tks: For heaps of people worldwide, yr pretty much the flagbearer for Australian Djing and electro – how’s that going for you?

ajax: Ah it’s a double edged sword to be honest. I don’t really think I ever thought of djing as anything more than a glorified hobby and I am not nationalistic at all, so when I hear these praises I kinda get a bit embarrassed. Sure its nice to have the pats on the back but I don’t want to ever lose my edge, I think sometimes accolades and awards can chip away at that. I would prefer to be the court clown experimenting in new tricks rather than the king on his fat ass.

tks: Bang Gang’s taken off in a pretty massive way, how did it all come about?

ajax: All about timing and a big bit of luck to be honest. Bang Gang started about five years ago, and within 12 months of opening you had Mylo, Outkast, The Killers, Simian Mobile Disco, Midas Touch, Daft Punk, Phones, Switch, Tiga, Justice, Soulwax, etc releasing huge tracks, or tracks that were to become huge. Also there was a huge technological shift taking place in music software, communication networking and dj technology at the time which opened up a whole bunch of new artistic opportunities and marketing strategies. When these two elements combined with the death of electroclash it was as if the gloves were off and the past was laid bare. We had little idea of the significance at the time but looking back it it seems the whole bang gang birth would make a great 1st year Social science university paper!

tks: What’re your thoughts on the longevity of mashup artists? Obviously we’re in this whole web 2.0 business now, where people are making totally legit livings by reworking other peoples material, but its kind of getting to that scary point where everyone’s getting virtual DJ and garageband and doing their own work. Which is awesome, but there’s this sense of pending oversaturation in the mashup market. There’s obviously a massive degree
of skill involved at the moment, but as it gets easier to make ‘mashup’ music and it becomes a more everyday practice, how do you think it’s going to affect performers like yourself?

ajax: You could argue that hip hop has been mashup since its inception. Sampling, looping dubbing raps has been part and parcel of its course. Taking artists as disparate as kraftwerk and le chic in the very beginning has always given hip hop a ruthless experimentation, and just when you think its bogged down in its own self obsession a new generation of artists take it to where no one has taken it before. Random mashups do still exist but it’s a smarter and more refined practice, its not so much about humor and juxtaposition anymore, its more a remixing and reworking. These are not static processes, I guess that’s what I love about music in general, the constant influx and regeneration of ideas!

Seriously I wouldn’t say I am a mashup dj, i have a particular and peculiar dj style but not sure I would say mash up but then really don’t give a fuck call me what you want. I don’t bow to opinion. I am here to rock the party not to justify what I play the way I play it. Don’t get me wrong I strive to be the best I can be but its personal. I aint saving the planet for fucks sake! I just do what I think might get people excited give them a little smile or make them air punch by playing what I like.

tks: Sweat It Out’s been running for just over a year now – how’s it gone?? Are you planning on expanding it in the near future, or ar you happy with the artists you’ve got now??

ajax: It was tough for a while, our parent company went belly up for 200 million and the receivers tried to swallow up sweat it out just when we were getting on our feet! But we pulled a few moves and now are proud that we own and run it as an independent label.

We are expanding at a super rate! We are always looking for new and exciting artists, we aint going to be doing a reality show, so send us your gold. At the end of the day we get excited about hearing new music. We have all sorts of releases coming out ranging from glitched up booty tech from Germany, to more disco orientated stylings from our own back yard. Variety is the spice of life!

tks: Who’s the one Australian artist that more people in NZ need to listen to???

ajax: Killer Queenz
James Beavis

Ajax plays SFBH April 24 – do it!