Bang Gang Party at Yugong Yishan

If clubbing has been your thing in the last 11 years, you have undoubtedly rocked out to the sounds of artists championed by Australia’s cult-like label Modular records. With a mind-numbing roster of indie heavy-weights (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cut Copy, The Presets, Klaxons, Soulwax, Wolfmother, New Pony Club), this Aussie sonic powerhouse has made its name in party circles all over the world, guaranteeing a place in the podium of the most blindly adored record labels of the past decade.

Now coming to China, Modular decided to send up the Bang Gang DJs to baptize our land of party-adoring kids with their anarchic dance floor attitude and release their new album suggestively titled D is for Disco, E is for Dancing. We caught up with Jaime Doom just before flying out to China and talked about what it’s like to be one-sixth of Bang Gang’s partying force, their worldwide takeover and what they expect to have in their hands when they go back to Sydney

the Beijinger: Sharing the decks with six other people is not the easiest way to make an honest Australian dollar. How did you guys get together in the first place?

Jaime Doom: That’s okay because the ozzie dollar isn’t worth much anymore anyway. We ask to get paid in pesos nowadays. Ha. We started cause we had all been friends for a while, going to same parties, drinking at the same dives, buying records at the same shops etc. Bennie, Dan, Ajax and Mickey had been doing a party every now and then … then all of a sudden the parties stopped and there was nothing to do so BAM! We started one and the rest just followed...

tbj: So what other good things come in sixes?

JD: Beer!

tbj: You are coming to China touring on the back of your new disc D is for Disco, E is for Dancing ... Before that, you released LSD: Light Sound Dance. Any comments?

JD: Are you sure you need me to? I think everyone gets the connotations. It’s pretty obvious right?

tbj: Alright! Your parties are famous for, more often than not, descending into dance drunken mayhem ... Were there any moments you thought “Wow, this is getting too subversive!”?

JD: Never! That’s like saying “too subversive, too old”! The vibe is all about good times, good music, good wine & bad taste.

tbj: And has anything changed since all of you started playing together?

JD: I guess a lot has changed. It’s turned into a semi-proper career now rather than a bunch of dudes getting wasted every week. We used to do a weekly party, not deejay anywhere else and that was it really. While we do less parties now, we play much more at other clubs in Australia, tour the world a fair bit, spend a lot of time on our label and in the studio.

tbj: A pretty proper career, actually! So then, from Australia to the States, playing at FABRIC in London and back… did you ever get the feeling you would become a globally recognized act?

JD: Ha, no. We had no plans at all and have kinda just done things the way we wanted. Except to make kids dance all night long, we were never organized enough to come up with any non-boozy plan for worldwide takeover.

tbj: But then you started your own label, the Bang Gang 12 inches…

JD: Yeah, we wanted something new to do and had a few tracks our friends had written that didn’t have a label to release them. We only had 2 songs when we started and it all just grew from there. I guess it is a bit all over the place. It’s really just music we like. Other than that there is no selection criteria.

tbj: Is there anything that you are particularly looking forward to releasing this year?

JD: Heaps! Bag Raiders album, label compilation CD and more releases from Shazam, Hey Today, Cassian and TONNES more.

tbj: And what sounds are you favoring nowadays since the whole mash up thing got overloaded with DJs out there looking for an easy way to get the party kicking?

JD: I guess we were into the mash up thing when it was new and exciting but that has long since past. We are really into pretty diverse music from chilled spaced out stuff to slamming techno. We like to try to move around with our sets and play lots of different genres and styles. Nothing is too sacred nor safe.

tbj: So is there any music style that has smacked you guys in the face and made into your party mixes lately?

JD: Lately the new Zombie Nation stuff is dope! The new Tiga album and the remixes are great and some of the fruity stuff like Tomski & Fredboy and Trompeta too. Disco from the likes of Tensnake and Discodeine, beaty stuff like Solo and Mumdance and the forthcoming Vanshe Vmixes are great as well. Too much to list!

tbj: And what about China? You are coming here with Gus da Hoodrat. How are you guys gonna handle it all?

JD: Gus brings the good looks. Jaime brings the brains. Together combined we will make almost one complete person.

tbj: And a last one, what would you like to bring home from here?

JD: Pork buns and a girlfriend. Cheers!

Catch the anarchically brilliant Bang Gang DJs this Saturday at Yugong Yishan at 9pm. Buy pre-sale tickets (RMB 50) at NLGX Design 6404 8088 or www.nlgx.org. RMB 80 at the door.