Over its seven years of operation Transmission has grown into a regular event that many clubbers look forward to with great anticipation. From humble beginnings at Sublime’s original venue on Pitt St, Transmission has grown to its current scale and size at the State Sports Centre in Homebush, packed with happy party people all ready and raring to have a good night. ITM’s i_have_ADD sat down with event organisers Simon (aka DJ Nervous) and Lisa to find out what exactly what’s been going on behind the scenes.
Not content with putting on your stock standard party, Transmission have a proud history of breaking new and different concepts. Over the years they’ve been the first Sydney dance party to broadcast on 2SER, Triple J, the internet and MTV, as well as the first to bring Oracle and full colour lasers and Hexa-Deck Technology (6 turntables, 3 mixers, 3 DJs) to the party masses. I asked Nervous what new concepts they had planned for the upcoming Transmission, “Well I suppose the biggest ground breaking thing that I can think off is the ‘Transmission Sideonward Staging Concept’, thought up by our production manager Chromatic. Normally at just about every dance party you have the stage, speakers and lights at the front of the venue and the entry at the back. At Transmission’s 7th Birthday, we intend to run the stage along the side of the venue, instead of at the front of the venue. This means that the lasers, sound and lights have less distance to travel, thus increasing the intensity of the whole gig. The spectacle will blow you away as you enter.”
Recently, Simon and Lisa were forced to pull the plug on their newest addition to the Transmission concept, Teknology, the under 18s party scheduled to run concurrently in the same venue (but separate) to Transmission. Understandably this has left a lot of people disappointed, but as Lisa explained it was a decision that had to be made, “We received e-mails, phone calls, and posts on forums, and as much as people were resistant to the idea, there were the same amount of people who were encouraging us to go for it – try something new – shake up this scene and give us something different. We went for it and it didn’t work – everything was against us from the beginning. It was hard to stand there and say ‘it’s not working, we’ve got to cancel it’.” Going on to add, “We were so excited to do put on an event for the under 18s market – the whole Transmission experience for the younger generation to enjoy. Nervous and I have talked about Teknology at length and both of us agree that we had to try it in order to know that “that” isn’t something that we want to try again.”
While Simon and Lisa head up the Transmission team, the responsibility of organising such a huge event doesn’t fall solely onto their shoulders, Lisa commenting, “I am only as successful as the people who are apart of our team. We have many volunteers who assist at our events, people who assist to flyer, people who come in the week leading up to the event to assist me to get everything done in time.” Apart from taking to the decks at each Transmission, Nervous also has the role of overseeing the entire organisation, “I try to concentrate on the big picture, ensuring that we are putting on an event that will excite people musically and with our marketing. The main challenge is to move the event forward musically without alienating the audience. I try to make it accessible yet keep it exciting and new. Keeping as local as possible is important to me. However a little bit of international spice is always good.” Other members of the Transmission crew include Chromatic (Production Head), Lynette (Logistics Queen), Troy (Flyers and Distribution) and of course a long list of volunteers who assist their time during the campaign and at the event.
With the plans in place already for upcoming Transmissions (as far forward as 2005!), you can be assured that the upcoming party, headlined by Germany’s DJ Scot Project, will be one to remember. But of course, don’t take my word for it, Nervous choosing to end our conversation with the assurance, “I promise you this; more lights, fatter sound, lasers galore and more than before, get on the dance floor, Transmission is gonna roar!”
Transmission featuring DJ Scot Project takes place at the States Sport Centre, Homebush, Saturday September 6th. For full event details click HERE.
