Armed with a Chinese background, growing up in Malaysia, blessed with a German Christian name and a Melbourne native for the last decade, HansDC stands out as the perfect emissary of Australian popular culture. Whether behind the turntables and churning out breaks, techno or party anthems, feeding his mania for sneakers by working at the office of Sneaker Freaker or blogging about the latest vegemite product, HansDC is certainly at the centre of establishing Australian trends. Coming to Melbourne from Malaysia during the 1990s, Hans was a skateboarding fanatic, even going so far as to compete globally as an inline skater. It was the rave culture of the 1990s and his love for techno however, that would bring him underground.

Alongside MC Direkt and DJs Obliveus and Sctorod, the Beats Working crew was born. Their breaks-based monthly parties as well as stages at Earthcore and Kryal Castle kept the Beats Working crew in the limelight for five years. Emerging from the crew to stand on his own two feet and shod in the best kicks found in Australia, HansDC can be found thrashing out his version of “pop with a twist” tinged with his first love for tech at Melbourne clubs Revolver and Electric LadyLand or a variety of parties, including Rainbow Serpent Festival.

As the curator for Melbourne’s Swap’n’Cop Meet, HansDC will be coming north to churn out a few tunes for the pre Swap’n’Cop Party at the Empire Hotel on Saturday night and fit in a set for Brisbane’s Swap’n’Cop Meet on Sunday at Queens Park. ITM sits down with Melbourne’s HansDC and talks sneakers, techno, Melbourne’s scene, sneakers, DJing, oh and sneakers.

What challenges do you present to yourself to keep yourself growing and developing as a DJ and how do you apply your own unique signature to your sets?

I find myself being more and more open to all sorts of music these days. My sets are usually inspired by something I heard that day or week. I’ve jumped on the production bandwagon late, but I have also started dabbling in doing some remixes. My sets are pretty user-friendly and non-abrasive. It will have something you know, something you don’t and hopefully something that will excite and inspire you.

You have several DJ residencies, a dayjob with Sneaker Freaker and an active blog – this would keep a person very busy! What else have you been focused on lately and what are you working towards?

I’ve just been working on my residencies. I do two sets of 6 hours each in the week, not including the other normal weekly gigs. So the biggest job I have every week is to come up with ‘new’ tracks or ones that the public might not have heard in a while. I’m trying to put some live mixes out. I do spend so much time in clubs and bars and looking for new music that it’s hard to work out what to put on a mix. But that’s what I’m trying to achieve at the moment. Oh yeah, did I also mention something about sneakers? Yeah that too.

Recently, Melbourne held a Swap’n’Cop Meet. How do you think Brisbane’s Swa’n’Cop Meet will compare?

The swap meet in Melbourne was a massive success. I think we had anywhere between 1500 and 2000 people turn up to check it out. It won’t be fair for me to assume how Brisbane’s will turn out, but if last year was anything to go by, it should be awesome! Chris Kelly and Taz Hassan have really put their balls on the line for this – so you know its gonna be sweet. I would like to say word up to the Brisbane crew who have always looked after me, especially Chris and Taz and the boys at Laced Boutique.

Melbourne has always been touted as a city rich in culture and lifestyle – especially in the underground areas. What do you think of Melbourne’s EDM scene?

The Melbourne EDM scene seems to be going through a rough patch at the moment. We used to be the dance music capital of the world but in the last few years, I think we sold out a little to the masses. This means that music is a lot more general and there are very few genre-specific nights left. I could go into this a lot deeper and talk for hours, but I think both DJs and punters alike need to be a little more educated and open minded – myself included. Melbourne has lost its direction in music so we need to bring back the spark.

As we head into the thick of Sony inthemix50 for 2009, what are your thoughts on ITM50? Where do you hope to place this year?

I know heaps of people talk about it. I know Agent 86 won for Victoria last year and he’s a bit of a gun DJ and a super nice guy. Am I even in it?

You will be performing in Fortitude Valley at the Pre Swap’n’Cop Party on Saturday night at The Empire Hotel and the Brisbane Swap’n’Cop Meet at Queens Park in the city on Sunday. What can your audiences expect to hear from you?

I guess it really depends on the crowd. Saturday night will have a bit of a breaks backbone and Sunday could be a little bit more eclectic because of the environment. I don’t ever have a set-list before I jump up behind the decks, so anything could happen!

Catch HansD at the pre Swap’n’Cop party at The Empire Hotel on Saturday July 25th from 9pm, and at Swap’n’Cop atQueens Park, corner of George and Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City this Sunday 26th July.