They’ve been around for 15 years and, if things continue the way they are, we’re sure there’ll be another 5 or 10 in there, easy. We had a chat with Dean from Orkestrated about how the duo came together and their love for DJing ahead of their show in Geelong.
Hi Dean, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Hello, Hello. We are currently 35,000ft in the air on route to Bali. We have a gig at Sky Garden in Kuta tonight then looking forward to a relaxing couple of days after that.
You’ve both got around 15 years experience as DJs, what has been the biggest change you’ve seen in the profession/industry?
Most definitely the use of social media. When we started it was much harder to get peoples attention as the networking tools simply didn’t exist. For example, if we recorded a live DJ set back in the day, we would then hit up someone to burn 1,000 copies onto CD and get them circulated around town. The hope was that the CDs would then be duplicated by people that dug our sound. Ultimately the goal was to create maximum exposure. Now all we need to do is upload a mix online, hit a button, and within a couple of hours we would have literally thousands of plays from people all around the world.
Over the years you’ve played around the world at festivals and clubs, where’s been the best place to perform?
Our favourite gig to date would have to be Club One in Argentina. The club is spectacular. We played there earlier this year and it was simply brilliant. So much love from the crowd and we were amazed at how much they connected with our music. We are headed back to play in Argentina this coming January and are super pumped about it. Also, those years as resident DJs at TFU in Melbourne were unbeatable.
Obviously you’ve got a lot of love for DJing, what is it you love most?
Simply watching the enjoyment on other people’s faces is pretty gratifying. It’s amazing how certain songs can lift an entire room of people, and the fact that we have responsibility over that is very cool. For some people, nightclubs act as an outlet to blow off some steam from day-to-day life, it’s pretty humbling to think that people choose to spend their hard earned money to come and listen to us play.
I imagine performing too, at times, intoxicated people must be a lot of fun. Has anything crazy ever happened during a set?
Nothing totally outrageous to be honest, although we do miss the days of playing vinyl, simply because they are the perfect size and shape to fend off annoying drunk people.
Given how busy you are it seems like you wouldn’t have much time to get out and party. Do you ever get to go out and enjoy seeing DJs perform?
We tend to chill out and relax on the very odd occasions that we aren’t performing on the weekend. We used to go out a lot more when we first hit the scene. We are famous in Melbourne for disappearing straight after gigs.
Individually you’ve both got great careers in the industry, yet you’ve got such a cult following together, is it nice to be on stage with someone else?
It’s really nice to be able to share this journey together. We worked really hard early in our careers to push a sound that had to overcome many barriers and obstacles. We’ve always stuck to our guns when it comes to what music we make/play. The fact that we are still in demand after all these years is very rewarding.
How did you first get together as Orkestrated?
It’s weird because we both went to high school together but didn’t become mates till after we finished year 12. Adam was studying teaching at ACU in Melbourne and my girlfriend at the time was in the same course. I was DJing on my own and remembered that Adam was really into his hip hop/rnb so I asked him to join me. We started playing random functions together and then finally broke into the club scene with our first gig at a place called TFU. In a random twist, I decided to go on a holiday to Europe for three months, when I came back Adam had cemented himself a pretty good reputation as a solo DJ. That’s when we both agreed to go our separate ways and start DJing separately. With luck on our side, a few years had passed and we both developed a strong following in Melbourne. We were still best of mates throughout all this so we thought we’d combine our popularity and and start DJing together again. That’s when Orkestrated was born.
What’s your trick to get everyone up and dancing?
It really just comes down to playing the right music depending on which venue, type of crowd, and what time we are performing. A good DJ can enter a room and read the crowd straight away and act accordingly. That’s why we always advise against pre planning sets.
Recently you went back to Wah Wah where you career first started, was it nice getting to go back and do a set there?
It’s always fun heading back to Wah Wah and playing there. That venue contains a lot of good memories for us when it was known as TFU. It’s always our spiritual home ground in a sense. It was the birthplace of Orkestrated and arguably the ‘Melbourne Sound’.
You’ll be doing a show soon down in Geelong at Eureka, what’s the vibe like in Geelong?
We love Geelong, it’s cool that the people there are just as educated music wise as the folks in Melbourne. It’s always fun heading down there. Although we aren’t so sure about the football team.
When & Where: Eureka Hotel, Geelong – December 12