The Bodyrockers are onelove’s Kaz James, one of Australia’s leading house DJs, alongside UK guitarist and vocalist Dylan Burns. Never failing to impress, the Bodyrockers are a musically brilliant duo. Still in his early 20s, Kaz James’ talent and experience has made him one of Australia’s premier dance music talents. Born in Melbourne, arguably Australia’s nightclub capital, Kaz was immediately drawn to the excitement of that city’s nightlife. His love of music and unbridled determination led him to fearlessly take to the decks with the view of developing a signature style of his own. Successful in his quest, since that time Kaz has delighted and packed dance floors throughout Australia and across the world, being taken under the wing of the “Godfather of House” himself Frankie Knuckles during one of his Australian tours. Kaz soon found himself travelling the world, performing in places such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Japan, even gaining summer residencies in Mykonos and Ibiza at world famous clubs like Pacha and Café Del Mar.

AJ: With the both of you hailing from predominantly dance backgrounds, how did you find yourself in the industry?

Kaz: From a really young age I was really obsessed with the whole club and music scene and the whole glitz and glamour of partying. I got into DJing at 14, by the time I was 18 I was resident of One Love, which is one of the biggest nights in Australia. Then I started producing with a few people like Supafly. I was DJing on an Australian and Asian tour and Dylan was doing the Live PA for the tour, he pulled out his guitar and I said, “why don’t don’t you play over the set?” We sort of played together and there was an instant chemistry. I had two dates in the UK and in a spare day we knocked up “I Like The Way” a day before I went to Ibiza. That’s where it all took off!

AJ: How do you describe the style of music you play and produce?

Kaz: At the moment I’m playing pretty eclectic, sort of electroy, funky stuff. A lot of rock influences and a lot of rock house sort of records. We’re producing stuff that’s pretty much the same. Very rocky, very dancey. Rock and roll with electronic soul… It’s a bit of a mish mash between genres, we’re trying not to stereotype ourselves into one genre. Music moves on and we want to move. We don’t want to be stuck in one category of music. The album sort of swings between rock and electronica.

AJ: Who has inspired you guys over the years?

Kaz: I’ve had a lot of support from a lot of DJs from a young age. Frankie Knuckles, Pete Tong and Erick Morillo have really helped me over the years and really pushed a lot of the stuff I’ve done. I’ve been inspired by a lot of local guys as well like John Course. They’ve taken me under their wing and really push what I do. Over the years I was really into all sorts of music from breaks to hip hop… I went through a disco and funk sort of stage as well. Now the rock thing has caught my eye and I’m really trying to push that sound at the moment.

AJ: With Erick Morillo playing “I Like The Way” the same night it was finished, it had obviously already starting to ignite dance floors. Pete Tong also immediately made it his essential new tune, did you expect the track to have such an instant and commercial appeal?

Kaz: I wasn’t sure at the start. I sort of remember I was on the terrace at Pacha and Erick rocked up and asks if we had any new tunes… We’d just finished the track but hadn’t mastered it. He just said, “Yeah, give it to me”, because he played a lot of the stuff I’d done before. He heard the first 15 seconds of it and I was a bit worried about it. I remember my best mate Tee and I were standing in the console and it came in. We looked at each other and yelled, “FUCK!”, this is a big record. I didn’t really know how it would go until he played it. Ibiza’s a small island and word spread. Pete Tong came up to me and asked if he could have a copy. I guess it happened really fast. I never thought that is how it would be.

AJ: Do you think this played a role in it becoming as big a hit as it has?

Kaz: Yeah definetly. People like Erick Morillo really pushed the record for us, and Pete Tong has been amazing from the start – making it essential tune of the week then essential tune of the month. There was a lot of support from Radio 1 in the UK, and it was A-listed on Capital weeks before the record was released. Pete has come to the studio with us and we’ve done another record together and it will be out in a few months. He’s been really amazing. He came down and had a listen to our album, gave us advice and has been really supportive. I think a lot of people have been really supportive because we’ve given dance music another stepping stone to step forward and a lot of people appreciate it.

AJ: Did you guy’s expect the likes of Vito Lucente (Junior Jack), Tom Neville, Linus Loves and Bimbo Jones to do any of the remixes?

Kaz: We sat down with the label and began thinking about who you could get to remix and we came up with a few names. It was amazing to find out who really wanted to remix the record. Initially we wanted Jacques Lu Cont to do a remix. A lot of DJs to be honest heard the record and they didn’t know what to do. So Jacques Lu Cont got back to us and said, “I would love to do it but I don’t know what to do to the record”. I’m really happy that people like Junior Jack, Tom Neville and Linus Loves accepted to do the mix. There was a lot of spec mixes that came in and a lot of people who wanted to do it. It’s flattering that these people wanted to remix our record.

AJ: What can we expect from your forthcoming album?

Kaz: The album is a collection of genres. It’s pretty much rock meets dance music. Some records swing a bit rockier and some records swing more dancey and breaky There’s even a funky ballad on there. We’re trying to mix it up a bit and not really stereotype ourselves into one genre. We’re trying to be a bit different to what everyone else is doing at the moment. We’re really happy with the album and we’ve had great reviews on it and it’s getting a lot of support.

AJ: Are you working on any new tracks at the moment?

Kaz: Yeah, we’re working on a lot of stuff. We’ve done a few tracks for our second album as we signed a five album deal with Universal Records here in the UK. At the moment we’re so busy with promo, TV, interviews and gigs, it’s difficult to get in there with that sort of work load. So we’re doing as much as humanly possible.

AJ: Did you guys expect to get a record deal so quickly?

Kaz: Definitely not! It was a bit of a shock. We had so many offers come in from smaller labels. Then out of nowhere all the big major labels came through. It was pretty much a big shock. It was a dream for me, especially that it happened so quickly. It’s just amazing that you’ve got Sony/BMG on the phone to you and when Universal came on board it was an absolutely awsome feeling.

AJ: What is yours and Dylan’s working relationship like?

Kaz: It’s a bit crazy… Dylan and I met in August, it was sort of like an arranged marriage. We got along right from the start and we’re really good mates and best friends. We work really well together. We never fight and we never argue. Some people gel, some people don’t. We seem to have good chemistry between us and we work really well together.

AJ: Having played a lot of venues worldwide, do you have any favourite one?

Kaz: I think definitely Pacha in Ibiza, it’s a really special place for me. I’ve spent so much time there and the people are amazing. I always love playing back home at One Love as that’s where I started and that’s where I’ve grown up as a DJ. Being a resident there at 18 was really a special thing for me. I’m 22 now and still pay tribute to where I came from.

AJ: How do you find Australian audiences compared to others throughout the world?

Kaz: Australia’s awesome. I think people are really appreciative of what we do and what a lot of people do. I think the audiences around the world change wherever you go. When we play in Italy it seems like a soccer match, they’re all chanting and cheering. When you play in Australia they’ve got a lot more groove to them. The people are more forthcoming.

AJ: What’s been your most embarrassing moment as a DJ?

Kaz: Hmm… There’s been a few. When someone finishes and you put your first record on 45 instead of 33, and it starts to play like the Chipmonks! Actually the worst would have to be when I played in Italy last year and the record slid completely off the deck and the next record I put on did the same because the needle was really dirty. That was pretty bad. Two times in a row in front of 7,000 people! It wasn’t a nice feeling.

The Bodyrockers’ self-titled debut album is out now through Mercury/Universal.