At the forefront of the Sydney music scene are the recently formed duo The ToneDef DJs. Dirty D and Stalka have been in the game for years but a recent partnership has freshened things up, with twice as much mischief behind the decks. ITM’s Signal Drivers catches up with Stalka before they head west on tour.
“Back at the beginning of the year”, Stalka recollects “We were chucked together out of nowhere at an after party. We had a couple of spare turntables and some CDJs and we managed to throw together the dodgiest acapellas and making some tunes sound really cool and whack. The next thing was that we sat down one morning and brainstormed to come up with a bit of a gimmick”.
Dirty D and Stalka have always been about having fun and so it was fitting that these two would come together. “For us it was about having fun, not getting too serious about it. Too many DJs these days get a bit too serious not really living in the underground”, Stalka comments.
So how do the ToneDef DJs put their flavour on the music? “The music we play is still underground but we make it accessible by playing mashups, plenty of acapellas and bootlegs. We take it on a light hearted note rather than a serious note” says Stalka. Behind the decks can get quite busy as Stalka describes “If there?s enough room we get up about 3 turntables, a few CD players. We’re hoping to get some drum machines and synths in the near future. There is great energy up there and we feed of each other. Dirty D is a great DJ and I see him having a mad time. I know what he does so we know when to go hard, pull back or generally bounce around and have fun”
Stalka is the man behind the Wanna Break parties and Dirty D has a number of releases on Breaking Point, Fresh Produce and Titlefight so what is the benefit of coming together when they are enjoying successful solo careers? “It’s a lot more fun. There’s a big market out there for something different. We both come from completely different paths and circles of friends so the result is unique” answers Stalka. “9 times out of 10 we?re playing together but there’s still that option of playing alone”
So with the success of The ToneDef DJs, the hugely successful party, Wanna Break, is going to continue. This is great to hear especially after Wanna Break lost one of their main members, Suzy, back to the UK. “We’re moving with the times. Playing two levels with two rooms of different genres. One of house and of breaks. We’re excited about getting some internationals and nationals down in the near future”
So with a fresh partnership and big things to come for Wanna Break, Australia has plenty to look forward to. Stalka adds his two cents on the scene “There’s a great scene out there. We’re losing it a little with the young kids getting inducted into the halls of cheese and they’re not knowing anything else. I think it’s important to educate them about all the great underground music.”
You can catch the ToneDef DJs at:
Fri Aug 31 – Destination? @ Ambar, Perth
Sat Sat 1 – Odessey, Bunbury
andreas says...
Doing great things guys well done..