Scott Johnston lives a secret life. During the weekdays, he works at an unremarkable job which he admittedly despises. He sits there at a desk, quietly waiting for the weekend to come when Johnston will not only leave the tedium of pedestrian life but also transform into Para – his darker counterpart. Unlike Johnston, Para doesn’t care as much for customer service as he is concerned with pleasing punters. Because of this, he will stop at nothing to stimulate dance floors and induce punters to submit to the dark and dirty sounds of drum n bass.

“It’s got the muscle and the grunt of metal, the speed and quick-step of dance music, and the bounce of hip-hop.” Johnston – who’s supported the likes of Teebee and Pendulum in the past – explains his love for drum and bass “The one thing I’ve always loved is its diversity. Sure you can say that about a lot of other types of music, but I’ve lost count of the number of times a typical drum and bass break has been changed to a completely different beat, and still managed to be drum and bass”

Originally hailing from Perth – Australia’s drum and bass capital – Johnston found himself moving to Canberra and immediately sourcing out local music organizers, hoping to get involved “The transition was different, but a positive challenge. The first thing I did when I got here was look up who was running things, which lead me to meet Paf and Escha, two of Canberra’s longest running junglists. It’s these boys who got me the foot in the door”

These organizers plus a few more key figures would go on to form a collective coalition to ensure the most cutting edge acts in drum and bass are brought to Canberra. The camaraderie between Synapse, True Jungle Souljahs and Drumsluts is admittedly refreshing in a time when promoters would do just about anything to ensure numbers flood through the door. Meanwhile Johnston doesn’t care too much for the fickleness of politics in the scene and is much more concerned with evolving his sounds to meet the punters needs.

“I guess my style has always been based on people’s reactions to the music, and to those most willing to dance” He says “I tried to take it easy and go with the whole jazzy drum and bass funk movement; the kind of tunes you’d hear in a trendy but laidback London drum and bass club. In recent times however, people paying their money have really shown an interest in the rougher, edgier beats, so I’ve tried to stick with what the people want to hear. Call it dance floor, call it rolling.”

The future is looking promising for DJ Para with supports lined up for international artists. Johnston, on the other hand, has a few different goals “I want to find a job I love, preferably self employed. Save some cash, travel the world again and hopefully settle somewhere completely unexpected. Then wake up and do it all again.”

Catch DJ Para playing at Ed Rush and Optical at Toast on 1st of October