Biggie catches up with Philippa, one of Auckland's most respected deejays. We chat about the music, the night life scene and the changes she has seen over the last ten years.
So, five years, it’s a long time. How have things changed in that five years when it comes to events, music and deejaying?
The whole scene has really evolved and grown over the last 5 years … With regards to events there are just so many more happening than ever before, with several big killer clubs in Auckland that are constantly throwing big parties… “internationals” are popping up left right and centre.. and a whole new generation of DJs have cottoned onto the fact they can throw parties and grow a reputation for themselves that way.
We’re also really blessed with our clubs in Auckland – Ink, Cassette and Be are all pretty amazing, and there’s a plethora of dope bars…
Music has changed too in that there are new genres and sub genres popping up here and there…
And yes, DJing too – Serato and CDJs have really taken hold; we are now well and truly in the digital era. 5 years ago I was still playing 100% vinyl. These days I’m pretty much 100% CDs…
You are one of the most established deejays in New Zealand now and have been djing for over ten years. What do you think has helped you get where you are today? What do you miss the most back in the days of BPM and hunting through the stacks of records on High Street and chatting to customers?
I’ve always said that everyone gets a leg up somewhere – I was established as a DJ in the Auckland community very much by Andy Pickering originally from Remix magazine, who is the man behind high end fashion mag Pilot magazine.
And when I started DJing it seemed there were really only 10 DJs in Auckland!
But what got me here 10 or so years down the track? Unrelenting passion for music and people… plus I really like the night ..
I definitely miss the community based feeling of the scene from back in the BPM days, when Greg Churchill, Nick D, Geoff (Presha) and myself pushed vinyl on peeps. There were a few record stores that everyone flocked to when an order came in, and they were cultural hubs of communication and exchange.
These days the scene is so spread out, unless you hang out at many different clubs you’re likely to never meet certain DJs.. and I think that’s kinda sad. This is one of the reasons I ran the Junior Jedi DJ Series last year. I love meeting people – and I think it’s important we keep meeting each other and exchanging ideas and respect. It’s the way forward.
What are you up to these days?
I’m super crazy busy to be honest – and it’s driving me a bit nuts right now, bring on the school holidays!.. I’m tutoring at MAINZ alongside Recloose on their new DJ and Electronic Music Productions course… and throwing parties here and there – Chicago Disco at Ink, Into the Night at Cassette, and a new one down at BE August 27th with Shaveer called Pop N Lock…
As well as that I’m holding down a full DJing schedule – I played Queenstown and Wanaka 2 weekends back, and Tauranga this last weekend.
I have the BODY ROCKIN show on George FM – just shifted to 10am – 12pm on Thursday mornings for the winter season at least.
And toward the end of the year I’ll be heading out on the Chicago Disco tour around NZ… Somewhere in there hopefully I get the time to sort out my new studio space – I just moved house!
Do you still enjoy / love playing as much as ever?
I SO love playing as much as ever. Perhaps even more these days.. The goal posts can continually shift when you’re a creative being, and this is certainly true for DJing, as most DJs and producers will be able to attest to. You never stop learning – both about yourself, people, and the technical task at hand.. it’s endlessly addictive and fun. And there’ s nothing quite like hitting flow mode as a DJ when you know you’ve got the club in the palm of your hands and can do anything. It’s magic. Who wouldn’t love it!?
The crowds in the underground House and Tech scenes are super clued up and supportive these days too – and really understand what is happening with the tracks and mixing…
That’s the amazing thing about dance music – it’s this continually evolving growing art form that we all get to contribute to – it’s incredibly democratic.
How do you approach a set?
Depends on what I have to do that night. If I’m playing out of town I know I’ll be playing for 3+ hours and need to take a lot of music with me.. I play a wide range of music though – everything from Nu Disco to underground House, through to jackin Tech, and I pretty much carry it all with me. Once I start playing it’s about finding that groove that we can all slide into.. It’s a marraige of how I’m feeling on the night, and what the crowd are feeling too – it definitely takes two to tango… Ultimately you want to bring everyone together vibe wise. As one of my students would say – it’s about brainwaves.
What about new generations of music coming through – what are your thoughts on these?
Everyone starts out somewhere – and I think it’s dope there are cats getting into clubbing and club music.. every generation has a sound that they really identify with which will bring them in… Once in, if they catch the bug hard they’ll go exploring musically.. that’s when it gets exciting… from my perspective anyway.
Whose work out there are you loving at the moment on a music production djing or event level in New Zealand?
DJing wise I’ve always loved the conscious hip hop scene in Auckland with DJs like Sambro, The Submariner, and the nu school ARC DJS Scratch 22 and Pay Dirt – who put out an amazing mix cd for The Peeps last year I’m still diggin…
.. and in post 120bpm world there’s an alliance going on with certain Tech and House DJS, which is cool to see and be a part of. I’m loving Matt Drake’s sets, and Shaveer is a really strong up and comer..
House speaking the scene is stronger than ever, with an epic new breed coming though with DJs like Jason Kyle, Douglas Rawson, and Matty Beach. There’s some really nice production starting to happen as well, backed by local house label Huhu – which is run by Corey Steers and Andy Vann…
What are your plans for the future?
Throw an amazing Chicago Disco 5th birthday @ Ink / Coherent on Saturday night 3rd July.