Love her or hate her, in all probability you know her name. She’s Bexta, the Mixology mistress and queen of all things hard and banging. Like so many of the pop icons of today, Bexta has risen to this super star status, capturing the attention of both adoring fans and harsh critics. Enter Mixology Gold (four), her latest work in the successful series, along with a national tour and it is evident that our little Bexta has been a very busy bee, though she still squeezed in a chat with ITM.
Having changed her phone number once due to pestering fans harassing her, Bexta admits that she has yet to encounter stalkers. “It was sort of my fault” she acknowledges “I put my phone number in the paper to sell some records and little girls kept ringing me up and squealing ‘is this Bexta?’ giggling then hanging up, so eventually I had to change my number, I haven’t had any stalkers though.”
With the success that she has harvested over the past years, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to hear of such stalker stories. But imagine a time, when the name Bexta was somewhat unfamiliar. Take yourself back to 1992, when a little girl has just opened her eyes to a new world of lasers and discovered refuge in the pounding beats of electronic music.
With a driving passion for dance music, Bexta began producing in 1996 and quickly picked up the tricks and traits of DJing. Supporting legends such as Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, John Digweed, Carl Cox and Bjork, she rapidly rose to become one of Australia’s most popular hard house DJs and producers, coining the term “banging”. Her Mixology CDs have been a phenomenal success, with UK hard house legend Andy Farley remixing “One for the road”. But along with a legion of loyal fans, there are also those who look down on her success… tall poppy syndrome. “I don’t really think about that sort of stuff, sure there will be people that won’t like or agree with what I do but I just try and concentrate on my work, and I love what I do. Tall poppy syndrome is still very much alive in Australia I would have to say”. While that may be true, how does Bexta feel about being commercially successful in a scene that values the underground appeal more? “Well, again, I love what I do, and if my success makes me commercial then so be it, I just try to make and play good music.”
For a lot of people, Bexta is often the entry point into the dance scene. Her Mixology CDs exposing newcomers to the harder facets of dance music. Her latest compilation, Mixlogy Gold features a track listing that includes more Australian artists then usual including Nash T, Archie, Chris Fraser, Pound system, Sonicanimation and even Luke Chable from the Zero Tolerance label. “I’ve tried to include more homegrown talent on this Mixology compilation. I’m very picky about what tracks I choose but I think some of the talent here is awesome! The first CD is more progressive house/trance, but the second CD is a lot more hard and banging. I’m very happy with it.” To promote Mixology Gold, Bexta will tour the nation playing at most major cities.
It’s hard to believe that Bexta would have any spare time in between DJing, producing and touring, but what does she like to do for rest and recreation? “I hang out with the people I love, in particular, family or friends that I don’t work with. I’d love to travel more, that’s something that I’d really like to do.” Having acquired so much success over the years, it’s also hard to imagine that Bexta was once just an aspiring unknown artist. “For those unknown artists out there who want to break into the scene, I would say, try and really really work hard at it and don’t give up. Bug the hell out of every promoter and send your demo tapes to anyone and everyone. That’s what I did when I first started out.”
Be sure to pick up Mixology Gold which is out in stores now!
Tour dates:
JULY
Fri 12 at @tmosphere, Melbourne
Fri 19 at Plastic, Zen, Sydney
Sat 20 at ANU, Canberra
Wed 24 at Jindabyne NSW
Fri 26 at Family, Brisbane
Sat 27 at Fever, Gold Coast
AUGUST
Fri 2 at Orbit, Penrith
Sat 3 at The Mercury, Newcastle
Fri 8 at Klub 53, Wollongong
Fri 16 at Salt Nightclub, Melbourne
Sat 17 at HiFi Bar, Melbourne
Sat 24 at Settlers Tavern, Perth
Thu 29 at Fever, Gold Coast
Sat 31 at Club Millennium, Townsville
SEPTEMBER
Sat 10 at Godspeed, Sydney
Fri 20 at Heaven, Albany
Sat 21 at Heat, Melbourne
Also check out: www.bexta.com
