Coastal Jam with Gold Coast producer Paces

Torquay’s largest weekend of the year is now getting a party of similar magnitude. After hosting the likes of Late Nite Tuff Guy, Maribou State, Touch Sensitive, CC:DISCO!, Benson and John Course, the Coastal Bunny (AKA Coastal Jam) is bringing Paces (DJ Set), Benson (Falls Festival 2018), Mimi (Triple J) along with local legends this Good Friday to the Torquay Hotel.
We chat to Paces (aka Mikey Perry) ahead of the party.
Hey thanks for chatting to Forte Magazine. How are you and what have you been up to recently?
Thanks for having me! I’ve been touring my ‘Going Mad’ single and working hard to finish a bunch of new music between shows.
You’ve already kicked off the year with performances at St Kilda Festival, Mountain Sound Fest, The Island and Secret Garden Festival. What are the most important things for you when on stage at these types of festivals, how do you pump up for a show?
The most important thing for me is to bring something different to the stage. That’s why I play live sets and bring along guest vocalists, dancers, visuals, my big inflatable animals, heaps of crowd interaction etc. I just want to make sure everyone has so much fun that they forget their troubles for an hour and just all party together.
You also launched into 2018 with ‘Going Mad’ featuring rising Australian talent CLYPSO and US rapper Raven Felix which was cool!! Hinting at the direction your second album is heading, does the album follow the same vibe? When can we expect to hear it?
Yeah absolutely! My first album was quite mellow but the new stuff I’ve been writing is a bit harder and more geared toward the dancefloor. You can expect to hear it later this year for sure!
This solo project really kicked off for you in 2014 with the release of tracks, ‘Julian’ and ‘Can’t Touch Me’, which took you to the main stage of Splendour In The Grass the same year. How has your music and process changed since them?
That was such a fun experience and really set the framework of how I wanted my shows to be. Since then I’ve spent a million hours writing music, studying music, I did a Berklee College course in songwriting… so much has happened since then. Basically I’ve just poured my heart and soul into it. Back then I was doing music around a day job, but now I’m doing music full time. That’s been so awesome because I get so much more done.
Do you consider the live show whilst recording your tracks? Are any elements changed during the live set that is different to the studio recording?
No, when I’m writing tracks I’m just trying to make the best possible song. When it’s finished I go through and pick out which parts I’d like to play live. It always ends up sounding a bit different to the studio recording but I think that’s a positive. Yeah I could be playing a DJ set and it would all sound perfect, but I like the live element. The little imperfections and improvisations add character in my opinion. And when I see a show I like to know there’s a bit of risk involved in what the artist is doing, ya know?
You’ve collaborated with Tkay Maidza, CLYPSO, among others, what do you enjoy about collaborating? Is this something you will continue to do with future projects?
Absolutely, it’s one of my favourite parts of the job. I love taking an instrumental to a vocalist and hearing what they come up with. It’s always something that I never would’ve thought of. It’s so much fun to then go back and rework the track to emphasise their performance.
You’ll be spending Good Friday in Torquay for Coastal Jam this year, performing a DJ set for the good people! What are you looking forward to about that? What’s involved in the DJ set, still high energy?
I can’t wait for this!! I don’t often get a chance to play DJ sets, so when I do it’s so much fun. I’ll be bringing a bunch of my favourite party tunes. Lots of hip hop, lots of bangers.
What else can we expect to see from you this year, we’ve heard rumours of a debut US tour?
I’m heading over there in May to play Lightning In A Bottle Festival and do a bunch of writing sessions. Then planning to head back over later in the year when I’m touring the album. I’ll definitely do an album tour in Australia too with a new live show.
Thanks for taking the time to chat. How should people prepare for the party set to go down on Good Friday?
No worries, thank you! And to prepare for the set, people should follow my Pacey Picks playlist on Spotify. That’ll give you a good idea of the tunes that I’m into at the moment. See you there!
When & Where: Torquay Hotel, Torquay – March 30 from 2pm. Tickets by Eventbrite, final release tickets on sale now.