It’s all happening in the world of Mike Callander. The Melbourne based House/Techno/Electro DJ is almost ready to launch the first set of releases through his new record label- Chalk City recordings; a label which endeavours to bring the most quality produced sounds from the local level and deliver them to the world. Playing at many gigs around Melbourne and beyond on a frequent basis as well as working at Listen 24-7, one of Australia’s leading online vinyl distributors, Mike takes some time out to answer some questions for ITM reporter miss munnee.
So where are you at right now? Where do you play each weekend and on what basis?
Right now I’m playing between two and four gigs a week in Melbourne and interstate at a range of clubs and events. I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play anything from really deep minimal grooves, a bit of acid house through to the poppy side of electro, some really twisted synthetic sounds that sit somewhere in between and right through to jackin’ tek. What excites me most are the gigs where I can play all of that gear in one set.
You are known for your diverse and eclectic tastes within the house, electro and techno categories. So long as it has some funk action you seem to dig it. How would you personally describe ‘your’ particular sound?
That’s always a tough one, because I feel like my style is always changing, and I haven’t really ever settled into one sound because I am constantly exposed to new stuff that inspires and excites me. So I guess the best way to describe my sound is that it’s inconsistent, but in a good way! I try to keep my sets moving so that the audience is challenged and entertained.
To give us a bit of a picture of your range of taste, what tunes would you rate as quality at the moment?
I’m so glad that you’ve asked this question, because I love talking about my favourite tracks! The best track right now for my money is the Isolee remix of Recloose’s “Cardiology”. It is a brilliant example of “less is more” in production. The beats are minimal, and the vocals are kinda soulful, and just when you thought you had the track worked out, this acid line from hell drops in and totally lifts the vibe. But then it’s gone again and you’re back to the original groove, and it only returns once or twice more to blow your head off! Another hot record is the M.A.N.D.Y remix of Freeform Five’s “Strangest Things” and Booka Shade’s upcoming release “Vertigo” on Get Physical Music. This is another example of how the minimal input can have the maximum effect.
You were part of the crew responsible for the infamous Fokus club nights. How would you say your experiences there had a bearing on your DJ’ing and where you are/what you know now?
The Fokus experience was immense. I really cut my teeth at that club, because I mostly played the first and last sets for about a year. As such, I had to work that extra bit harder to get people groovin’ at the beginning of the night or to maintain the energy of the room at the end of the night. I quickly turned to a more diverse way of presenting techno, and ensured that my music always moved through the many different styles of techno (it’s not all slammin’ you know!) That approach really earned me a lot of fans from outside the techno community, and it has allowed me to continue playing quite a bit in Melbourne and beyond, even though for many people “techno” has become a dirty word.
Production wise, I hear you are keen to launch your own record label and start releasing some quality sounds. Where are you at in terms of this plan?
We’re very close now to putting out our first couple of 12 inch releases by a Melbourne outfit called Phunk dE Sonique. The finishing touches are being added to the tracks, the artwork is in production and we’ve built up a massive promotional network to ensure that the “Chalk City Recordings” imprint reaches the right people. We’ll have the first one out before November, with a follow up release in February 2005. The response to those will determine how frequently we can knock out each subsequent release. We’re very excited to get this awesome music out to the broader electronic music community, because it will definitely impress.
Is there a particular sound you want your record label to reflect and uphold or are you open to a wide range of sounds and styles?
Chalk City Recordings will be primarily a techno label, but having said that it will work toward exposing the true diversity of techno. The Phunk dE Sonique output is a very distinct sound that draws inspiration from a lot of Detroit artists and beyond, and could be either jackin’ or totally down-tempo… while my stuff has less of a soul vibe about it, but maintains an interesting rhythm and is focused toward club play, no matter how twisted that some of my ideas may be.
Will the music you produce and then release through your label reflect the styles which you currently play and favour? Describe what you deem to be the necessary factors of a quality piece of music.
The music released through Chalk City will reflect the records that I would play and hear in a perfect world, as if music was about moods, and not money. The concept behind the label is that “Chalk City” is a theoretical, normative place in which quality music could be distinguished from commercial crap in the same way that we distinguish between “chalk and cheese”. Chalk City is the ideal that a few of us are working toward by releasing as much quality electronic music as we can to offset the amount of crap that saturates our ears every day. As far as quality music goes, it’s about transcending the formula, and taking the mathematics out of production. While the conventions are important to ensure that dance music is familiar and predictable enough for people to enjoy it and relate to it, it’s those subtle variations and edits and changes that can really excite the people who are really listening to the music on a more involved level.
During the day you can be found at Listen 24-7. What is it exactly and what is your role there?
Listen 24-7 is Australia’s foremost online distribution network for quality electronic music. So in simple terms, we import a range of electronic music from across the globe and sell it, along with some local stuff, to record stores across Australasia. Because we’re a small company, my job is kind of a “jack of all trades” role, and I’m involved in everything from setting prices and planning new projects through to packing and unpacking shipments and listening to new records. It’s great to have a hand in all of the business because I really feel super-involved there, and I’m working with some very talented people so it’s quite a buzz.
There are many Techno DJ’s and artists who not only mix records when they play out but also perform live PA’s. Do you have plans to do anything like this or is mixing where it’s at for you?
The way I write music makes it very difficult to perform a live PA that is interesting and dynamic, because I kinda work toward drafting and re-working a number of tracks at once over a very long period of time. All the elements of my production are quite inconsistent and often incompatible, and if I was to play live I don’t think it would be very dancefloor friendly at all. However, I am very keen in the future to play “semi-live” by combining finished parts and edits of my own tracks with the records that I love to play. That could add an interesting element to my DJing that I’m keen to explore.
What have been some of your most memorable experiences DJ’ing?
Definitely the most memorable experience for me was playing in Kuala Lumpur last year. The guys there really rolled out the red carpet for me and treated me like a rockstar. It was a surreal experience, especially when people would lay a massive hug on me and thank me for coming, and others who said they’d been to Fokus events and loved what we did really made me think about the impact that music can have on people’s lives. I felt like Carl Cox that day, and I’ll never forget it.
The styles you play and Techno in particular lend themselves to the DJ being able to utilize effects and cuts a lot more frequently than other styles. Are you a DJ that selects tunes which are so well produced they speak for themselves (so to speak) which means less working the mixer, or do you like to max it up and work the effects etc constantly?
I definitely only play records that have enough character that they speak for themselves, and then I try to present them in such a fashion that is distinctly “Mike Callander”. I guess I break a lot of the conventions for DJing, but the result is that my presentation is unique. I think what sets me apart is the way that I play and program my sets, rather than the records themselves. For example, the deep-heads and the house enthusiasts would say that my mixing is really quick, and I mix at the “wrong times” etc., while the Melbourne tek crew would describe me as slow and smooth… so I guess my style sits somewhere in between. I have definitely been influenced in the last year or so by Melbourne guys like Simon Slieker and Gavin Keitel, who I think would agree that the tricks and cuts detract somewhat from the intentions of the producer, and that more energy can be created through the subtle, less “crowd-pleasing” techniques of DJing.
Where can people expect to catch you play over the next couple of months?
My favourite gigs are at Honkytonks (Weird Gear and Lasergun), SuckerPunch, and Sunny in Melbourne, and I’m very much looking forward to some interstate shows at Brouhaha at Club 77 at the end of July, Monsters of Pop in Brisbane in August and a return show in Malaysia in September.
So what’s next for Mike Callander? In terms of production, mixing and your other endeavours, what are your goals and aspirations?
The Chalk City label is demanding most of my attention at the moment, and getting this label off the ground really is the embodiment of my goals and aspirations. I’ve met a lot of my short term goals as a DJ and I’m looking toward a more challenging role in presenting better electronic music from Melbourne to the world via the label. I’m also looking forward to being involved in the growth of Listen 24-7 from a relatively small distribution business into a company that really impacts upon the nature of dance music in Australia.
Catch Mike Callander at Brouhaha (Club 77) in Sydney this Saturday 31st July, Monsters of Pop in Brisbane in August and in Melbourne this Friday 30th July at Honkytonks.
Photo by Elie Francis
