Pulling Back The Sheets on Brisbane’s Emerging Talent.

Jeremy IIiev: Central Battler

I’ve always been fond of proclaiming: “It is not the tools that maketh the craftsman, tis the man.” While the latest and fabulous shiny gear is exciting and wonderful to play with, no amount of auto tuning will uphold lack of talent. Oft times, the beautiful equipment is just convenience. And the human heart is best showcased when it is tested. The greater the challenge, all the more strength in achieving with the result a heightened sense of achievement. I particularly find these lines reverberating within Central Battle 2007 winner, Jeremy Iliev. As a bold Aries with a cheeky sense of humour, humble attitude and ingrained talent, Jeremy Iliev has reaped the repute and integrity that comes as the victor of Central Battle 2007. Taking out The Final with a very tight mix layered over a textural tableu, Jeremy remains awed by the triumph. “I was nervous,” he smiles at me. “But being nervous shows that you value it’s worth.” Jeremy is quite eloquent in spite of his youthful looks. “It’s been a positive experience,” Jeremy proclaims. “Nothing was going to stop me from doing anything. I psyched myself up for the competition,” Jeremy reveals. “I kept it positive.” “What did you want to achieve with Central Battle?” I ask him. “I had to believe I could,” Jeremy states. “I felt I needed to put together a good set. I played nine tunes in Heat 3 (March 8) and managed thirteen tunes for The Final. While you have confidence in your abilities though, you do still have to be realistic. I just wanted to interact with the music. It had nothing to do with image.” Jeremy laughs. “Because as a bit of a nerd – I really don’t have one.” He then tells me he identifies with Lisa Simpson because she was “a nerd, short and bullied and got sh*t for using big words.”

First classed as a nerd in high school, Jeremy notes that he was also the guy who couldn’t dance. But with a background in piano from a young age into his teens, Jeremy still had natural swing and rhythm to his playing. Jeremy didn’t delve too deeply into reading actual music notation, but he did get to learn the rudiments of music theory – from chord structures to harmonic layering. Jeremy could play around with the piano and play particular tunes, but he preferred the improvisational aspect. After a vacation traveling overseas with his sister and her husband, Jeremy’s eyes were opened to the world, particularly stimulating him towards the universe of dance music. At eighteen and out at clubs, he would watch people dance until finally, he decided to give it a go himself. Four months later, he was introduced to Dance Troupe Tunzen and could be found on the dance floor for System 6 at The Arena. I actually remember meeting Jeremy at the filming of a Statler and Waldorf clip shot in the Moonbar at Empire Nightclub. Then, ITMForum’s Busty had introduced him to me as a dancer – so I knew him as a dancer first and a DJ second. And I believe that the deep seated rhythm developed from his dancing roots alongside his inherent musicianship serve as an admirable foundation for his DJing skills to rest upon. These skills are also supported upon a wide canvas of varying genres. Laughing at his dance beginnings, Jeremy outlines he started in love with trance to move to happy hardcore and to house. Now, however, Jeremy states that he is currently deep into jackin’ house. “It’s more bumpy,” Jeremy tries to explain. “I like to build energy and you can gather energy with jackin’. It’s dance floor friendly and has that Chicago vibe.” His mention of the “Chicago Vibe” summons forth images of resolute gangsters in a tough city surrounded by plenty of wind. “Music reflects who you are,” Jeremy asserts. With such diversity in tastes, Jeremy’s versatility will no doubt see him appeal to a great many tastes. “I can appreciate the Top 40 – it’s not necessarily on my play list. but there is musical value in some production,” he points out. “I’ve changed so much from my raving days. I appreciate it, but I don’t want to go back – it’s like 80s fashion.”

“I’m really into the technological side of things too,” Jeremy states. Indeed, he proves this as he rabbles off onto a geeky tangent discussing the intrinsic details of electronics connections. “I started off on the worst possible equipment,” he grins again, in explaining his humble beginnings delving into DJing. He developed his craft from a rack mounted dual CD player that had a slight delay when you pressed the button. Jeremy laughs spiritedly at the memory. “You would just pressed ‘Start’ and hope for the best. It really made me work on my timing.” He also saved up and eventually got a Pioneer DJM600 mixer. “A sheep in wolf’s clothing,” he laughs. “It looked good – but wasn’t.” Always one to turn the experience into a lesson, Jeremy continued to hone his skills on inferior equipment; understanding that if he could sound great on less-than-functional facilties, he might just be able to sound awesome on functioning gear. This thought motivated him to persevere at his craft. “Being a DJ doesn’t really mean anything unless you can showcase your skills. I entered the comp not even knowing the prize. I just wanted to give it a go.” And so it is as victor of Central Battle 2007 that Jeremy landed an Allen & Heath Xone02 Mixer, Technical headphones and an Ortofon Trolley Bag. Now well armed for the pro DJ world, Jeremy’s triumph has already seen immediate results that come with the reputation. “What have you found now that it’s after Central Battle?” I ask him, amused at his obvious elation. “It’s been awesome,” Jeremy states emphatically. “It’s given me recognition and I feel people can take me seriously. A lot of people saw what I was doing during the comp.” Jeremy has since landed residencies at GPO’s Codebar, The Fox, with sessions at Therapy in BarSoma, and features at Birdee Nums Nums. In particular, his talents have garnered him an aspired set back to back with cherished mate, Ben Smith at the We Love Sounds Winter Festival, Sunday June 9. Here Jeremy will be performing alongside such stars as DJ Shadow, James Zabiela, Ajax and joining such luminous locals including Baby Gee, Aniki, Scott Walker, magoo, Habebe, Aniki, Cosmo Cater, Cutloose, Luki and Mike Redfern. The beauty of it all also lies in the venue. Being held in The Arena, Jeremy’s experience will have come full circle. From his first performance of the Brisbane Bounce on those floors, Jeremy Iliev will now be bopping away behind the booth as the licentiate DJ Central Battle has assisted him in emerging as.

Love and Kisses, Lady Lex