vinyl addiction. . It was the pure emotion of trance that captured Angus in those early days of dance music love, and it’s an obsession which drives him to this day – he’s widely considered the most knowledgeable trance DJ in his home town of Brisbane, renowned for his uncanny ability to trainspot a trance anthem from 20 paces. This knowledge also serves him well behind the decks, with his versatility one of his most valuable assets. Deep and melodic progressive, uplifting reach-for-the-lasers specials or dark, dirty and driving tech monsters – Angus’ ability to progress through these sounds over the course of a set have seen him slowly but surely progress through the ranks of Brisbane DJs since relocating there from the Sunshine Coast in 2005. . A smashing guest slot in the main room for Fridays @ Family – the Brisbane superclub’s flagship event – in 2006 was the breakthrough set Angus had been working for, and from there he established himself as a staple booking for Brisbane’s club, rave and outdoor party scene. He’s since rocked events like Gatecrasher, Transmission, Q-Dance and Secret Sessions, sharing the stage with everyone from ATB, Nick Sentience, 4Strings and Vibrasphere at the trance end of the spectrum to hard dance acts like Bas & Ram, Donkey Rollers and The Prophet.. Guest appearances for radio programs like Global Elements, Crucial Cutz and Harder Education followed along with a brief stint hosting a program on krankydigital.com, soon to be followed by another program of his own which is currently in the pipeline. . Angus’ crowning achievement to date is his stellar afternoon slot at Brisbane’s inaugural Global Gathering festival. “Angus Gibbins looks like he’s having more fun than the entire dancefloor gathered in front of him on the Godskitchen stage combined, and that’s some achievement given the love being sent back in his direction,” said Time Off magazine of a set which was considered to be one of the finest of the festival, local or international. Industry players certainly noticed his performance, with Angus subsequently being one of only a handful of locals joining Brisbane trance superstar and Australia’s 1 DJ tyDi on the line up for the Australian tour of one of the iconic trance events worldwide as Trance Energy touches down in Brisbane this Easter. . It seems nearly a decade of living off toast and two-minute noodles in support of his habit is finally paying off for Angus Gibbins, and 2009 should see him waving the flag for his beloved trance far beyond the dancefloors of Brisbane. |
TECH:ONE (click to show profile)
| Beniii/Tech:One is determined to make a name for himself through his DJ sets and Productions, pushing himself to new levels and always progressing. . At a young age I loved the way that DJ’s could manipulate music and dance floors. I always had a keen passion for music, drumming through my early days. When I was introduced to a pair of Technics 1200s I was hooked, I started collecting vinyl before I even owned decks. . Now living in Brisbane, a scene that is small but contains a good mix of styles and personalities. Lately, i have really started focusing on my music production. I’m finding it hard to focus too much on one sound, I like to make music inspired by the thoughts I have at that time. One day I hope to have a large palette of my own original work, to play large sets/journeys. My music style can vary from melodic/progressive house all the up to deep driving Hardstyle. My main goal is to be different, and to be myself. I want each of my mixes and tracks to represent my own defined unique sound. My influences include DJ Craze, DJ Dexter (brissy!), LCK, Soul-t, Mark Knight just to name a few. All these artists/DJs stand out to me as being individual, unique, enthusiastic and interact with thier fans after thier sets. |
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