It is not uncommon for Melbourne Djs and producers to leave this city and further their career overseas. Australia’s best known dance music export, Anthony Pappa, is probably the best example and many have followed in his footsteps with Kasey Taylor likely to be next. PQM, aka Prince Quick Mix, however, is a DJ and producer known for undertaking the unexpected. In this case, the unexpected entailed leaving an already established dance music career in New York to reside in Melbourne.

“Well, I love Melbourne,” says Quick matter-of-factly. “It has a great night life and really reminds me of what NYC used to be like before the scene got caught in the Anti-Club movement of the Guiliani Administration. Besides, my manager is an Aussie and my girlfriend lives here, so I felt it would be a nice place to hang my hat. After Twilo got shut down the nightlife in New York has quieted down immensely. The only good club open at the moment is The Ark, and it has no competition or a liquor license. So it attracts a pretty young crowd at times. The rest of the scene is filled with intimate venues that play great music but only hold 200 people or the large venues that play cheesy music and hold 2500.”

Quick’s introduction to Melbourne was a set at progressive institution Sunny while touring, and it embodies much of what he loves about our scene. “It's all about the crowd,” he explains. “Sunny has such a great crowd who love good music. I can't explain it but the adrenalin gets me pumping when it's ‘Sunny’ because you know that people EXPECT to hear good shit. The resident DJ's, Gab Olivier and Ozzie LA in particular, are as good as anybody I’ve seen around the world, and I think they are very underrated. Put those guys in New York and they would be superstars by now. Plus, the whole underground vibe is so rare nowadays with more and more commercialism seeping into club culture, so all I can say is ‘god bless Sunny’ for keeping it real.”

So who is this mysterious PQM character who seems to be taking the world by storm and why haven’t we heard of him before? Well, perhaps you haven’t heard OF him, but chances are you have heard him. Tracks like "I’ll Be Your Friend", "The Flying Song", "You Are Sleeping" and the cheeky "Fuck Sonnet" have reached anthem status in many parts of the world and have been a constant in the record boxes of some of the world’s foremost DJs. These include Danny Howells, Danny Tenaglia and Deep Dish. “It's an amazing feeling to have these guys dropping my tunes,” states PQM proudly. “It feels great having anyone play my record, but when these guys drop a record the community really takes notice, so I suppose it gives me more of a sense of satisfaction.”

The pinnacle of PQM’s production career to date was a tribal number overlayed by a morbid spiel and recently remixed by Quick and Luke Chable entitled "You Are Sleeping". “Everyone from Roger Sanchez to Paul Oakenfold was playing that record,” he tells. “Unfortunately, in the world of CD copying, most of them were playing it from CDR's because the vinyl was delayed in being released. But it still was, in my opinion, my most successful record to date.”

Having been the only person granted the rights to remix Led Zeppelin’s "Babe I’m Gonna Leave You", more success is sure to follow, but don’t think it was easy. “It took five years of going back and forth before I was able to acquire the rights,” PQM admits. “So far the only time it has seen the light of day was on Phil K's Balance compilation and it won't be available on vinyl until we close a deal for my album. I'm currently writing some new choons and putting together what I think will be a very strong album that includes "Babe". I’ve added some new elements since it was last heard which has taken it somewhere I never thought it could. Real goose bumps kind of stuff.”

While Quick has found a home for himself in Melbourne, this doesn’t prevent him from visiting as many countries in a month as many people do in a lifetime. Currently he is completing a tour of North and South America before dropping into Tokyo on his way back to Melbourne. “It's been awesome,” he says enthusiastically. “Central & South America is on fire right now, the parties really big and the people so up for electronic music. It's new to them and it’s great seeing how they react to some of my music, especially when the crowd is all ‘hands in the air!’ I’ve played in front of huge crowds in places like Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and Guatemala and the parties go off. I guess the biggest surprise is being asked to appear on television, or seeing my face on billboards all over town as part of the promotion. Throw in the fact I don’t speak the language in most of these places, and it can be kind of comical just nodding my head yes, and smiling when the clubbers get all excited and approach me. I hope they are saying nice things.”

For those wondering what to expect from Quick’s set at Earthcore he reveals, “I’ll be on the Sunny stage, so people can expect a good dose of tribal house to dance their ass off to. It will be tough for the fellas, and pretty for the ladies as always. This is my first time at Earthcore or any outdoor event actually, as I seem to have been pigeonholed into club sets over the years, so can’t begin to explain how excited I am about this gig. I’m producing some special edits of my own tunes just for this one set, and I think the lineup overall makes this Earthcore the most impressive party I have ever been associated with. It is such a diverse group of artists, and the quality of each in their respective fields makes me excited to go check those other guys out myself. Bring it on!”

If you like what you hear at Earthcore, there is plenty more to look forward to release-wise in upcoming months. “Right now I have "Nameless" and the "Whatever Girl Activator" remixes coming out on Yoshitoshi,” lists Quick. I should have "Aenema" out on Institution Recordings in November, as well as a remix for that label which is being released early next year.�