DJ Archie is without match. Familiar to the dance world for his tough trance and hard rhythms, his music retains a distinctive style nevertheless. Featuring on the latest Central Energy Rock the Nation CD alongside Sublime merchants Amber Savage and Nik Fish, Archie manages to retain and establish his own individuality. With insistent beats, clever clashes of melodies entwined with synthetic textures and a reserved ferocity to his music, Archie’s scratching techniques – normally limited to hip hop – adds a resounding texture to his music, keeping it personal while also adding a compelling element of showmanship to his performances.

The story of DJ Archie goes back to his year seven schooling days in Canberra. As an Irish Italian , Archie was pinned with the nickname due to his dark red hair and resemblance to the cartoon character. Eventually, everyone but for his parents was calling him by his nickname. “My first DJ name was originally DJ Wise,” he proclaims, “but that only lasted a few months. Since everyone knew me as Archie, I thought I’d use that instead. Back when mixtapes were the medium, I would use Archie cartoons as my covers – so even then, I was quite the little marketer.” It was while watching the clips on television that a twelve year old Archie stood up and took notice of music. “Seeing all the DJing on the flim clips, I thought shit – that looks cool. Then I was at an underage party and the DJ was playing without stopping the tunes and I thought – fuck, that’s really cool. I wrecked my parent’s stereo trying to set it all up,” he recalls. “With my parents’ help and a part time job, I got a mixer and a turntable. Being self taught means I learnt more about my craft.

Archie notes that he was really turned on by hip hop and became known as “a white boy in hip hop.” Working in community radio stations, he also “got to inherit a lot of the CDs that came in. So I have a cross section of jazz, 70s and 80s funk – Sly & The Family Stone, Kool & The Gang, Rick James, Curtis Mayfield and arty rock.” And it was at age fifteen that he reached a turning point. “I went to my first rave which was when I became intrigued with hardcore. Raves at the time were not necessarily hardcore – more happy breakbeat. To me, it sounded more like sped up hip hop – with more melodies. It seemed automatically familiar to me and I got pretty excited. It was then I changed paths from hip hop. I still have all my old records though,” Archie states.

Happy to stick to being a bedroom DJ, it was friend that pushed him down the path he walks now. “At sixteen, a mate (who was a promoter) saw my scratching and was really impressed. He put on a big party with Nik Fish, and all these DJs and promoters were watching me play – it was really nerve wracking but really empowering at the same time.” This gig led to a prolific schedule in Canberra where Archie would be the support artist for virtually every big name that came though – including Endorphin. “I supported them one night in Canberra. I was playing breaks and would always incorporate scratching into any style. I stuck around for their gig and after they had played, Eric rushed up to me and said ‘Hey – I really like your stuff! We’re recording an album at the moment – and we would love you to do some scratching on it!’ I thought yeh, nice that they said that, but we’ll see what comes of it. A few days later, they called me – and I came to Sydney. My playing on Endorphin’s album then led to live shows.”

Adding a live element to the group as a scratch DJ, Archie performed at many successful gigs and festivals, from Homebake to Gatecrasher, Moonlight Sounds and Delirium Festival. A triumphant tour through South America also landed on the books, promoting Endorphin’s AM/PM album. It was at this time that Archie’s remix of single Sex & Violence caught Bexta’s eye, featuring as the opening track on her 2002 Gold Mixology album. Reflecting on those heady times, Archie comments “My first gig with Endorphin was supporting Moby. I remember watching Moby from the side of the stage and realising I was also standing beside Ewan McGregor.” Heady times indeed! With the brief forays into production, Archie realised he had a taste for it – and wanted more. “I’ve started taking production seriously in the last 3 years. When I got to remix Sex & Violence , it spurred me on to do more and more. It’s not about just playing records – it’s about bringing something personal to my sets.” And his positive energy has certainly proven an asset to his career. Once he had made the permanent move to Sydney to work with Endorphin after four years of flying between Sydney and Canberra, it was simply a matter of settling in. “It made sense to move to Sydney,” he affirms. “I was the youngest DJ to emerge from Canberra so I was a big fish in a small pond but had to start again in Sydney. It was out of my comfort zone – and it took a year to feel comfortable.” Once the residency at Sublime at Home was under his belt, Archie’s star could only be on the up and up.

And what does Archie thinks makes him stand out from the crowd? “I believe I’m unique in that I play dance music and add scratching,” is Archie’s firm answer. “I love scratching with vinyl – its more hands on and looks better from an entertainment perspective for the crowd. I swore I’d never go CD but I don’t really have a choice anymore. Some clubs are not always equipped for vinyl and all the goodies coming my way these days are on CD. Loads of people send me stuff on CD and now two thirds of my set is now on CD with the rest on record. I’ve also adapted to scratching on CD. It’s something I’ve been forced to adapt to.” Archie proclaims. “There’s always the pros and cons competition. I find CDs are tighter to mix. For example, on older turntables, the pitch can quaver a bit which means you have to be on your toes a bit more. I’ve found there are more tricks to CD – you can do looping or quick time sampling and get to see the graphic display on peaks. I can key a lot of my music too. It’s not a bad thing. It just means I gotta move with the times.”

Now signed to Central Station Records, Archie’s limit is boundless. With many mix CDs under his belt and a Central Energy CD already to his credit, Rock The Nation will no doubt add another all important mark to his well notched belt. “With all of us being from Sublime, it makes it special for us to be playing on the CD,” Archie observes. “There’s a pretty big buzz around town and it’s already sold out in some places – which is really cool.” And how did he go about putting his mix together? “I submitted a tracklist – more a wishlist – with a space of a few weeks to get it all approved. It takes me a good couple of days to mix a CD. I think about the mixing and the overlays of scratching to add to it. I wanted this one to be absolutely perfect. I mixed the tracks together, and then would go back to add delays on the scratches. I find a lot of effort is needed on CDs,” Archie affirms. “I try to up the ante – you are only as good as your last performance! The flow of the CD was important to me. It took me three to four days just to work out the flow.”

With the ‘Rock the Nation’ tour now in ful lswing, Archie is looking forward to connecting with different crowds. “Every place is so different,” he muses. “I just want to bring new music to new people. Each place I visit, I like to put forth lots of energy. It can be hard when the crowd don’t know you – it’s a big challenge. But it’s good for a DJ – it takes me out of my comfort zone and keeps me on my toes,” Archie declares.” I just want to connect with everyone when I play.”

Catch the ‘Rock the Nation’ tour at the following dates…

Mar 15th – Sublime, Sydney
Feb 16th – Hard Kandy, Melbourne
Mar 22nd – Cairns
29th Feb – Kings St, Newcastle
Mar 28th – Hobart
Mar 29th – Launceston
April 12th – Nowra