New Zealand beatmaker Rage King reflects on uprooting his life to pursue his passion
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26.11.2020

New Zealand beatmaker Rage King reflects on uprooting his life to pursue his passion

Words by Benjamin Lamb

We linked up with the man behind the machine, Francis Homer.

As if straight out of an uplifting movie about chasing your dreams, New Zealand-born Rage King – aka Francis Homer – got rid of everything he owned, bought a one-way ticket to Melbourne and “took the plunge” by pursuing a career making music.

His interest in electronic music started way back when he was a kid, growing up in NZ.

“We moved down south, where all the hippies lived, and my friend introduced me to electronic music and he took me to raves and stuff like that,” says Homer.

Raised in a music-filled household, he always knew he wanted to pursue music as a career, his love of the arts being above all else.

“I got into music quite young, my parents were actually composers who used to write and perform their own music. I started doing drama and music at high school and loved it,” he says.

Never pushed into a career, Homer’s parents were extremely open-minded, supporting him in any area he wanted. Always knowing he wanted to chase a career in the arts, he was sure he’d have his parents by his side.

“My parents basically said to me, ‘You can do and be whatever you want and nothing can stop you from getting there, except yourself. So just go for it’.”

“Then I discovered Computer Music Magazine, and read every single issue until I was able to make the kind of sounds that I wanted to make.”

Growing up in the modern metropolis of Nelson, electronic music was practically in his backyard, with groups like Aphrodite, Pendulum and Total Science serving as big influences to the music of Rage King.

But Homer’s influences aren’t limited to electronic artists.

“I really like particular styles of rock music, bands like Fleetwood Mac, [The] White Stripes, and Led Zeppelin,” he explains.

These older, classic rock vibes are evident throughout his music, truly making Rage King an artist unlike any other.

His appreciation and knowledge of different genres and subgenres has led him to share his knowledge; opening up Bass School, a workshop dedicated to all things electronic music.

“Back in NZ, we ran a few successful workshops for people that were interested in electronic music, whether it was DJing, live performance, engineering sound, or training their ears to differentiate between the distinctive electronic genres. It’s a great starting point to push them in the right direction to help them get that amazing buzz that I used to get when I was 13.”

Bass School is still around in NZ, with plans to bring it down under to Melbourne, which is great news to all budding DJs out there.

“Watch this space,” Homer says.

With live gigs still few and far between in Victoria, Rage King has no concrete plans to tour, but he tells us he’s got a bunch of exciting releases on the horizon.

“I’ve been working with a bunch of record labels based in Europe, I’m set to release a bunch of singles slowly,” he says.

Be prepared to see Rage King around a lot more, he’s got some big plans for the next five years.

“It would be great to just keep releasing better and better music as an artist, and really push the boundaries.

“I would really love to collaborate with as many electronic musicians as I can, and I think the dream would be to tour and share the music that I love and connect with artists.

“And hopefully have three albums out by then,” he adds with a laugh.

Check out Rage King by visiting his Soundcloud, Facebook and Beatport.

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