Norwegian-born Audun is a familiar name on the Gold Coast - alongside his DJ’ing partner Shetiel, he’s played at every club that matters between Brisbane and Byron. Having just returned from a European tour, Audun is booked in to kick off the inaugural Punch Drunk, this Saturday night at the Underground Bar. Pete Luetjens caught up with him to get the low down on what makes Audun tick…

Take us back to the early days. How long have you been DJ’ing for, and what inspired you to learn how to mix?

I started playing clubs about five/six years ago. Didn’t set out to make it big, simply wanted to share my interest for electronic music with others. The mixing aspect comes naturally after having purchased music for some time. I’m self-taught, and once you get into the art of putting two tracks together that’s enough of an inspiration in itself to me, be it in front of a huge crowd or simply at home with my headphones on before going to bed.

What was the first record you ever bought… and where did you buy it from?

I believe my first ever piece of vinyl was a Dead Kennedy’s record purchased in my early teens from a local record shop back in Oslo.

How did you come to know and DJ alongside Shetiel?

Shetiel and I met in Brisbane. Realizing that we shared a similar interest for electronic genres, we decided to co-operate instead of competing for the same gigs. We stuck to that for years, and did about 300 gigs together back-to-back before he relocated to Europe just before X-mas.

What attracts you to the Gold Coast?

After living in Brisbane for a while I decided to move down the coast simply because I’m studying and teaching at Bond University, and at the time I was resident at Berlin Bar and La La Land in Byron. All the commuting was getting to me and I decided to move down. I’m still at Bond University and my residency at Elsewhere on the coast makes it worthwhile living down here. I’m still in Brisbane every week though, for record shopping and staying in touch with old friends.

How did your recent international tour go?

Had a great time in Europe, with gigs in countries including Spain, France, and Norway. Especially my re-union gig with Shetiel at Le Kasbah in Barcelona was fantastic. I really enjoy going back home from time to time to see what they’re up back there and compare with what I’m doing musically in Australia.

Tell us a story about your international travels – anything really strange or amazing happen at the clubs you’ve played at?

When visiting Cedric Benoit, the owner of the French Lab-Rok Records label, and doing gigs in his hometown Avignon there was a problem with our accommodation due to the International Theatre Festival that takes place there every July. It ended up we had to spend the first night in Cedric’s restaurant Monto. The first guests the morning after were not to impressed being greeted by sleeping Norwegians…

Do you have any production work up your sleeve?

I’m working on a few projects with a friend of mine back home, but it’s still pretty low key operations. For the time being I’m focusing on my dj-performances and will let the production come naturally when the time is right. But that move is obviously a progression that happens sooner or later in this industry, and definitely a path I wanna go down in due course.

Electro has undergone a huge resurgence in the past few years. What does ‘electro’ mean to you?

The electro that I play are productions using the influences from original electro, but taking advantage of the production equipment available today and utilizing the sounds to create dynamic and modern tracks while not losing sight of the original influences.

Who are some of the artists and labels that you are loving at the moment?

Artists: Monosurround, Polygamy Boys & Ivan Smagghe.
Labels: Four/Fine, Television, Output.

What have you got in store for us at Punch Drunk?

I’ll present a house sound that I’ve evolved over the past couple of years, heavily influenced by both electro and acid house. It’ll be interesting to see what the Brisbane crowd is up for, as my performances up there are less frequent than my performances in Melbourne. It seems like a very interesting event providing an alternative to more middle-of-the-road house that is played at many of the major venues, and the people behind the event have a great understanding of the genre and where things are going.

Name your Top 5 tunes of the moment:

In no particular order my 5 current favorites are:

‘Monsterbaze’ by Steve Bug vs Dj T
‘Pleasure Patrol’ by Polygamy Boys
‘Saved At Sunset’ by Telegraph
‘The One (Dub Mix)’ by Lodown
‘Never Be The Same’ by Jens