 |
|
|
|
|
The impassioned techno of De Bang De Funk
Around Melbourne you’d be hard-pressed to find a techno fan who’s not excited about War Of The Worlds IV. With Hawtin, Heckmann, and Forshaw all set to inflict some major pain on the Altona dancefloor, this is going to be a party to remember.
But delve a bit further into the lineup and you’ll see the excitement doesn’t stop with the internationals. Those that know aren’t just hyping up the guests, they’re hyping up some hometown heroes that will give punters just a much bang for their buck.
Leading the local charge is a rare appearance by a very special act. For only the third momentous occasion, Melbourne will be treated to the four-deck-two-mixer destruction of De Bang De Funk. Better (or more often) known as Dallas and Dave Pham, history tells us to brace for a punishing treat when these two are united.
“We’re really fussy about where we play,” says Pham, “without being anal about it. There’s so much preparation...when we play we want to make sure we sound polished.”
You see, when a promoter books DBDF, they’re booking much more than a versus act. “When we do it,” explains Pham, “we put a lot of time and effort into it.” For this gig, he reveals that they’ve been practicing for almost three months. Dallas modestly adds: “What differentiates us is that we play on four decks and two mixers combined, as opposed to sharing.”
Obviously this level of musical intimacy requires a certain familiarity with each other. In this case it’s a friendship dating back some fifteen years to their school days. Pham’s eyes glaze over as he wistfully recalls “swapping tapes at school in the back of the classroom – he made me listen to his hip hop and I made him listen to acid house!”
Progressing through an adolescence riveted to the nascent Melbourne techno scene, the two were soon “mucking around” on thrown together setups. Dallas recalls, “We used to get together at least once a week for a mix.” And yet, the two formed very much individual styles.
“I was playing particularly hard,” Pham grins mischievously, “and he was playing particularly funky. I didn’t play funky at all.” Dallas rejoins, “He always used to call me ‘Dal the Funky Homosapien’ and I used to call him the banging one, hard as fuck, baby in a microwave, whatever.”
‘The banging one’ and ‘Dal the Funky’...If that sounds like the beginnings of a name for the pair that’s probably because it is. Dallas realised, “We’d been mixing together for so long we seemed to compliment each other really well – notwithstanding the different styles. It seemed to flow really well.”
And finally, the idea to take this concept into the weird wide world. “We were in an altered state one day and going down one of those yellow brick roads...”
Sure, Dal.
“We were originally meant to play at Halcyon,” he continues. The last Halcyon Knights party heralded in the year 2000 and was set to be the perfect platform to unleash DBDF on Melbourne. And then...
“We were meant to play,” sighs Pham, “but unfortunately the stage couldn't accomodate all four decks.” Oh. “And we were very dismayed: we’d been practicing for three months!”
But it wasn’t just hard work behind the decks – the two digress into talk of their follicular exploits. Pham places his hair somewhere between Akira and Fido Dido that evening, “but at Rotation, I was bald!”
That’s how we arrive at their actual debut, not a month later at Rotation V. Supporting Ben Sims, they lifted the roof, but it would be a long wait – twenty-one months - before the pair was reunited at War Of The Worlds 2024 in September 2001.
Another year later and the boys are back. There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then, with both DJs achieving varied levels of notoriety with different sounds. Does Dallas think this will have an impact on their performance at WOTW2038?
“We tend to read each other pretty well,” he modestly affirms. “For this party it might be a different story; our [individual] styles have really changed. With our first practice session we realised this, but still, at the end of it we’d nutted it out.”
And so, although Dave Pham isn’t just about frying babies in a microwave anymore, and Dallas Raft is more than just a funky homosapien, the two have still managed to slip back into their old bedroom days, playing off each other with jaw-dropping results.
Which brings me to my next question: what level of prior planning will the boys be bringing with them to Altona? “It gets to a level of combinations,” muses Dallas. “For example, last year we spent a total of three months on War Of The Worlds. We got to a stage where we had the combinations, but as Dave will attest, it never goes that way. Structure was thrown out in three, four tracks.”
As for communications mid-mix, the boys say there aren’t really any words spoken at all: they’re that au fait with each other.
So, let’s fast-forward to October. De Bang De Funk has just stolen the limelight at another War Of The Worlds. Will we have to wait another year to see them again? Pham issues a call to promoters: “Ultimately for De Bang De Funk something like a New Year’s Eve gig would be really special.”
And now I have worked up the courage to ask them: why aren’t these gigs coming? Even as individual artists, recognition has not always been presented in line with their talents.
Dallas agrees somewhat: “Both of us have been DJing for four years now.” I touch on his last few gigs at Fokus, or De Bang De Funk’s last few gigs courtesy of the hard working Kevin Karlberg. Kev is one of the integral gears in the WOTW engine, and Dallas glows, “I can personally say I can thank him for a lot of breaks in this industry. He’s certainly one who gets out there and promotes... and promotes... and promotes...”
So why aren’t other players in the Melbourne techno game taking notice? Pham has certainly fared better, particularly this year. “I guess I can’t really complain in regards to my exposure,” he says.
“I can’t be ungrateful for the support they’ve shown me in the past. I understand you’ve got to work up your own skill and following. How that skill is judged is another thing.”
Indeed, I note grimly. What about timeslots? I often hear people crying foul of questionable scheduling. Does it get to Pham? “At times when I’m billed first at a larger show I cringe. I guess it’s disheartening hen you know that what you had in store could’ve been heard by nine times the people a few hours down the track.
“But I’ll always be appreciative of any timeslot because it’s an opportunity to play records. If it was a choice between playing first or not playing at all I would definitely play first.” Yep, these guys are part of a rare breed of music industry types – those that are still in it first and foremost for the music. And sometimes, good things come to those that wait.
“At War Of The Worlds,” smiles Pham gleefully, “when we have the opportunity to play after a megastar international like Heckmann and will play in front of a minimum three- to four-thousand people, that’s like a dream come true. It gives us the opportunity to demonstrate what we’re on about and why we’re so passionate.”
Talking further about promoters recognising new talent, the pair give kudos to similarly impassioned techno freaks, the Teriyaki posse. Both have deejayed there to rapturous applause this year, and Pham is full of praise for the stalwart mob.
“Teriyaki are one of those real underground crews that have stayed true for as long as they've been around - that's a damn long time! To be given a prime time slot in their club is one of the biggest privileges a techno DJ can get. They’re a small, tight-knit crew - for them to open their doors to expose new talent it’s a big thing.”
Dallas nods, “I hope this sort of thing sends a message to other people.”
Not content to take a passive role in the dynamic Melbourne techno scene, the De Bang De Funk boys are two members of an exciting new collective about to be unleashed on the local landscape. I’ve been hearing exciting murmurs about a mysterious entity known as Forklift, and now I badger the boys for details.
“It’s pushing the very best of Melbourne techno,” surmises Dallas. Pham elaborates, “It’s going to be a brand that puts on events. It’s also a crew that is looking to expose new talent – not just locally, either. We’re looking to grab an audience that is definitely beyond local shores.”
“All individuals in the group have a similar focus,” says Pham. In this crew, workaholics like Kevin Karlberg are on equal footing with artists like Cecille, all pooling their individual talents to further the goals of the team – promoting quality Melbourne music.
“We don’t want to be branded as a booking agency,” asserts Pham, “that’s one very small part of it. One of the biggest motivators in the concept is pushing new music.”
For these two, who are both setting up their own ad hoc studios and reveal they dream of taking their music around the world, Forklift seems very much a great vehicle for their aspirations. So when do the wraps come off?
Dallas likens the concept to a house: “The foundations are there. It’s built. But the tenants haven’t moved in yet.” So, some fine tuning is necessary. But rest assured, says Pham, “the plans and potential for the concept are magic.”
But back to a more pressing issue: next weekend in Altona. “Expect the unexpected,” grins Dallas. Pham tells us what history has already revealed: “Because it’s such a large conglomerate of crews, so much talent in the one spot, everyone tries to do something special.”
Recognition for these two talented, genuinely nice, modest guys will only continue to grow. With the advent of Forklift and the ongoing clustering together of like-minded passionate people, techno as a whole in Melbourne will surely continue to thrive. And early next Sunday morning in an outer suburb, two gentlemen with their hearts very much in the right place will take centre stage. It’s been a long time between drinks, but there it will be: their passion, in the spotlight, for all to savour.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published / Thursday, 19 September 2002
 Post a comment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Features
|
|
|
