With the judges’ glaring eyes watching every movement; the incessant screaming of the fanatical crowd and the anticipation of the looming verdict, it’s no wonder the Idol experience can be quite daunting. However, Chris Fraser and Blake Budak – emissaries of the Canberra dance scene – have put a different spin on the Idol design. Replace the voice box with decks; move the Idol stage to Academy, add a more relaxed attitude and scrap the questionable voting system and you have DJ Idol – the inaugural DJing competition at Academy. And the best part is, there’s no Marcia Hines.
Palu: Firstly, why did you and Blake decide to put on a DJ comp?
Chris: We first came up with the idea to do an Idol DJ comp last year, but just never got around to pulling it together. It came about because Blake was seeing so much good new talent come through the store and I was getting a lot of really good demos. We thought it’d be great to provide a platform for some of these guys (and girls) to do their thing. And everyone loves a good old DJ showdown.
Palu: How is this DJ comp different to other DJ comps?
Chris: Entrants are selected after an application process (a demo CD and application form), which means that not everyone will make it in. This enables us to filter the contestants kind of like the real Idol, and to focus on putting on a good show with a bunch of guys who we think have real potential to make it in the DJ business. At the end of the day it’s about finding talent, people who have what it takes to rock a big room like Academy under a fair amount of pressure.
Palu: What sort of opportunities will this open up for the aspiring DJ that wins the competition?
Chris: Thanks to our partners in the event, we’re really offering the winner a major leg up in the industry. Feature articles in BMA and on Inthemix, and a feature set on RawFM, these are prizes that basically give the winner an instant profile, something which is crucial to success in the dj world these days. I think this focus on rewarding the winner with coverage really sets the comp apart, we don’t have a trip to the Bahamas to give away, but we do have useful, practical tools that’ll give the winner a great start. I wish this had been around when I started out!
The winner will also score a headline set at an Academy event, which is something that many aspiring DJs would kill for. Hopefully it leads to them playing regularly, scoring a residency somewhere and taking off in a big way.
Palu: Would you agree that Canberra has a history of breeding talented DJs and artists?
Chris: No doubt about it. Whether its bands, dance acts or DJs we really fight above our weight with the larger population centers.
Palu: What would you personally be looking for in the winning set? What will they have to do to stand out from the rest?
Chris: They’ll need to surprise people. It’s such a simple thing, but these days people want to be surprised in a club. Not enough DJs understand it, they think that just by playing all the current big tracks they’ll rock the crowd, and that might be true to a certain extent, but if you can surprise and delight them with something totally unexpected, that’s when you really win them over and step up into the next level.
Palu: Beat-mixing, track selection, creativitys, crowd reaction – what criteria do you think is most important?
Chris: It’s the whole package, you really need to have all of those elements working in tandem to be able to pull it off. Doesn’t matter if you beat match to perfection, if you’re playing bad music noone will care. You’ve got to have all of those pieces of the puzzle working to pull it all together.
Palu: Will there be a diversified judging panel representing all sorts of tastes and styles? Who will they comprise of?
Chris: The judging panel will be made up of promoters, DJs, producers and other industry types. We’ve got, obviously, myself and Blake, Anjay, Jeff Drake, Mikah Freeman and Mikki Louder and a few more. The final judging lineup will be announced during the week.
Palu: If this one goes well, were you thinking of making it an annual event?
Chris: Absolutely!
Palu: Finally, what advice would you give to those entering the comp – perhaps, even playing out to an audience for the every first time?
Chris: Just remember to have fun. That’s what DJing is all about, enjoying yourself, and helping the crowd to have a good time. Never lose sight of that and you’ll be just fine.
Check out DJ Idol this Friday at Academy.
Heat One – July 1
Grant McFadden
Rajiv Vanniasinkham
Alfonso Campa
Tania Day
Danny Grey
Matt Gailbraith
Josh Kilby
Gavan O’Connor
Adam Leach
Michael Shannon
Hugh Foster
Nathan Fawkner
Tim Galvin
Heat Two – July 8
Chris Knight
Dave Scully
Duncan Brown
Rodney Evans
Alex Braknys
Alistair Erskine
Adam MacCready
Travis Lenon
Mike Lyons
Sam Lester
Dale Baldwin
Morgan Kent
Karuna Sipaseutsak
In 2004 Chris Fraser ranked as the 4th most popular ACT DJ, where will he feature in 2005? It’s up to you! Don’t forget to vote in the Technics inthemix50 DJ Poll, and you could win yourself a Technics DJ setup worth over $5,000.
>> http://www.inthemix.com.au/50/
