“Our Music is not background music”. Farj’s voice is straightforward and firm. I have his tunes playing in the background and I am almost ashamed that I am not giving 110% of my attention to the superb subtleties of the bass-heavy sounds. I don’t turn the tunes off though, for in absorbing the sounds I am also soaking up the essence of Garage Pressure.
Listening to the varying tracks from Garage Pressure, I am immediately struck by the lack of connection to any specific genre. Whilst it is undoubtedly Garage and industrial in treatment with some orientation to rock based concepts, there are no hints or insinuation to soul, funk, disco or any of the preceding genres that the majority of contemporary music can not help but refer to. I find this a rather amazing feat in itself. It requires a great deal of fortitude and self-belief to overlook the past and concentrate only on innovative and original sounds. “What is Garage anyway?” Farj rhetorically asks, though I know he is moreso providing a thought to mull over. Indeed, what is Garage these days?
Pick up any musically inclined text or reference book and you will read that Garage is any of several different varieties of modern electronic dance music that will have a definite reference to house. In fact, academics and music theorists alike comment that these days, Garage is one of the most distorted terms in dance music. It was once affixed to music that was ‘underground’ – an alternative to mainstream. Now, Garage has evolved to a point that it can mean so many different things to different people and unless there are direct references to a specific time or place, the term ‘Garage’ can stand for nearly anything. That suggests to me, that Garage has absolutely no boundaries whatsoever. There are no limits to what one’s talents can produce or what one’s mind can musically summon. And if one is to ponder further on this phenomenon, think then of how difficult it actually is to work beyond any imposed scope. With no established barriers, the possibilities are infinite.
From all accounts, one can expect Garage Pressure to be predictably unpredictable. Whom else but the Garage Pressure crew put out these kinds of tunes, both locally produced and a slew of the latest UK tracks? “It’s a sense that music must be driven.” Farj explains. “Music is more than the music.” I am intrigued by this statement. There really is far more to music than what reaches a person’s ear. There are the people who come together and form the final result. There are the concepts which provide the basis upon which the music is formed. There is the passion that drives them. There is the technology and the required skills to utilise that technology. “There is a purpose to our music” Farj states. “Music creates and stirs emotions.” As enigmatic a statement that ‘Music is more than the music’ is, there is that implication of reflection. This is, in fact, a trait I find rather conspicuous in the music of Garage Pressure. Very much rhythmically driven and often unmelodic (in that there is no specific or obvious hookline ‘song’), I notice that Garage Pressure maintains a melodic sense in the rhythmic structure nevertheless.
“Our mantra is always looking forward” Farj explains to me. “We approach it by looking beyond what we currently like and examining the possibilities of what we could be open to. It’s about not being complacent. It’s about being driven and pushing boundaries. It’s about making a difference.” There are many reports that reflect upon Farj’s passion for his music – “regardless of how small and exclusive it is. I consider it a retro-spective escapism, but we really want to expose the audience to music that will touch them.”
“Who is ‘we’?” I ask. Farj explains that Garage Pressure is a collective consisting of himself, Paul Fraser and Jabba. Farj also produces along with Jabba under the guise of Moving Ninja, and have had a couple of UK releases to date. Coming together as a collective in 1999, Paul and Farj actually grew up together in the same neighbourhood. “We were moreso an expansion of what has been happening musically since 1995.” Having spent a much of his life travelling throughout the world, particularly the UK, Farj was exposed to the driven and positive ethos of the UK Garage scene. “Pre September 11 the music was a manifestation of the really good times we were having. The pace was hard and moving. Then comes September 11 and suddenly, the world is a different place.”
Having performed all over Australia, Garage Pressure will continue to keep their eyes tuned to the future. Farj will be performing Friday September 23 at The Empire in Brisbane. Not to be outdone, co-founder Paul Fraser will be playing in Adelaide on Saturday September 24 at Blind. Hear for yourself what is imminent. Hear for yourself what the future holds. The future is already here.
For more info check out http://www.garagepressure.com.
