Many of you will no doubt remember the classic Dooms Night. Dropped by Germany’s Azzido Da Bass and firmly establishing itself as a rock-solid club anthem for the next several years after that, its infamous ‘woomp woomp woomp’ was heard far and wide in clubs right across the world. Again, and again and again. And while to many Australians the name Azzido Da Bass may not mean a lot beyond being associated with this timeless track, he has a history in dance music that stretches back a lot further than that. Kicking off his DJ career in the 1996 spinning acid house, techno and breakbeat at various clubs in the north of Germany, he rocked the crowd on three turntables through a journey of the finest and freshest, using accapellas, instrumentals and dubs to bring a fresh perspective to the music he was playing. And then in ’99, he decided to try his hand at producing. Dooms Night was born.
And in 2008, Dooms Night has been reborn. With remixed from hot dance heads like Switch, Crookers, Radio Slave, Laidback Luke and Azzido himself, it’ll take that infamous ‘woomp woomp woomp’ sound out to a new generation. And now for the very first time, Azzido will be visiting Australia for a tour that will take him right across the country. ITM’s Angus Paterson talks to Azzido Da Bass about what we can expect from Dooms Night in 2008; along with a little bit of broken English.
Hey Azzido, this is Angus Paterson from inthemix in Australia. How’s it going, and how 2008 been for you so far?
Hey Angus, me I´m fine. Just at the moment I’ve arrived at my destination (Sydney), I’ve come from Seoul and played at a club called ‘The Answer’. Great party, great show. 2008 has been really, really great for me. I played in Germany with Mr Oizo together, he’s a really nice guy, and I’ve had a lot of fun in the clubs. The best thing for 2008 my big Australia tour, with 14 gigs in as many different cities. I’m so proud of that, you hear!
The re-release of Dooms Night has got a bunch of remixes from the likes of Switch and The Crookers, who are known as being part of the ‘fidget house’ scene. A lot of exciting music is coming form them at the moment, what inspired you to hook up with them?
I´m a really big fan from Switch and Crookers. Their production has a lot of good inspiration, and it’s not really commercial. It’s something a a new style for electronic music. Dooms Night was really fresh in the year 2000, and this is was a reason we wanted to find a special remixer for it in 1998.
You’re about to embark on your first ever tour of Australia, and it’ll see you playing shows right around the country. What’s taken it so long for you to make it over here?
I don’t know, but I’m really happy that I’ll be staying in Australia, and I have time to see the beautiful country that I’ve heard so many good things. But I promise, I’ll come back and this time I won’t leave it quite so long.
Over here in Australia we know you more as a producer that a DJ, but you have been spinning records for over a decade. Tell us a little bit about what you’re like as a DJ?
I’ve been a DJ for 10 years, and I enjoy playing in every kind of cool club in cities across the world. And when you want to check how effective your productions are, you can do this in your DJ sets and you get all the reactions that you need. Otherwise; if you play as a DJ in the club, then you’re the boss of the party. This is an unbelievable feeling!
Something that you’ll always be remembered for is of course Dooms Night, which remains probably one of the biggest dance anthems of all time. You’ve definitely left your legacy with that, but do you ever feel that it’s something that’s limiting you at all? Do ever feel that your career has been defined by a single track?
Yes Angus, this is true. It’s not so easy to produce a followup after Dooms Night. I’ve produced Lonely By Your Side on my own label Luscious Sounds. Lonely By Your Side is not a track, it’s more a song. People hear the song and don’t necessarily recognize me, but this song was very sucessful in Germany, and radio stations play this song all time. Dooms Night was a special track, but it made me big and the door was open for my music career.
A lot has changed in dance music since Dooms Night was released. Have you continued to be excited by dance music as it has changed over the years?
For sure I’m still interested in electronic dance music. At the moment we have some really nice production on the market, I’m very impressed.
What’s been exciting you musically recently?
It’s an unbelievable time in electronic dance for me. You can mix all kind of styles in your DJ set. Electro sounds with rock influence and funky grooves is at the moment my favourite style. For example, my buddies Digitalism, Cajuan and The Bloody Beetroots. Come to my show in Australia and check it out Angus, I hope to see you. Cheers from Sydney, near Bondi Beach!
Taste the return of Dooms Night at the following shows…
24 Apr – Brisbane, Monastery
25 Apr – Perth, Cottesloe Beach Hotel
26 Apr – Maitland, Groovin The Moo
2 May – Secret Show
3 May – Townsville, Groovin The Moo
4 May – Sydney, Sounds on Sunday
9 May – Canberra, Academy
10 May – Secret Show
11 May – Secret Show
