I’ve never really been able to go past a Joakim edit or remix before, he always seems to keep producing these epic pieces of music that captivate you over and over again, from his creeping rendition of Cut Copy’s ‘Hearts On Fire’ to the italo disco remix of ‘A Mountain for President’.
Here are two more masterpieces; the first Joakim edit you might recognise from such mixtapes as Hoodrat’sFinger Prince part 2, it makes a sneaky appearance at the beginning. The second remix, for Max Berlin, is an incredibly chilled out little synth journey with beautiful subtle vocals to match.
While keeping with the chilled out, laid back, disco vibe i thought i throw a couple more tracks at you. First one is from legends of the genre, Linstrom & Prins Thomas, with something very mild and trippy. The second and final track is from Tracey Thorn who has one of the most amazing voices of recent times. She’s had the remix treatment from non other than Hot Chip & Beyond the Wizards Sleeve and now she’s been sex’d up by 16 piece disco band Escort from Brooklyn, NY.
We managed to catch Gus da Hoodrat, one sixth of the Bang Gang Deejays, just before he boarded a flight with Jamie Doom to Europe for their epic 100% Mega Dance Tour for Modular. Gus has been part of the Bang Gang dj posse ever since their weekly nights at the infamous Club 77 in Sydney and has since taken the party around the country for monthly raves at Third Class in Melbourne and more recently around the globe, from Miami to Fabric in London.
Gus tells us about his new Finger Prince mix, the new releases coming out on their Bang Gang 12’s label and his personal hair styling tips…
Waves: What were the first records in your collection when you started djing? Gus: I distinctly remember buying my first “modern dance” record at central station when I was young and it was Pete Heller’s french filter interpretation mega hit ‘BIG LOVE’ , and it has this dope Keith Haring image on the front of a big love heart (funnily enough)…. after that it was Stardust and then it was Rappers Delight (I think this was bought because i thought that if all else failed this would always work - I saw an 80 year old jammin’ to this at a wedding when I was a kid and instantly knew it was an all time classic boomer….for all ages.)
Also I had inherited my grandmothers collection of dope Ravi Shankar and Trinadad steel drum band records and my dad’s Beach Boys and American Graffiti soundtracks….they kept me in check.
Waves: What were the last three records that you purchased? Gus: Im gonna give you 4, cos one is an album, and that doesn’t count, that is more me in my car kinda thing, or maybe with a girl or something, or just watching tv, and not actually watching the tv, just listening to the record…you know??
Metronomy - Heart Rate Rapid (peep the primary 1 remix - whackattack!!) Telespazio - Galileo (totally adventurous electronic disco boogie vibe going on here…all the way from the outside to the last groove) The Mole - Baby You’re The One (this is a straight up techno record with a crazy disco vibe going on, reminds me of some Roulé records, its on Wagon Repair - these guys are probably French Canadians so they can get away with it.) MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (this album is amazing, like doing backflips in space while flying a kite)
Waves: Have your musical tastes broaden over the years? Gus: Maybe…I do enjoy pop music more than I ever have in the past…I think some of it is amazing…I suddenly realised that all the old music I love was once “pop” music, and therefore I should be more accepting of those boy bands out there making my shopping at Woolworths a more pleasurable experience.
Waves: Any particular tracks that you just can’t help playing at each gig? What records never leave your bag? Gus: Here some of my all time favs; Beatles - Day Tripper, Bob Sinclar - Ultimate funk, Plastik Man - Spastik, Tiga - Burning Down, Bag Raiders - Fun Punch, etc etc etc … man way too many to go through…
Waves: Who are the artists these days that are capturing your ears with a new or individual sound? Gus: I love all the artists working on our label - Bag Raiders, Like Woah, ZZZ, Whitenoise, Spruce & Kato and all the other amazing locals - Cutters, Juggers, Presets, Van She, Bumblebeez, Soft Tigers, etc etc etc…you know the score.
Internationally I am touched by people like Breakbot (cos he makes smoochy dance music), Hercules and Love Affair (smoochy gay dance music), Siriusmo (gay dance glitch music), and then of course Mr. Oizo - the man behind the man that keeps on reinventing himself…. always a huge inspiration for me.
Waves: Who are the dj’s that you look to for inspiration or enjoy watching play? Gus: Boys Noize, Jaime Doom, Andee Frost, U-Go-B, and DJ Craze….many others though.
Waves: What has the future got install for the Bang Gang Posse? Any future releases or raves? World Domination? Gus: The future holds many possibilities, as a posse we are going to fight the warriors down at coney island for our small place in history…. of course we will kiss and make up after as they are a bunch of cool dudes who got pinned for something they didn’t do…that is when we will have a rave - monthly in melburn - at 3rd class…our favourite dance den.
No releases planned as we have discovered that we are djs - not producers.
Waves: How does the rest of the world embrace the Bang Gang deejays?
Do you get similar crowd responses when you dj overseas? Gus: It is different everywhere you play - sometimes they hate you, sometimes they love you but the most important thing is that you always have fun in your own little cosmic world. I think people have started to except us, ill let you know when i get home in a few weeks…
Waves: Have the roles within the group changed from when you first started out? Gus: Oh they haven’t really ever changed, I think we are all just alot more busy now and it just means we do things differently.
Waves: Any new releases coming up from the Bang Gang 12 inches label?
Have you got your eye on any up and coming local talent? Gus: We have some stuff coming from ZZZ, New Bag Raiders, New Like Woah, Death Set remix release, Toecutter, and many many more…all we have to do is get organised and they may come out before the end of the year (fingers crossed).
Waves: What was the inspiration behind ‘Disko Robot Cocks’? Gus: It was me learning how to use pro tools with Christopher Brave, him and Brainzar taught me everything I know about that program, unfortunately I have now forgotten everything, that song was our original form of experimentation.
Waves: Favourite food to eat before a gig? Gus: Oysters..
Waves: What can the kids expect from your Prince Fingers Part 2 mix? Gus: More disco, less techno, and another hour of their life they may want back after they listen.
Waves: If you weren’t djing, what other occupation would we find you working? Gus: Oooooooh.. Definitely a custodian of the arts.
Waves: And finally, Patch wants to know the secrets of maintaining a maine like yours? Gus: Never Shampoo. Always Kondition.
You can listen/download Gus da Hoodrat’s lastest Finger Prince mix installment over at www.banggangpodcast.com and for those of you in the UK and Europe be sure to get down to one of the 100% Mega Dance Raves near you.
And for those of you who need your music fix, here’s the Juggers remixing the Cutters for the upcoming release of Hearts on Fire.
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