From a production viewpoint, Melbourne has the strongest progressive scene in Australia, if not the world. Yet if one was to look at this on a per-capita basis, Canberra kicks our [Melbourne's] arse, with quite possibly more successful producers than they have politicians. Some of the names that continue to get records signed to international labels and are lauded in magazines and on dance music internet forums worldwide include Chris Fraser aka Chris Fresh aka North Atlantic, now Melbourne-based Jono Fernandez, Nash T, Jeff Drake and Ryan Papa. Younger, but no less talented is fellow Canberra native Vance Musgrove who has quickly made a name for himself as both a producer and DJ.

“Canberra is indeed a small town with a disproportionately large amount of talent, but with proportionately small crowd and venue numbers,” explains Musgrove. “It’s changed over time for sure, but it’s still as hard as ever to put on a successful night up here. Making a name for yourself though is definitely harder now as more and more people are exposed to dance now than back then, and you’d be hard pressed to go out and not meet five or ten new people claiming to be bedroom DJs these days, even in Canberra. I had a fairly easy start. I was good mates with Jono Fernandez’s younger brother Andy throughout most of school, and my first taste of dance was through tapes that he’d nicked off Jono and brought to school. I spent about two years in the bedroom before I did my first tape which I gave to Andy to give to Jono, and it went from there.”

While Mugrove has made a name for himself locally as a DJ, it is his production work that has met with international acclaim. Having honed this skill since 1999 whilst still in his teens, he first presented himself onto the worldwide stage through a track called Squelch on Kasey Taylor’s label Vapour Recordings. It’s musical maturity belied his tender years and it was snapped up by Parks and Wilson (better known when under production aliases Tilt or Quivver) for their ‘Painting on Silence’ mixed compilation as well as Kasey Taylor himself for the second in EQ’s Balance series. This was followed up with Elemental, a cheeky yet inspired reworking of Danny Tengalia’s seminal track Elements. Perhaps getting a taste for the classics, Musgrove has also remixed Raincry by Gods Within which features prominently on Phil K’s recent DJ Mag Aussie breaks compilation as well as in the boxes of many of the words top jocks. But what of the future? “A few newies are on the way in various guises,” reveals Musgrove in a most unrevealing fashion. “A track of mine is slated for inclusion on an upcoming mix CD, and a collaboration between me and another local Canberra lad by the name of Ross McGrath should make its way out soon, though a deal is not yet finalised. I’ve also got a remix finished for Institution Records out of Florida, plus a few other things that hopefully I’ll finish before uni goes back.”

Yes, it is easy to forget something as mundane as University when some of his inspirations including Sasha and Digweed are globetrotting with his records earning some serious frequent flyer miles. Fortunately, Musgrove’s maturity does not end at his production work and he has an excellent reputation in all respects. For this reason he was a perfect choice to play at Remission this Friday at Room680. Organised by a number of people, in particular Natalie Hale and Anne Marie Christensen, Remission is an event designed to get the Melbourne dance music community together to support the efforts of the Cancer Council with all funds raised going to continued research. “Anne Marie approached me with the concept and I leapt at the opportunity,” says a clearly excited Musgrove. “Lending a hand to such a fantastic cause is an opportunity that is all too rare in dance culture, so I’m really grateful for the opportunity to do my bit.”

For those who have never caught a Musgrove set, when pressed to describe it he continues with his enlighteningly unenlighting descriptions. “I’ll be providing a smattering of lots of different stuff to kick the night off smoothly and get butts moving, hopefully with a few of my own tracks thrown in. I don’t really know how I’d define my Djing style. I think I just play records I like. I tend stick to stuff that sticks in my head or that makes my ears stick up so to speak. But the net result of that is that I play fairly deep by general standards. Of late, the record that has grabbed me most is Fuhrball by The Operators (Phil K, Dave Preston & Habersham). I bore easily, but every so often a record comes along that I just can’t get over and which sticks with me, and this is the one record that has stuck out from the last year as being absolute dynamite.”

Our conversation closes on a philosophical note, the topic of where the Australian progressive scene is heading being subject to much chin-stroking and pondering from both parties, before ending on the profound conclusion, ‘Up and up and up.’ “Our profile is already great but I think more and more people are realising that Aussies have a slightly different ear for music than most other scenes,” elaborates Musgrove. “With dance culture still going strong after more than a decade, new ideas are critical to its long-term survival and Australian DJs and producers are consistently providing that innovation. The rest of the world is definitely taking more and more notice as a result, so it’s an exciting time to be involved in the Aussie scene.�