If there is one Sydney DJ who the most purist, nay, snobbish, of Melburnian electronic fans respect unconditionally, it’s Simon Caldwell.
Caldwell began spinning on community radio in the early ‘90s, prior to venturing onto the club circuit. Along the way, he’s supported everything from trip hop to acid house to Detroit techno to Berlin’s Second Wave. In fact, Simon was dropping ghetto-tek – or ‘booty’ – before regional music was the new black. In the late ‘90s Caldwell teamed with his ally Ken Cloud for DJ Excursions Vol. 5, a definitive Australian deep house compilation commissioned by MDS.
Today Caldwell, once a regular Honkytonks guest, remains a key player in the cult Mad Racket parties, keeping the underground alive in Sydney – and, possibly, Australia.
New influences have come into the dance scene and, overall, there is some good music around. What are your thoughts on the electronic world in 2007?
There is plenty of good music, but far fewer record shops. I think the scene is pretty diverse here but quite small. In Sydney things have gone to either festivals or small clubs. The festivals have killed the summer, in a way, turning things into a bit of a shopping mall for clubbers, but there has been a return of warehouse parties and small underground nights. The whole digitisation of everything has obviously had a big impact as well – and I think the business is as cut-throat as it’s ever been. iPods have a lot to answer for and now there are DJs out there who only play ripped MP3s – nasty.
Dance music – and DJ culture – is being redefined by new technologies. Have you embraced any of these? What are your thoughts on the changes?
I still use vinyl 95 percent of the time and a few CDs. Less people are using vinyl, and I am a bit jealous of how light their DJ boxes are, but I still prefer to play vinyl. That’s just my personal preference – and who has thousands of hours to convert their vinyl to digital?
How are your musical tastes changing? What kinds of sounds are you feeling?
I don’t know about my tastes changing as I have pretty broad likes. I think there are always good records of all sorts out there and it’s a matter of
cherry-picking the ones that you connect with. I’m still feeling the deep techno and Detroit house sounds, the old school funk and soul, and bits of hip hop and downtempo.
Are you doing any production at the moment?
Nothing at the moment, but it’s still something I’d like to pursue.
You released Mixed Business on Floating Point a while back. Do you have any plans for another mix-CD?
No plans at the moment. The market for mixed-CDs has kinda died as well with so much stuff available free online. I think that’s the way it’s gone now and only the Ministry-style, more commercial mixes seem to do any business. I’m OK with that – share and share alike. I have put some mixes online.
Are there any DJs or producers in particular who are doing it for you?
That always depends on what records I just bought! I got a great record by some UK artist called Moodymanc the other day. [Ricardo] Villalobos is on form with his remix of dubstep dude Shackleton. Claude Young, Todd Sines and Dan Bell on Seventh City – proper minimal. There is a Sydney producer called Jamie Lloyd who is making some really nice beats. And I’ve been digging Curtis Mayfield’s mid-’70s period and some early ‘80s funk.
Given that you have played for so many years, how do you sustain your enthusiasm for the music?
That’s the easy part! I find that it’s all the other bullshit you have to deal with to get to play the music that can be the problem. Playing the music, that’s the fun part – the part that actually sustains you through the dumb stuff.
In the past you have played in Berlin, Barcelona and the Czech Republic. Do you have any desire to return overseas?
Yeah, I would like to get back to Europe at some stage soon – and maybe the States. As much as anything, it’s good to see what else is going on and to spend some time in places where there are really active, enthusiastic music scenes. It can give much needed inspiration and remind you that you are not alone.
Your name used to be linked to Ken Cloud’s all the time. Do you still play together often?
Mainly just at Mad Racket these days. Ken is playing less and has spent a lot of the past few years concentrating on production. He’s still on the money, though.
What is your involvement in Mad Racket and what is happening on that front?
I do a lot of the promo for Racket – and the parties have been going very well. We’re in our ninth year but the parties still feel fresh. We get a really mixed crowd, a bit older, and it’s a totally different vibe to any club you will go to – very friendly and social. We had Brennan Green playing last Saturday and it was another fun night.
Do you have any predictions for dance music in the next five years?
Not really. I tend to ignore the latest crazes in dance music. They seem bloody stupid to me. Can you really (ironically?) call something ‘new rave’ or ‘new beat’ or ‘electro’ and expect to be taken seriously as a musical trend? I’m afraid my age means that I experienced ‘rave’ and ‘new beat’ the first time around and perhaps that makes me a little cynical. I think 17 years of buying dance music has taught me that ‘genre’ is the enemy, not your friend. So many copycat records – yuk.
You are returning to Melbourne – finally. What can we expect?
Well, I am looking forward to playing some deep techno, some techy house, and some proper jacking beats. I’ve really been enjoying playing that sort of stuff lately. Detroit, Chicago and Berlin in the house!
Simon Caldwell plays at Local Extracts #2 this Saturday at Ffour, check whatson for details.
