“We put our trust in one selector,” tells Frost affably. “The most fluent parties come from one direction and one person’s control. When we’ve got an international we’ll try and get them to play for as long as possible, or if it’s us playing it’s all about steering the party in the direction we want it to go. Y’know? Instead of putting our trust in ten different DJs which creates chaos and doesn’t really translate as well. With C Grade and The House de Frost, they’re nights that are controlled by one or two DJs the whole night, the vibe and the quality of the party is completely different.”
“It’s all about stripping it back to the basics,” interjects Kan. “You’ve got two or three DJs playing all night, everything to the artwork is just simple; you don’t try and mask it.” He pauses before Frost laughs, “And the end of the day I guess we just like to party.”
Revered for their impeccable choice of international hosts, the process of selecting who to showcase isn’t as straightforward as one might imagine. “I think we just look at who’s in our record bags,” jokes Frost, before Moore continues, “Knowing their music is important, but when it comes to guys like Harri we also know he’s an awesome DJ and he’s been running Sub Club, or similarly Eric Duncan who throws the Rub N Tug parties.”
“It’s a similar mind frame,” explains Kan. “A lot of these guys throw their own parties; they’re not just producers or touring DJs. They’re coming from the same headspace as what we are. If we get a producer who doesn’t run his own parties as we tell him ‘okay, go and play for six hours’ then he’s just going to lose it.”
“People trust our choice of acts,” states Murray confidently. “More and more people are coming, we can be more adventurous in who we choose. We’re really selective in who we choose to bring over. We’ll choose someone we know who will play all night rather than someone who can play their own tracks for an hour.” Moore reinforces this ideology, “When they’re able to play for longer they’ll play more interesting records, too. They’ll play everything in their bag. Justin [Vandervolgen] played heaps of dub at the end of his set; Marcellus [Pittman] played a bunch of hip hop. You get to hear their influences. Not just what they’re into right now.”
After a wildly successful year, Animals Dancing will be closing out 2011 and then welcoming 2012 with two uniquely venerated parties. The first, taking over the closing party for Melbourne Music Week at the astonishing KUBIK installation. “It’s an interesting concept. I want to get in control of the lights, I’ve requested to try and do some lighting programming for it,” tells Frost comically, preceded by Kan, “It’s a rarity in Melbourne to have good outdoor parties, so I’m looking forward to KUBIK. It’s something completely different; you’re taking people out of the traditional club environment. People are always complaining that there aren’t any new venues, so it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to KUBIK.” Moore concludes, “It’s exciting to be a part of Melbourne Music Week too; we’ll be able to play our music to people who haven’t been exposed to it before”.
And New Year’s Day? With the likes of Motor City Drum Ensemble on the back of his remarkable DJ-Kicks mix, the duo at the forefront of the amicable Delusions Of Grandeur and Instruments of Rapture labels 6th Borough Project, not to mention a highly revered local lineup, expectations are high.“It’s just gonna’ be sick” exclaims Frost with a smile, “It’s going to be a good old fashioned party. It’s an unbelievable lineup; it still seems too good to be true for us.”
