Down the spiral with Gus Till

Having written the soundtrack for countdown revolution, do you think that was the music industry giving you a break or was it more a collaborative effort with muso’s all chipping in to give Melbourne something it had never seen before?



This was in the late 80’s when I was doing lots of advertising/TV work and my involvement was really a tv/abc thing as opposed to anything to do with the music industry. Though Bruce Butler, who was one of the producers (or some such thing) on the show did actually offer me the job (Bruce ended up managing third eye and Ollie Olsen and was one of the original partners in Psy-harmonics). He was one of the reasons they had such a strong element of previously “unshowable’ stuff, like Ollie’s band at the time ‘no’. You don’t find much music industry support for things like that.



Do you make it a point to get into the latest sounds or do you prefer to stay pure so that your own work can come forth with a certain special quality?



‘Pure’ is definitely one thing I’ve never been accused of before! As for the ‘latest sounds’, cutting edge modernity has had to make way for the endless parade of old ideas continually being recycled. The title of the 80’s band ‘Pop will eat itself’ sums it up quite prophetically (for ‘pop’, ‘read ‘modern music’.) As for dance music, the whole scene has ossified into absolute genres with very strict boundaries- whats changed terribly much with house music the last 10 years? As for me, I rarely seem to listen to much of anything beyond 1979. I was recently asked to list my top 10 tracks for 2002 (any genre) and couldn’t do it I’m afraid to say.



Having formed third eye with Ollie Olsen in the mid-eighties do you feel a bit like the Georgio Moroda and Phil Oakey of the dance scene?



Giorgio was the 70’s- please! Phil Oakey and I did briefly share haircuts. Mea culpa. But what does that make Ollie…



You have said before that in England you naturally tended towards the trance scene. Does this mean that the Melbourne scene is too commercial? And without pigeonholing a genre of music what would be your favourite country to lend your ideologies, your Dj skills your musical talent? Goa? London? Tel Aviv?



There was no scene, commercial or otherwise when I left Melbourne! Razor Records had put out their first compilation, nightclubs were thriving and that was about it. Trance (as we now know it) was gestating away in Goa – and there was actually some exposure to it in Melbourne as a few of the Dj’s from that scene were living here at the time. There seemed to be a lot of movement back and forth, but again, nothing you could actually call a scene. As for fave country, I like to consider myself a trans- national (err, no pun intended- really).



Would you star in a musical?



Oddly enough, I was asked to! Well, not exactly star but at least to appear. I spent 3 months in Barbados working on an 18th century opera converting it into a modern day musical and someone thought it would be funny if I had a walk on part. so (if a) 3 month stint in Barbados still isn’t enough to co-erce me into a bit part- you do the math on a starring role…......



Do you play up to the minute trance or music that has moved you over a period of a few years?



Mainly up to the minute-, I chuck in a few of my older tracks occasionally.



Are you always at work? If you were to go on a holiday, where would you go?



Always, I work 18 hours a day. I’m currently living in Bali, so coming to Australia is a holiday.



Do you stoop and fidget?



Undoubtedly.



Gus Till plays alongside Pied Piper and Super Cozi at Hydra @ Seven this Sunday 9th March. Check ITM whatson for more details.

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