With the prospect of rockin out to Tiga and celebrating the ITM 05 experience with such a ferocious bang at the Metro, it is no wonder that the vibe on the streets of Melbourne is somewhere on cloud 9, even before this event has begun. Apart from the obvious, the Melbourne faithful have expressed great interest and enthusiasm about seeing these two local lads serving up a rare versus set in the Main room on Friday 18th November.
Enter: Mike Callander & Dave Pham
You are representing Lasergun at ITM.05, I hear LG just had their third birthday, how did that go? Can you tell us about the night and the 3 years of LG?
MC: I tell ya, that Lasergun 3rd birthday party was a riot!! It was a crazy weekend for us, with the Melbourne Cup long weekend and the Honkytonks 5th birthday, so you can imagine the party vibe about the place. By the Monday night we were amongst a club full of people in true party spirit and we played the closing set… you couldn’t avoid having fun!! And for me personally it’s always exciting to play alongside Mr Dave Pham at a Lasergun event. We’ve been playing around the traps at the same parties for nearly five years now, but recently we’ve each been so busy that the opportunity to knock out a set together has been rare… so when the chance comes up we give it a red hot go and always do something different.
DP: The Laser birthday was an absolute riot! Being the very last bow in a four consecutive night party extravaganza at Honkytonks, the crowd was definitely in true party atmosphere. It’s always such a treat to play alongside one of my most favourite DJs, Mike C. The crowd was up for anything, so it was a great opportunity to share the closing set and play together to a receptive audience. It’s hard to imagine we’ve knocked up 3 years at Lasergun already! I guess the night’s always had a strong focus on all things electro related but we were never strict on that policy, our main policy was playing tunes we enjoyed and most of all having fun. As long as that was achieved we all knew we’d enjoy doing future shows. Mike and my taste in music is quite open so we always saw Lasergun as a fantastic outlet to express different flavours.
Both of you have played supporting Tiga before is this correct? Is it safe to assume you are fans of his work?
MC: Playing with Tiga at a party this size is the kind of gig that kids like me dream about… although I’d have to admit that I’m more excited about rubbing shoulders with that crazy kid Ajax… last time I saw him he licked my hand. What might he lick this time?
DP: It’s always an amazing experience to support Tiga, ever since I heard his tunes and mix on Gigolo I knew exciting times were to follow. He knows how to get party well and truly rockin and boy he can play!
I understand you are both playing a versus set at ITM party featuring Tiga show in Melbourne, can you give us a hint as to what the punters can look forward too?
MC: Yeah, it’ll be something special from us, because we’ve each walked a pretty different musical path for most of the time that we’ve been DJing, but somehow right now we’re speaking almost the same language. We’re both keen on the minimal techno and house coming out of France and Germany that is stripped back and raw, but still very club-friendly and party-focused… so I guess you can expect plenty of that.
DP: Over the years, a DJ who’s always impressed me with immaculate track selection and super smooth transitions is Mike. I’ve always enjoyed shared sets with him as it’s always made for an interesting and fresh blend of music and whilst as Mike mentioned we’ve walked quite a different line musically in the past, over the course of this year, with the overwhelming quality of minimal music coming from Europe, we today share an exciting common denominator. Of course I’ll never leave behind any music which moves me no matter what style, I’m sure that between the two of us, we’ll come up with something pretty and colourful.
What have you both been up to lately? Just DJing or will we be hearing some production from you any time in the not to distant future?
MC: I’m just getting myself reacquainted with my studio after a long but necessary break. I worked myself into a creative hole at the beginning of the year in which I hated writing music and I couldn’t translate my ideas into anything worthwhile. So I destroyed all of my past work and put my energy back into being a punter for a while. I partied and danced, and partied, and partied, and renewed my excitement for music from another perspective so that I could remember why I ever wanted to write music in the first place. And, fortunately, it worked. I’m back in the studio and you’ll hear the results soon.
DP: These past two months have been hectic, I think the silly season must have started a month early this year, no complaints from me what so ever. I am however looking forward to get busier in the studio. This year I’ve spent quite some time with Iain Wade (my studio buddy) collaborating on a few tracks, so far some great ideas have evolved, however we’ve faced difficulties in finding the flow to connect all our pieces. What I’ve worked out is that this craft requires much more time and dedication. I’ll be devoting the next 12 month and at least 50% of my time dedicated to writing music, both on my own and collaborating. This will hopefully translate into finished material.
Finish this sentence: Electroclash is…
MC: a bad word that has been applied inconsistently to a range of genres that deserve better.
DP: derived from the latin term “electroclashius” – An aged Roman hunting technique, involving the use of a moist towel and jellyfish.
Lastly can you each give us your very latest top 5?
Mike Callander’s Top 5
1. Matias Aguayo – Drums & Feathers (or anything from his album “Are You Really Lost?”)
2. Ellen Allien – My Body is Your Body (Troy Pierce RMX) – Bpitch Control
3. Gui Boratto – Arquipelago – K2/Kompakt
4. Pablo Bolivar – Tarantula – Regular
5. Steve Barnes – Cosmic Sandwich (Dominik Eulberg RMX) – MBF LTD
Dave Pham’s Top 5
1. Various- Detroit Underground 05
2. AME- Rej Ep
3. Unai- Oh you and I- Trentmoller Mix
4. Murcof- Remebranza
5. Gui Boratto- Arquipelago
Catch Dave Pham and Mike Callander’s versus set at the ITM 05 party featuring Tiga at the Metro on Friday 18th November. (BUY NOW)
