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Melbourne’s RA – formerly The Natural One – has forged a profile for himself in the local underground supporting intelligent techno for the best part of a decade. Eight years ago RA (Rebel Alliance) launched his label, AUM (A Universal Movement), through which he has released a series of credible conceptual mix-CDs, the latest of which is Mind.Body.Soul. On this project RA introduces two allies, Matt Sykes and Rob Wu, and collectively they spin house, techno and electro, showing the links between these not so disparate genres. Each of the DJs takes a theme from the album title.
Matt and Rob met at Swinburne University where they programmed a radio show on 3SSR and later became acquainted with RA when he worked at Euphemism and they were record buyers. They discovered that they were into the same kinds of music and shared a similar outlook on the wider dance scene.
The three compiled their segments of the CD seperately – and so no one individual had any prior knowledge of what the others were preparing until the final process. This makes it all the more incredible that Mind.Body.Soul is so cohesive.
The AUM trio will be taking on the five hour challenge at Honkytonks this Friday – Djing anything from disco and house to techno and electro. Beyond that, the three will be involved in the forthcoming KISS FM broadcast, and, with RA’s imminent travels to Europe, there are plans to expand AUM overseas.
RA (SOUL)
“I believe that Rob Wu as an artist, from the selection and style of mixing that he portrayed, exemplified the mental aspect of the craft of mixing sounds and fusing them from a house music orientation. His style allows you to think about the finer subtleties that pervade a fusion of sounds and how rhythm is such a tangible and powerful force. Matt Sykes’ self-expression, via the music he fused, brings life, colour and atmosphere to the sonic structure and a very intelligent and free use of percussive rhythms and forms – very passionate and fiery to make the body dance. With the soul aspect, I ventured into the matter that exists beyond the boundaries and represents an abstract nature. Thick bass, heavy tones and frequencies permeate the sonic healing over a crisp electronic tinge of electro-laden fantasies that bring forth the power and magnitude of ‘the dream’ and the possibilities of what is, was, and will be… All three sections intrinsic and inseperable – a complete whole.”
ROB WU (MIND)
On Musical Development > “I don’t think I have left the ‘enjoyment’ phase of my musical development yet, and if I did, I would probably leave music all together.”
On DJing > “DJing is a form of entertainment, and the main thing for me is to entertain the audience.”
On The CD > “I think we bring the same ideas to the one CD, even though the styles of music each of us have chosen are quite different from each other. We really wanted the listener to feel the ‘mood’ of music which we have chosen. I guess the mood I created in my segment is what I would normally do in a ‘live’ DJ set, it just happened to be recorded and put on to a CD.”
MATT SYKES (BODY)
On Musical Development > “The first stage of my development was my introduction to electronic music in the early 90s, listening to hip-hop – if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be DJing now. My musical DJ style has been shaped by my love for jazz, funk and soul – such artists as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, James Brown and the like, which I first heard through my sister. Finally, my friendship with Rob Wu and RA has enabled me to get a broader look at all electronic music.”
On DJing > “I believe the main values I project are fun, happiness and originality – if they can be values. I try to play how I want to, not copy others because they are successful. I try to project a feeling of happiness and playfulness on to the crowd.”
On The CD > “I think I bring an energetic festive element to the CD – something you can really move and groove to. I aimed to play tracks that made me move and feel good, tracks that were not all 4/4, and had a strong influence from funk, soul and the Latin element. Also fitting 10 tracks in 23 minutes, I wanted it to have a frantic mixing pace, demonstrating how I believe three decks with house should be used.”
AUM take on the Five Hour Challenge at Honkytonks this Friday. Mind.Body.Soul is out independently. For more info, log on to www.aummusic.com |
