Visiting Aussie turntable mob the Bang Gang talk to DEAN CAMPBELL about their collective efforts to keep their sound full of surprises
KEY POINTS:
While organising this interview it was impossible to miss DJ Jaime Doom's email signature: "Jaime Doom, Dimensioneer, Bang Gang."
Doom, along with the five other members of the Sydney DJ collective known as the Bang Gang, has definitely been a pioneer in Australian dance music, but, er, "Dimensioneer"?
"If you add dimension and pioneer together you get Dimensioneer," Doom explains down the phone from his Sydney home, "So you know how there is stoner rock, well now there is also dimensioneer dance."
While a new genre is born every day in the dance music world, it's true that the Bang Gang do throw together a multi-dimensional DJ set with their signature mash-up style and, says Doom, their ability to "balance out every techno tune with something dumb". It's made them in hot demand all over Australia and further afield.
"I guess we like to play all over the place," says Doom, "From French electro stuff to baile funk, from rock to disco, from fidget house to booty. We move between tempos and mix kind of quickly. It can be hectic but I think we keep things kind of fun."
The Bang Gang is Jaime Doom, Gus Da Hoodrat, Ajax, Dangerous Dan, DJ Damage and Double Nolan. TimeOut spoke to Doom and Ajax in anticipation of a couple of New Zealand gigs (Doom and Gus at K Road's 4.20 on Friday night, Ajax at Rhythm and Vines). When Ajax starts talking music it sounds like he's packing a similarly eclectic record bag to his mate Doom.
"I rate guys like DJ A Trak, DJ Craze, and Ohh Wee," he says from his new home in Melbourne, "All DJs who have come from genres like hip-hop and drum'n'bass, and now bring the skills to dance music. All these guys are playing fidget house, Baltimore club, crunk and indie and I really love it.
"It's happening a lot in America, totally mixing hip-hop with fidget crunk and electro stuff, but that's also the influence of Timbaland - look at him doing stuff with The Hives.
"Hip-hop has broken down as a genre, I guess Kanye using a Daft Punk sample is like the epitome of this idea." This genre convergence is something Ajax champions with his eclectic DJ sets encompassing everything from the latest French bangers to crunking hip-hop out of the Southern US.
Often it's a mixture of the two with his cut-and-paste mixing style chopping a cappellas and instrumentals at often incomprehensible speed.
Ajax is probably the Bang Ganger with the highest profile - he was voted Australia's best DJ in 2006 and 2007 - though it's worth noting that he learned everything he knows from a Kiwi.
"I was really rubbish when I started eh? I got taught by a New Zealand DJ guy called Soane, and I used to see Manuel Bundy and those guys when I was starting up, they were great."
When Auckland DJ legend Soane was living in Sydney years ago, he set Ajax on his way to becoming the most popular DJ in Australia. Now the chirpy 30-something runs his own label, has just opened up his own club in Melbourne, and is poised to release more of his own original music.
The Bang Gang collective rose out of series of infamous parties in Sydney, and all its members keep fairly busy - and not just with music. Dangerous Dan runs fashion label Ksubi, famous around Australia and the trendier pockets of NZ for its jeans. Their show at Australian Fashion Week a few years ago involved 300 live rats released on the catwalk.
"We all DJ and do DJ related things like mixes, radio and remixes," explains Doom. "On top of that Gus and I run our label, BangGang 12s, Beni produces under his own name (and used to as Riot in Belgium), Ajax runs his label Sweat it Out, Dan runs his label and Mikey is an avid James Dean fan.
People seem to think that we do nothing and get trashed all weekend, but this is only half true," he laughs.
LOWDOWN
Who: Bang Gang Deejays,
Where: Club night Sohomos 1st Birthday, at 4:20 nightclub, 373 K' Rd
When: Friday Oct 17th. 9.30pm
Album: D is for Disco E is for Dancing
Also: Bang Gang Dj Ajax plays Rhythm and Vines December 29 to Jan 1 Gisborne
