QandA with ... EGO

The best part about seeing your favourite DJ live is hearing for yourself their take on mixes and their interpretation of songs and beats - there's nothing like live exposure to these audio magicians who bless our ears with their skills and talent.  But why should the entertainment stop at one sense?

Ego takes this challenge head on, creating visual - audio treats for music and pop-culture lovers alike.  Having worked and performed as one half of the duo ' Nice and Ego, ' Ego is now working on his craft solo.  With a  video mixtape scheduled to drop very soon, EGO talks influences, methods and the crazy amount of time that goes into preparing for a live show.



RTM: What is the first thing you want people to know about DJ Ego?

E: That I'm not just a DJ, I perform with video too, some people call it AV DJing, some call it video DJing. But i basically play videos and music at the same time.

RTM: What can people expect at one of your live shows?

E: A good time. Plus something really different to anything they've seen before, I splice movie samples, film clips, youtube memes and other visuals together with party tunes - it's

RTM: You've just wrapped up doing live shows as one half of Nice and Ego -including a visual audio spot at Splendour in a the Grass in July - how has it been?  Are you exhausted?*

E: Yeah touring was rad, every show was a blast but yeah Splendour was off the map, that's the first time I've played a stage like that, it was a total trip and the response was awesome. But yeah I've been knackered, though I've just taken a month off performing and been in the studio putting together a video mixtape and some fresh content for the solo shows so feeling refreshed and ready to hit it again.

RTM: How did you first get into doing Visual Audio projects?

E: Mr Nice introduced me to it, I've been DJing for years but I'm also a video producer so it was a perfect fit. We ran a couple of AV nights here in Melbourne for a while which were consistently awesome parties so we decided to take the show on the road.

Check out more of Ego's track on Soundcloud

RTM: Audio Visual DJing seems very much like the "chicken and the egg" conundrum; i.e. which comes first - ideas for the videos or ideas for the music?

E: Yeah totally, basically I get my ideas any way they come - if its a song that conjures up a solid visual then I go hunting for that visual sample, or if its a movie or other that I want to sample then I try and find a song that fits with the sample. But its most often music first, video second. Sometimes the connections are quite literal, sometimes they're contextual, sometimes it's just the vibe. But I make an effort now of sitting on an idea for a bit before barrelling into it, often a lot of good ideas don't really work on the dancefloor, so I stand back and assess how it might work into my whole DJ set.

RTM: How long does it take to prepare for a live show?

E: Forever. Seriously. Every song needs to have a visual treatment, sometimes that can take a few hours to whip up but more often it takes me weeks of digging for the right sample and playing around with ideas before then editing it together. There are bits of my set which are only say 2 minutes long but it took me seriously two to three weeks of work to put together. It's kind of dumb.

EGO's video mix tape is just around the corner

RTM: When mixing, is there a certain method or formula you follow?

E: I have a lot of favourite mixes, tracks which just sit really well together so I always have them up my sleeve but just try and bounce to whatever the crowd are vibing, though like I say, when every track takes forever to make visuals for it's harder to be impromptu doing an AV show than it is doing just an audio set.

RTM: Dance, Electric, D&B and Dubsteb have been very popular in mainstream markets recently - which DJs stand out to you?

E: There is so much awesome music being made, it's almost impossible to keep up with who is doing what anymore, there are rad producers popping up from everywhere. I guess for me guys like Diplo and A-trak who have stood the test of time and continued to be at the cutting edge of music and continually redefine dance music easily top my list. I love DJs who add their own spin to things, it's one thing to play all those popular bass genres and play them well but its another thing to sound original.

RTM: What genres and/or artists do you draw inspiration from?

E: I get a lot of my inspiration from local, Australian, guys who are pushing the envelope, guys like Cutloose, Sampology and the Surecut Kids. I try and listen to everything though, be on top of all genres and styles, I listen to a lot of podcasts to find out what's getting played in clubs overseas, as well as local radio to stay up with what's getting played here.

RTM: This year Nice and Ego mixed up Triple J's Hottest 100 which the people loved and ended up being aired on Triple J - do you have any picks for who might make the Hottest 100 in 2013?

E: It's often tough to pick, a lot of the songs I'd like to make it don't and songs which are huge at the start of the year lose popularity by the time the poll comes around. I imagine Flume will be well placed, he's just blown up which is awesome. Major Lazer's Get Free has been a huge anthem too. Grimes, Alt-J, Frank Ocean hopefully, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, The Presets are home town heroes. It's funny, before doing that mashup we kind of mapped out what we thought would be in it to be ready to get busy on it once it got announced, and we were pretty far off with some of our predictions!

RTM: When can we catch next catch Ego?

E: Hopefully I'll be hitting the road again soon. Once I release my video mixtape I'll no doubt be ready to get the hell away from my studio and back out performing.

Check out Ego on Facebook  or connect on Twitter

www.watchyourego.com

The Splendour Diaries: Nina Las Vegas Edition

So, it turns out i wasn't the only one to keep a diary at Splendour!

Nina Las Vegas partaying at Splendour in the Grass, 2012

Check out Nina Las Vegas' diary of her own, which she did for You Only Live Once, a blog dedicated to living life to the fullest, founded by the man half of Sneaky Sound System, Angus McDonald.

www.youonlyliveonce.com.au

*yes, i am aware this is the laziest blog post ever, but i also thought this was super cool and wanted to share it with ya'll.

Splendour Diaries: Day 3

Day 3: July 29, 2012

Day 3...the last day.. I don't even know where to begin. The icing on the cake that was Splendour in the Grass 2012.  The beautiful warm Byron Bay weather set the bitter sweet mood of what would be the final day of the biggest Australian winter music festival.  We made sure we arrived earlier this time to get the most out of final day.

Parachute Youth welcomed Splendourites into the venue, performing their fresh beats from the mix up tent - the first stage of three main stages that made the festival.  We cruised on past to the GW McLennan stage for the gorgeous Gossling ("YOU sing the woolies song!") who won us all over with her iddy biddy voice and musical talents.

We stayed at the stage to watch The Rubens set up for their show, while at the same time melting the hearts of every girl in the tent. Such gorgeous men!  When The Rubens began their set they were adamant that this was the largest audience they had ever played too and did not disappoint.  As if they had been playing together for years, the boys were flawless in their delivery.  There is something about the emotion in their vocals, particularly in "Lay it Down" and even in more upbeat songs such as "My Gun" that wins your heart over and sings to your soul.

After falling in love once again with The Rubens we were off to make friends with the cool kids of Splendour, Ball Park Music.  Getting the party at the Supertop started, BPM started off with their hit "I FLY" and treated fans to a couple of new hits as well as a cover of the classic Frankie Valli disco hit "Oh what a night".

San Cisco were super cute, Angus Stone brought his own forest to the stage and Blue King Brown reminded us of the power of music.

Next was Wolfmother, who brought rock and roll to the main tent, then The Kooks who played everyones favourite songs and then some.  A bit of Triple J House Party Host Nina Las Vegas was a delightful interlude and finally the day ended with Gossip and The Smashing Pumpkins.  Beth Ditto was so lovely and brought a new energy to the Mix Up Tent.  The Smashing Pumpkins set time surpassed Gossip's allowing everyone to have a chance to see their set which did not disappoint.

Overall Splendour was an amazing experience and I cannot even fathom having to go to work tomorrow. Thank you to Nat Brunoli for a wonderful weekend, thank you Byron Bay and thank you thank you Splendour in the Grass.  Until next time,

Ran xo

Splendour Diaries: Day 2

Day 2: July 28th, 2012

As the weekend continued, day 2 was nothing short of incredible, taking Splendour in the Grass 2012 to the next level.

I would just like to take some time out though to say if you ever do come to Byron Bay, don't eat at Bo's. The kitchen, service and restaurant manager are inefficient and cold.  The only thing that was enjoyable was my banana smoothie, and even that took 20 minutes (and is supposed to be cold anyway).  Don't do it kids!

Coconut in hand we strolled back into the festival venue shortly after 2:00, just in time to catch Luke Million drop his smash hit "Arnie" at the Mix Up Stage, getting Splendourites churning up the bark chip covered mud once again.

The Last Dinosaurs were on the main stage for their set and did not disappoint.  Highlighting the set was the band's cover of "Lady (hear me tonight)", which cheekily sampled Groovejets "if this ain't love".

Also on the main stage was english rock group Band of Skulls, who opened up their set with "Sweet Sour" setting the dirty slow rock mood for the next 50 or so minutes at the big top stage.

After chilling out at the back of Jinja Safari we wriggled our way to the front of the stage for what would be one of the best sets I have ever seen in my life, by The Beautiful Girls.  If ever anyone could make you trade in your air guitar for an air bass, it would be these guys. With the off beat strumming on guitar and funky drumming the band turned the mosh into a bop and the massive smiles on the band's faces let you know they were having just as good a time as you were.  "Periscopes" was performed beautifully with die hard fans singing along every lyric and as if it was a day for covers, the boys dropped in a bit of "Tainted Love" in "We're in Love".  The Girls finishes with an epic instrumental jam showcasing their talents and exactly how they've been around for so long.

Next up was DJ / "singer" Muscles, who although at first I doubted, turned up the beats at the mix up tents. After working up a sweat we continued to dance our way over for a bit of Tame Impala for a few mellow tracks before heading to see the princess of the festival, Lana Del Rey - along with about 7,000 other people.  Lana, performing with a single pianist on a white grand and tuxed up string quartet, glided around the stage in a wedding dress, with her mic in one hand and cigarette in the other, hopping off the stage to sing with "her people".  Despite previous reviews, Lana Del Rey sang like an angel, performing each of her tracks as heart broken as the next. Admittedly, in all her sorrow Lana's music would have been suited for earlier in the day, but it was probably a well deserved rest for most people's feet.

After Lana we meandered to Miike Snow who ended their set with one of my favourite songs, "Animal", which we continued to sing until Bloc Part took the stage.

There are few things more enjoyable in life then being surrounded with a group of great mates while rocking it out to one of the best rock bands around that you all know and love. As the covers continued, Kele did a sneaky sneaky at one point by singing the smash hit by Rihanna and Calvin Harris "we found love" before launching into one of their own.  Banquet was incredible, and by no means the song the band chose to finish on. 

Day 2 was amazing and I both can and cannot see today being able to top it.  Today, The Kooks, Gossip, Gossling, Ball Park Music, Fun. and festival headliner The Smashing Pumpkins...

This weekend's going too fast!

Ran xo