Bexta is one of Australian dance music’s mainstayers – instantly recognisable by the majority of people on dancefloors around Australia. A musician first and a DJ second, her “Mixology” series of mixed CD’s have helped bring her DJ’ing skills to the attention of the masses – bringing its own unique set of benefits, as well as challenges.
With the recent release of Mixology 7, I asked Bexta how her new CD had been accepted so far “Really good as far as I can tell”, she says. She’s obviously pleased with the result, saying, “I feel as if the tracklisting is the one I’m most happy with out of the whole series, and it’s great that people have been saying the same.” The continuation of Mixology 7’s launch parties sees Bexta mixing up a storm around the country every weekend. Of her sets, she says that she’s playing a “really diverse” range at the moment. “It starts off quite melodic and pretty (for me), and at the end of the 2 hours, I’m playing hardstyle. It’s really a journey.”
Speaking of a journey, Bexta’s schedule sees her racking up more frequent flyer points in one year than most of us will see in ten! How does she cope? “You have to love the travelling, which I do. I’ve become pretty accustomed to being at the airport after a gig with a hangover! But I can sleep on planes the minute I sit down, which is very fortunate.” I ask Bexta for her best tips for living out of a suitcase. “I’ve learned not to over pack, it’s especially hard being a chicky, because you have to carry what you bring. I think I’ve got it down to a fine art now.”
Take a look at Bexta’s website and it’s obvious she has a wardrobe many of us girls would be quite jealous of! What’s her approach to shopping? “I like finding one offs and little boutique stores where you wont find too many of the same thing. The last photo shoot had a lot of stuff from the Paparazzi shop on Oxford St, and I love Chinatown, and markets etc. Then mixing that with some of the big labels I think is the go. For example the last thing I bought was a big suede winter coat from Mount Tambourine, that was imported from India. It’s very cool (or warm!)”
Bexta’s website also features some very cool photography, highlighting her obvious photogenic qualities, and I ask her who takes care of this side of things. “I’m my stylist – I get obsessive about having a look and a theme. Lia sickbitch has taken a lot of the photos and the last lot were taken by Italic (Bianca Esteban). They are both close friends, so there is a relaxed atmosphere that I think helps with the final product.”
The issues created by being well known in a segment of the music industry which is not quite mainstream, but no longer, strictly speaking, underground, can confuse those looking to fit DJ’s into neat little boxes. In the past, Bexta has said that she, along with guys like Nik Fish, have felt like she’s stuck in some kind of void. She seems to have overcome this feeling by exploring all avenues and genres, defying typecasting and classification.
“At the moment I have been writing so many different styles of music – from orchestral film scores, to top 40 type stuff, to hard trance. I’m really excited about the future in terms of releasing music on an international and national level. I’ve kind of learned that if I do things that are true to myself musically, I don’t really care how people categorise me. Plus I don’t feel I’ve compromised myself and there’s no regrets.”
With a rather academic background in music, piano and music theory studies early on through to a Bachelor of Music in Sonology (Music Technology), I ask Bexta if her family supported her somewhat non-traditional musical path? “Absolutely. I did a gig quite a few years ago that my mother came to. She put a lot of thought into what she was going to wear to fit in to the nightclub crowd, and she came to me in a Bonds-type shirt and said “Is this ravey enough?”! How funny is that! It’s just a reflection of how much they’re into it.”
Those of you keeping up with the news in the world of Bexta will know she recently sold off a big chunk of her record collection on eBay, begging the question – why?! “I’ve kept my absolute favourites, and the classics, and recorded anything I really wanted into the computer, but I really don’t listen to most of them anymore, and I thought they would be appreciated and listened to at new homes. It was really a very cleansing experience!” In preparation for the next big career move perhaps? She’s not giving too much away, saying “I’ve got heaps on the cards at the moment. Nothing really I am comfortable revealing at this point, but I think I will be going to Europe at the end of the year.”
Next stop on the journey of aural pleasure offerings from Bexta will hopefully be all her own music, rather than another mix CD. I’m personally really looking forward to discovering more of Bexta’s musical creativity with her own compositions – but in the meantime, make sure you catch up with her at one of these Mixology 7 launch parties:
Jul 1 – Platinum, Gold Coast
Jul 2 – Trancetribe, Sydney
Jul 8 – Syrup, Hobart
Jul 9 – Enchanted Forest, Adelaide
Jul 15 – Bass Station, Melbourne
Jul 22 – Plastic, Sydney
Jul 23 – Soho, Cairns
Jul 29 – Plastic, Sydney
Jul 31 – Station Resort, Jindabyne
Aug 5 – Platinum, Gold Coast
Aug 5 – Family, Brisbane Technics inthemix50 Tour
Aug 12 – Plastic, Sydney
Aug 13 – Level One, Townsville, QLD
Aug 24 – Station Resort, Jindabyne
Aug 26 – Earth, Adelaide Technics inthemix50 Tour
Sep 3 – Transmission, Sydney
In 2004 Bexta was the highest ranking female in Australia in the Technics inthemix50 DJ Poll, coming in at #4. Where will she rank in 2005? It’s up to you to decide! Be sure to cast your vote in the 2005 Technics inthemix50 DJ Poll, and go into the draw to win a Technics DJ setup worth over $5,000. http://www.inthemix.com.au/50/.
