In the last few years in particular, Melbourne’s Hard Trance scene has flourished to a point where nearly every night of the week a successful club is filled with thousands of clubbers. One of the newer faces to emerge from their “Bedrooms” and into the “Main Rooms” is 23 year old Tim Willox. Together with many other local up-and-coming talents, he looks set to not only just play at clubs, but create a legacy of his own to ensure that the local Hard Trance scene continues to grow.

Why did you start DJing?
Same reason lots of people do I guess… I was at a house party that a friend had brought decks to, got up and had a play in the morning. Instantly fell in love with the whole concept of making people dance, and put myself hugely in debt for equipment the next day (which I’m still paying off ;) ).

What/who were your early influences and role models?
I’ve known DJ Nexus since high school, so he was definitely a big inspiration starting out… Why I didn’t start playing when he did I will never know! All of the Hard Kandy DJs were, and still are inspirational, as is the club itself. Production wise, when I started listening to dance music I got into early progressive and trance, old techno and the harder stuff like Tinrib records… That led me eventually to German Hard Trance, which is what I have been (mainly) playing since.

Describe your first gig.
I think it was the afterparty for Pharmacy 6 – ‘Acid Aftermath,’ organized by DJ Neuro of Synapse/Devil’s Ear fame. It was at Geddes lane and was lots of fun. There was a bit of trouble that night at the Pharmacy party so it didn’t run as long as we would have liked, though it was still an excellent experience. Don’t think I made any huge mistakes but I’m sure there were some!

What was your first big break as a DJ?
Winning the Hard Kandy Bedroom vs. Mainroom competition was my first big break. That resulted in a solo set at Hard Kandy, which was seen by DJ Freo who runs Hyperactive. He called me next week and offered me a residency at Hyperactive’s Sunday morning recovery, which led to various things including the Hyperactive Nights warehouse parties, and the upcoming Rebirth vs. Hard Kandy city block party.

Big Parties/ Big Internationals you’ve played with?
The Hyperactive Nights party last December would be the biggest non-club party I’ve played at. It was amazing, and the second one (on March 29th) looks to be even bigger! Thomas Trouble came down to a Hyperactive recovery which was cool. We don’t need internationals; all our locals are too good!

How do you think Melbourne’s party scene is going at the moment?
The future for parties in Melbourne is looking excellent at the moment, particularly for ‘Rave’ music i.e. Hard Trance/Hard Dance/Acid/Techno etc. 2002 really saw the renaissance of warehouse parties, which are perfect for those kinds of music. Hyperactive, Cabana (Synapse parties), Kronik, MTM and heaps of others have all thrown excellent parties with mostly local lineups, and proven in the process that you don’t need to spend $60, and deal with idiots, to have a great party experience.

Where is your sound heading at the moment?
Hard Trance has always suffered from low amounts of top-quality material, meaning that the great tracks are picked up by everyone and played to death fairly quickly. Recently though the sound has diversified somewhat, meaning that there are lots of quite different types of tracks being released that all still fall under the Hard Trance umbrella. Personally I am playing a lot of Steve Murano’s productions and remixes, a lot of Jam-X and De Leon, some of the funkier Italian tech-trance (like Joy Kitikonti’s productions) etc. Basically big, bass-and-percussion driven tracks that tend towards dirty and funky rather than the big-build-up-and-synth-line style. I like to keep things moving as well, no long boring breakdowns unless it’s very late in the morning!

Plans for Tim Willox in the future…
Lots of plans! For the short term, do a new demo CD, Play as many gigs to as many different crowds as I can; and spend some time in the studio. I’m already working with another young up-and-coming local DJ (Kelsta) on some tracks. We think we’ve got some pretty good ideas so stay tuned!

Short Answer Questions!
Age: 23.
Non DJ occupation: Technical Manager for an Ad Agency.
Marital status: Spoken for!
First Vinyl: I think it was Jam-X – ‘Warriors’.
First turntables / mixer: CDJ-100s/Technics 1200s/DJM600… I went a bit crazy!
Current set up at home: As above.
Approx Number of Vinyls: 350 or so.
Most embarrassing DJ moment: The usual stuff… Stopping the wrong deck, lifting the wrong needle…
Define your style: Hard but funky, emotive but subtle.
Favourite Restaurant: Langtons or Circa.
Best coffee in Melbourne: Atomico.
Favourite Movie: Too many to list.
Favourite International DJ: Don’t think I have a favourite, our locals always upstage them ;)
Favourite Local DJs: Nexus, Scott Alert, Kelsta, Jewelz, Phil K, Kasey Taylor, Boogs and Sean Quinn.
Person you would most like to meet: Angelina Jolie.
Residencies: Hyperactive
Advice for bedroom DJ’s: Don’t spend all your time making that killer demo CD and expecting to get gigs on the strength of that alone. Get out to the clubs, meet the promoters and DJs, and support nights you want to play at.

Catch Tim at the following gigs around town:

Hard Kandy vs. Rebirth, March 14th @ Cage,
Hyperactive Recovery (for Mindstrip), March 21st @ Altitude,
Hyperactive Nights 2 Warehouse Party, March 29th @ Secret location, and
Hard Kandy, mid April with DJ Kelsta.