Steve Hill

“We [Hard Dance Alliance] had loads of fun doing this album,” he enthuses. “There are two sides to us as a collective – the first side is catering to that really healthy under-18s scene in Sydney and Melbourne. I mean, in the school holidays, when we put on events, we get like 3000 people rocking up at Luna Park on a Monday night, which is just crazy! These kids love this stuff. A compilation like Wild Energy is great because it also lets us show off the two sides that we have as a collective – one catering to the under-18s, and one which is 18-plus, the stuff you hear in the clubs more.”

With one disc sounding more commercial and the second disc leaning more towards the underground club scene, Hill claims it hasn’t been an easy task to make everyone happy – but it hasn’t been impossible either. When you’re an expert in your field, there’s nothing that you can’t accomplish when you put your mind to it.

“It’s been a challenge but that’s also what makes it extra fun, I guess,” offers Hill. “You’re trying to keep everyone happy, that means both new fans and old. At the end of the day, you have to stand by what you put out and it has your name on it, once it’s out, it’s out there forever. You have to maintain the fanbase that you already have but you also always have to attract new people too. It was interesting to see the compilation reach number two on the commercial charts – the only thing that was higher than us was the annual Ministry Of Sound compilation!”

The second trickiest thing about putting together a compilation like Wild Energy is finding the latest tracks but also being able to predict which ones will still be around a few months from now and which ones will be long forgotten. Given that the selection process requires the inclusion of completely new tracks, Hill reckons it’s enough to keep a DJ on the edge.

“It’s a bit of a risk, yeah,” he agrees. “The hard thing is that you’re really starting with a blank piece of paper. The record company wants you to put out a compilation that is very current by the time it gets released, so it’s not delving into a track you’ve been playing for a while and which you know is going to work. A lot of the tracks you’re choosing are coming right up to the last minute mark when they come out. The fun thing is that you get to hear all the stuff that’s coming out from the labels before anyone else does, really. I suppose what makes the whole process a lot easier is the fact that as a collective, we all live out of each other’s pockets because we get on fantastically well as friends and we started doing shows together back in 2009 at the Hard Dance Alliance. We’d be on for three hours at a time so after a while we learned what and we each play. We all know each other’s musical influences, we all mix well together, and we know who to combine our sounds so that it sounds cohesive.”

Also made up of fellow DJs Suae and Pulsar, the Hard Dance Alliance has been dominating the hard dance clubs for the last three years. Hill has indeed made a legendary name for himself ever since returning to Australia from the UK, recently even expanding his touring schedule to more exotic locations like Korea.

“This year I will be adding more places like Canada and South Africa as well, which is really exciting!” Hill reveals. “One of my highlights of 2011 was getting the chance to play in Seoul, Korea. It was most raw, electric vibe I’d played in a very, very long time! You just don’t know what to expect when you play in a new, strange country, but everybody was bouncing off the walls! It’s crazy because I looked in my diary yesterday and I’m booked every single weekend until May! It’s looking incredibly healthy this year and it get a little better each year, it’s not just always the same cities. I’ve also got lots of studio time booked in so I can finish my next album, which will be a 100-track affair! We’ve got some tour dates happening for Wild Energy first, though, then it’s off to Europe for me.”

BY BIRDIE