From mixing drinks to mixing vinyl, Brisbane punters can be thankful that Wal Gedeon, aka Habebe, decided that his rum n coke pouring days were well and truly over 4 years ago. From running the bar & club as manager and bartender to running the dance floor as a dj, Habebe has delivered ass shakingly good sets and built a rapport with club goers to become one of Brisbane’s favourite sons. He has spent the last 4 years destroying Brisbane dance floors all around town supporting the cream of the crop of international talent, from Chicken Lips to Groove Armada to Richard F. This Saturday he supports one of the biggest names in dance music, Ali & Sharam or affectionately known as Deep Dish.

TM’s Jake McCauley caught up with Habebe on the eve of his warm-up set for progressive house superstars Deep Dish @ Family Nightclub and chews the fat on the Heineken Thirst Competition, Tequila, Swedish Mafia, Family Main room residency and explains what the hell a host really does…

How long have you been djing for?

Just over 4 years.

What made you start djing?

A love for music and the industry both impacted my decision. I used to work in club management and wanted to have more of an understanding of the music side of things. I did both for a while but eventually I had to choose one.

Major Influences?

All the great people that I’ve worked with over the years have all influence me in one way or another.

Favourite international DJ’s?

Working in clubs, I’ve been pretty been lucky to see so many international dj’s play over the years. But Roger Sanchez and Derrick Carter would probably top my list for all time favourites as I’ve followed them both since I first got into house music. I don’t get many opportunities to go out dancing like I used to, so when these guys come to town you’ll be sure to catch me shakin my ass off to their tunes.

Favourite local DJ’s:

I’ve enjoyed listening to tunes from so many of the local crew over the years and am friends with so many of them it’s hard to pick favourites.

Who are your favourite producers?

For the big room stuff, I’ve been digging the Swedish house mafia for a while now. Guys like Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello and Axwell seem to have got the midas touch, so a lot of their tunes end up in my record bag. French producer Patrick Alavi has got me keeping an eye out as well. He’s got a similar vibe to the early works of Daft Punk and his basslines are massive.

I’ve been getting back to my roots more and more recently thanks to some solid beats courtesy of US house producers Joey Youngman and Patrick Turner. Some really funky shit!!

Favourite record labels?

Size records, Royal Drums, Work it Baby, Classic, Tango, Movim

You recently won QLD’s Heineken Thirst DJ competition, describe how it felt to win that competition?

Being nominated for the competition was a great reward for the hard work I’ve done over the past few years. Being nominated by Matt Nugent, who I regard as one the best guys in the industry meant a lot. To go on to the national finals after being up against such a talented group of dj’s from QLD was an honour.

It must have been even more sweeter knowing that you went up against two big local crowd pulling act’s in the Stafford Brothers & Raye Antonelli and won?

Definitely! It was great to win against such tough competition. The Stafford Brothers have got a massive following in QLD, so I knew that I was up for a challenge when I found out that they were nominated. And Raye is an amazing dj and a good friend so I was happy and nervous to see him nominated as well.

As part of the prize you were flown to Sydney to compete in the national thirst finals, how was that experience?

Unfortunately for the finalists, the competition didn’t run as smoothly as we expected, with all of us having to grin and bear it through the technical problems and unforseen errors that happened. First a broken turntable had to be changed during Anyo’s set. Then the replacement deck decided it wanted to play up too. Despite a couple small hiccups Jimmy B’s set was great. Bill Fragos discovered that none of the 4 VDJ’s (The new version of the CDJ’s) would read any of his CD’s so he took time out to organise a new set. Mo’Funk jumped on and working with a set up not generally suited to a turntablist, managed to produce a wicked set with only a few jumps and bumps that he cleverly disguised. I played my set, minus all my tricks because my memory card for the CDJ’s would not load properly and was pretty stoked with my effort. Bill Fragos finished it off with a rocking set that got a great response from the crowd. The winner was decided with a playoff between Jimmy B and Mo’Funk. Both guys nailed it but Jimmy B won and played a killer set to get the night really rocking.

But overall I think the happy smiles on the faces of the 3000 people that attended I’d say the event was a huge success. Roger Sanchez is still the man and he blew me away once again with the sickest sets I think I’ve ever seen. Eric Morillo finished the night off with a monster set and proved that he is probably the best dj in the world right now.

So apart from the technical issues I’m sure the trip how was the trip overall??

Amazing. I got to meet some great people from the industry, the fellow finalists especially. All great guys and very talented dj’s. Plus I got to drink a truck load of free Heineken!!!

You’ve recently joined the Family Nightclub on a permanent basis, tell us a little bit about your new role, I hear it’s not just djing?

I’m there as a host on both Friday and Saturday nights getting to meet the punters and generally promote the venue from the inside. If you come in I’m usually upstairs so come say hello and I might even buy you a drink.

How would you describe your style of music?

It’s all House Music but I collect a pretty broad spectrum of styles. If you see me play at Family it’ll be mash-up of anything from funky house to tough tribal to big room electro tech. I’m digging the US house sound at the moment for the less big room stuff. Quirky beats and twisted basslines that make you wanna shake you ass. But I buy anything that I like pretty much!!

With local house legend Matt Nugent relocating to Sydney you’ve filled into his Saturday night main room family spot some would say seamlessly. Some say that for local Brisbane dj’s being a main room Family resident is as good as it gets, is this true?

It’s amazing. I’ve worked in so many different clubs and I’d have to say it’s the best so far. I get to play exactly what I want in there so there’s no compromise, which ideally is what you want to achieve as a dj. The crowd is always up for anything and I get to work with some great people. Matt Nugent helped build an awesome following for Saturdays at Family so I plan to keep that going.

Do you have to play a different style in Family main room to say the Unkle bar or other Brisbane clubs?

Always. Each set depends on what room, what time of the night I play and also what the room is trying to achieve. It’s great because I get to play a lot of different music and keep pushing myself.

How would you describe the sound Saturday night Family is pushing?

Definitely big room house but not one specific style or genre. It can go anywhere from a funky groove to a tribal rhythm to an dirty electro stomper. But it’s always BIG!! Come check it out one Saturday, it’s a wicked night out!!

Current/Future DJ gigs?

This Saturday with Deep Dish and every Saturday at Family, plus most Friday’s in the Uncle upstairs. And I’m off to Sydney to play at Porno Combo on Sunday the 19th of June.

Most memorable DJ experience?

Probably the new years day set I played at Slinky in 2000. Carl Kennedy didn’t show up thanks to ending up in hospital due to knocking himself out, so I took his place and rocked it.

Worst DJ Experience?

The many day after hangovers!! There are always way too many tequila’s!!

Whats your dream DJ set?

I’d love to get overseas and play. Just getting the chance to experience the clubbing culture as a dj over there would be fantastic.

Family nightclub presents Deep Dish, Dirty Vegas and Boogie Pimps all under the roof this coming Saturday night (June 11th), you are playing the warm up set for Deep Dish in Family’s main room. What can the punters expect to hear from you in those preceding hours?

Not sure yet. I’ll be packing a mixed bag of tunes and I’ll see where the night takes me.

How will this stack up against other internationals you have supported. Will this be the best?

This is the biggest act I’ve been a support for so far and I think will probably be the busiest night too!! I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Which other DJ’s/Acts will you be keen checking out on Saturday night?

I’ve never seen Paul Harris play and I’ve heard good things so I’ll be there for sure. Boogie Pimps play all the crowd favourites so I’m expecting them to rock as well.

Progressive House seems to be enjoying a rich and fulfilling honeymoon period in Brisbane at the moment. Last week Danny Howells rocked over 1000 punters to Global Underground sounds at Arena. Family has been reluctant in the past to book progressive house dj’s, can you see this changing in the near future?

From my experience, I don’t think it has ever been the sound of the music that has made their mind up on who plays there and who doesn’t. And that doesn’t just include Family either. A lot of the bigger DJ’s do charge a lot of money to come out here and play and sometimes I think it is not always worth the risk. When the clubbing population increases things might change.

What does the future hold for Habebe?

Right now it’s to continue what I’m doing and to keep having fun. I’d like to start touring interstate more and even overseas soon. As far as production, I’m still in the early stages so that’s a little while away.

In 5 words describe yourself:

I sleep way too much!!!

In 5 words describe your djing and subsequent dj sets?

Funky, Sexy, Dirty, Sleazy, Fun…

Top 5 choons at the moment:

Patrick Alavi – Power & Glory

Coburn – We Interrupt this Program
Fischerspooner – Just Let Go – Thin White Duke Remix
Duoteque – Duoteque
Steve Angello & Sebastioan Ingrosso – Yeah

You can catch Habebe every Friday night at Family Nightclub in the Unkle Bar and every Saturday night in the main room. This Saturday night you can see him back-2-back with Chris Wilson 9-12 in the Family main room before Deep Dish play a QLD exclusive 4 hour set, check him out, who knows, he might even buy you a drink..