Formed in 2005, the Anjunadeep label was the brilliantly hyperactive brainchild of Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki, the members of London-based DJ trio Above & Beyond. Operating as a record label and event promoter, with parties in Germany, Spain and all across Europe, their consistently talent-heavy roster has included Junk Science, 16 Bit Lolitas, Spooky and of course Jaytech. Primarily releasing 12″ singles and club mixes, starting with Larry Mountains 54 by David West and Andreas Hermansson, the label’s first full length album was Jaytech’s Everything Is OK.
Canberra native Cayzer, who’s headlined stadium events for Above & Beyond, is no stranger to wild shows or things getting out-of-hand. “I was in Reno a few weeks ago while travelling through the USA with Above & Beyond, and literally a few hours before we got into town the venue cancelled on us and the party was off. Once we arrived, we had a few drinks at the hotel and discovered there was an open decks night happening in a little club just up the street. So, we all rocked up with our music and our headphones and asked if we could play, and everyone was totally on board. We put the shout out on Twitter, and suddenly all these people were showing up. Extra sound equipment and lighting was brought in, and it ended up turning into this crazy rocking show. That’s one for the history books I think.”
Two of Jay’s favourite places to rock are the two most similar, Australia and Canada, with punters that are passionate, polite and always up for a drink or 10. “As far as Australia goes, one of my favourite gigs has been the Anjunabeats stage at Adelaide’s Future Music Festival, the location and atmosphere were top notch and everyone was going nuts.” He believes Australia does festivals better than many other nations. Maybe due to the icy temperatures, Canada has been a big adrenaline rush for him. “I’ve gotta’ say the Canadian crowd has always rocked it the hardest in my experience. Recent shows in Vancouver and Toronto had some of the most responsive audiences I’ve seen yet. The USA is definitely up there as well.”
The crazy array of well-travelled DJs ready to rock the rooftop will all be bringing their different flavour to the musical pot. Known for his expansive, deep tech-house sound Loki will raise the energy levels. This god of musical mischief is all about fusion and taking things to bold new places. No stranger to massive parties, Loki is a member of the progressive Unstable Methods DJ collective, which counts 50 of Australia’s best as members. Chris Pana’s crowd interaction has become one of his trademarks. The 32-year-old has become for the past decade one of Melbourne’s finest proponents of trance. He’s also a DJ who believes in putting in the hard yards to hone his craft. Continuing the atmospheric trance vibe will be psychedelic champion Ben Evans. Inspired by the likes of John 00 Fleming, Evans looks to take things to a minimalist yet melodic place. He’s rocked everything from underground, intimate sweatboxes to big outdoor psychedelic bush parties. Baby-faced Blinky will also be joining the party, bringing a more measured yet free flowing style, drawing from his classical training. While the man born Bill Hunter may not physically intimidate like the late Aussie film icon his beats will have punters shaking in their boots. Simon Murphy has long been a champion of techno in Australia, bringing the rawness to the masses. In addition to his own growing catalogue of anthems, Murphy is a self-described vinyl addict always ready to delve into the deep techno cannon to get the heads moving. Rounding out the insanity will be party animals Punkz On Junk, who never met a rave they didn’t destroy. The duo of Bobby Raver and D-Boy, are committed to pure energy and that all-inclusive party vibe.
For lovers of music there is a strong mystique and lure that comes from vinyl and classic analogue gear. For a modern day DJ, such as Jaytech, who is on the road constantly the motto is travel light. “Since the advent of the CDJ-2000 I’ve been cheering as I can leave my bulky CD wallet at home. I set up my music library on my computer and then transfer it to a USB thumb drive, and that’s pretty much all I bring to the show. I do most of my production with just software and a pretty simple setup, although working more in the Anjunabeats studios lately I’ve realised how much of a difference a good set of speakers and an acoustically treated room makes.”
While you can hear many influences throughout his musical excursions, on minimalist yet melodically rich cuts like Pyramid and Headcase, classic house is one of his primary inspirations. “Old school house music is a big influence for me, as it was more about sampling real world music back then and thus a little less synthetic sounding than a lot of tracks today. My sound is definitely a little trance influenced as well. Most likely as a result of spending half my waking life at epic trance raves! I also love the cinematic soundscapes of artists like Hybrid and Air, so that’s something I am endeavouring to include more in my new material.”
The 25-year-old classically trained pianist believes his understanding of music theory is an important asset, a secret weapon if you will. “For me, music is like a language that you use to tell a story, so it’s effectively increased my vocabulary in that way. It’s allowed me send more of a message with my tracks.” The self-described “music nerd” played the piano from early childhood until he was around 17. “I was initially heading more in the classical direction before I made the switch to electronic music. I was really inspired by the dance music boom in the UK and knew I wanted to get over there and be part of it when I finished school.” Jay is living proof that electronic music has roots in more ‘classical’ music forms. Having supportive parents also played an important role in his evolution as a musician. “My folks were always encouraging me to do music ever since I started school, and have always been really supportive. My dad listens to my podcasts on his MP3 player.”
2008 saw the release of his acclaimed debut album Everything Is OK, which critics dubbed “miles in front of OK.” Rather than try to follow up his success with a reused formula he’s forging ahead with some exciting new sounds and next up is album number two. “Between the gigs on this Australia tour I plan to get it pretty much done and dusted so it’s ready for release later this year. Excitement!” The expansive sounds of such tracks as Ozone and Metro are fully formed compositions that don’t need the fleshing out a vocalist would provide, Jay does enjoy working with vocals though. “Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think vocal tracks generally are the more memorable ones in an artist’s history, but they are also a lot more work. Recording and processing a vocal to make it fit into a track is a tremendous amount of editing and it’s a slow process.”
The saying that ‘everyone’s a critic’ has become truer than ever thanks to blogs and social networking as seemingly every music enthusiast puts in their two cents, if it’s worth that (ah, I kid). “I’m used to it nowadays to be honest,” the DJ-producer admits. “I try not to over-analyse what other people are saying about me as that kind of thing can drive you mad. I’m open to suggestions, especially from fans who are taking the time to check out my music, but I need to trust my own instincts as well.”
