Through the magic of the web Higher-Frequency got in touch with East Londons
latest breakbeat star, Australia's DJ Friendly, to ask him about his
upcoming visit to Japan.
> Interview Text : Kei Tajima (HigherFrequency)
HRFQ : Is this your first Japan gig?
DJ Friendly : Yes, but I've been there a couple of times now, always to Tokyo. I need to explore more of Japan- Osaka and some of the country I think. One of my best friends lives there, so any time I'm going from Australia to London I go and hang with him for a few days, go record shopping, buy some Adidas, eat some sushi, I love Tokyo, it's one of my fave cities in the world!
HRFQ : Have you heard anything about Japanese club Scene??
DJ Friendly : Not too much, just what the promoter has told me. It sounds fat though!
HRFQ : When did you start producing tracks and DJing?
DJ Friendly : I started Djing many years ago in my hometown Perth, but then gave it up when I started producing because I was doing a live show. I've been producing for about 7 years now. When I moved to London I gave up the live thing because I was more interested in the club scene, and it was a lot more portable than having five members in a band. I love Djing though, I really love the music and so for me it's a joy to be able to play my fave tunes to a crowd.
HRFQ : Can you tell us your musical background?
DJ Friendly : I was classically trained on piano and a bit of trumpet, then I bought my first synthesizer (a DX7) and computer for sequencing (an Atari running Cubase) and that became more important to me than classical music. I threw myself into experimenting, unlearning my classical training and researching the music I love. Since then it's just a case of evolving, learning production and buying more kit.
HRFQ : Seems like it's been good years for UK's breaks scene. How do you see it going?
DJ Friendly : I can see it kind of splitting a bit- there's some new breakbeat called Tear Out which is very ravey and doesn't have much soul or funk. I find some of this music too hard and basically it's for the kids, it doesn't have enough depth or integrity for me. Some of it is okay, but a lot of it is just hard basslines and beats with no thought about melody, soul or putting the producer into the music. But I think Tear Out will become quite popular because it is for the kids and might become it's own genre. Globally, I think breaks will keep on growing, there's always new club nights opening up around the world and it seems to be growing all the time. It's pretty exciting!
HRFQ : Can you tell us the best breaks party you recommend?
DJ Friendly : Chew the Fat at the End in London!!! It rocks!!!!!!!
HRFQ : Do you have any message to your fans in Japan?
DJ Friendly : See you soon! Keep on rocking !
End of the interview
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