33 underground Melbourne DJs, producers and labels you should know

Tape Leisure

Introducing Beats by Beat, our brand new mix series supporting local producers

First up in the series is Tape Leisure, a local Melbourne label with a vision to share great quality music and give friends and like-minded people a platform to release their tunes without having to jump through the usual label hoops.

Kayroy

Beats by Beat: Melbourne’s king of experimental disco, Kayroy, mixes a new manifesto

Finnian Langham, AKA Kayroy, is obsessed with the art of making people move. He’s renowned on the streets of Melbourne for his distinctively groovy “sampledelic disco”, and even more so for his rambunctious DJ sets. Inspired by collage artists like The Avalanches and In Flagranti, he’s always found working with samples “endlessly exciting” as he finds new “ways to smash bits from five different tracks together and create coherent new compositions”.

He’s been featured on releases through local and international labels including Sour Edits, Whisky Disco, Clipp.art and Hotfoot, and garnered support from big names like CC:Disco!, Whiskey Houston and Cassettes For Kids. Juno Records even described his most recent release Rosella EP as one of their must-have EPs of 2019.

Houses in Motion

Beats by Beat: Melbourne label Houses in Motion drops a R&B-tinged dance hit

Oli and Xander’s obsession with music dates back to preadolescent times as kids when they both lived in Canberra. As soon as they finished school, they moved to Melbourne where they held residencies and collaborated with other crews, and where Houses in Motion was born.

The label originally started as a platform to share the fine digital tunes created by their own friends, but it was hearing Roy Blues’ unreleased ‘Pyramid’ track on a dance floor for the first time which blew their mind and from then, they began releasing tracks on vinyl.

Primer

Beats by Beat: DJ collective Primer deliver a groovy set featuring some immeasurable local talent

The Primer crew, made up of Floss Dogg, Robbie Nine-O and Freddy Gardens, are quite the steezy bunch. The three come from the far lands of country New South Wales – Robbie and Floss met at university in Wagga Wagga and have been a power couple for nearly a decade now, and Robbie and Freddy’s friendship dates back to the days of their rowdy doom metal band.

Casey Leaver

Beats by Beat: Casey Leaver delivers a dark discotheque masterpiece

Casey Leaver is somewhat like the Megan Markle of Melbourne’s southside dance music scene. Except she is much more loyal than Marks and, now, far more royal. Plus, she has much better taste in music.

Leaver is the leading lady behind the memorable weekly party, Disco Volante, and can be found front and centre of the throne throwing disco, techno, house and other diverse, energetic sounds which have hundreds of people in euphoric ecstasy every weekend.

Frou Frou

Beats by Beat: Frou Frou has mixed up a grounding electronic hour for your ears

With a background in holistic health, Frou Frou, aka Julia Har, is passionate about music that makes you move.

Her source of inspiration depends on what she’s digging at the time, but if you attempt to describe it, it’s akin to a bizarre and leftfield acid-electro. She’s a lover of discovering a producer’s culturally traditional music or uncovering a label with a peculiar sound.

Horatio Luna

Beats by Beat: Horatio Luna has delivered a smooth, funky mix of jazzy house and groove

Horatio Luna, the brilliant alias of Henry Hicks, has been perfecting his delicate craft of smooth and groovy bass since he was 14. He’s an avid fan of fusing vibes and takes inspiration from all kinds of different house and dance-floor orientated sounds. Some of these rich flavours include rare groove, left-field, spiritual jazz, funk, D&B, reggae, Latin jazz as well as a hint of psychedelic.

That said, Hicks never restricts himself to any specific sound. He begins with the rough structure of jazzy-house and improvises with whatever feels natural. And that’s what makes both his compositions and his performances so divine.

Penelope Two-Five

Beats by Beat: Penelope Two-Five go deep with a mix that’s both joyous and alien

Most famous for managing to pull off vocals over techno, electronic duo Cameron Lee and Shannon Mavrik, aka Penelope Two-Five (P25), always manage to do things distinctively different than any other techno producers. Their raw and industrial sound with cosmic synths and breakbeats have earned them well-deserved praise across the nation.

In their younger days while jamming in Brisbane, Mavrik proposed the addition of a melodic voice, and Lee, classically trained since 12, was instantly onboard. Even over heavier and darker sounds, they make it work. Their sound is so much more than energetic headbanging tracks – they have a talent for making even the most digital of sounds become a live performance.

Fia Fiell

Beats by Beat: Fia Fiell administers an instant pick-me-up with this eclectic dance mix

If we’re talking music, her personality is eclectic and her history is diversely coloured. But Carolyn Schofield, known to Australia’s music industry as Fia Fiell, has developed a reputation for creating and playing primarily improvised experimental electronic music. We could call it “ambient”, but that would be – as often is with generic labels – an oversimplification.

She’s been a pianist since the age of four and was an advanced classical musician by the time she approached her teenage years. She makes a third of what sounds like “confused country music for ants,” – or so it is described by her bandmate and the lead singer of local synth-pop-alternative-electronic-rock- (… let’s just stick with ants…) – band, Jaala. As you’ll read below, “weird dance music” with drummer Max Kohane is also on her discography.

Tamen

Beats by Beat: Tamen invites you into the hardcore continuum of jungle music

Those familiar with Australia’s house and techno scene will know there’s been, in recent years, a resurgence in the popularity of breakbeat genres like drum and bass and jungle. There are a few strong purveyors of the broken rhythm sound here in Melbourne, and not many more so than Luke O’Higgins, aka Tamen.

As you’ll read in our interview with the man below, he comes from Ireland via Spain. Christened as a club DJ at only 16, he’s played shows across Europe, Asia and Australia and has been a key player in multiple scenes; he played a big role in expanding Barcelona’s electronic musical palate with his monthly Jungle Jungle nights, for example.

Showerhead

Beats by Beat: Showerhead’s tempo-jumping mix is an uplifting breath of fresh air

For the last couple of years, the largely anonymous producer and DJ has demonstrated a finely-tuned ear for experimental electronic music. Late last year he released his first Showerhead EP, Travelogue, via Bandcamp. He runs a monthly show, Warped, on Sydney’s Nomad radio, on which he and the occasional guest traverse many different genres – including breaks, electro, IDM, techno and drum & bass – often very danceable, even if overlaid with a sheen of the slightly odd.

Though, as you’ll read below, his mix for us shows his return to more ubiquitous sounds; it’s a steady and uplifting mix, weaving between tempos, manifesting what Showerhead calls a breath of “fresh air” away from his more experimental sound.

Pretty Girl

Beats by Beat: Pretty Girl’s high-energy, ethereal mix will banish your isolation blues

Pretty Girl, aka Emilia Predebon, has been mastering the art of music production since she was just nine years old when Garage Band was her ultimate best friend. Now 22, it’s no surprise that Predebon has an incredible talent for music creation, considering she’s been addicted to it for 12 years.

Most famous for her independently released tracks ‘Message’ and ‘Rely (Vodka Lime and Sad Mix)’, Pretty Girl takes the majority of her inspiration from nostalgic and melancholic artists such as Kllo and Maribou State. A diehard fan of the party, Pretty Girl’s love for energetic dance music is evident in her sounds, with flavours of inspiration from darker artists including Octo Octa, Memphis LK and Roza Torenzi.

The Love Above

Beats by Beat: The Love Above’s tantalising mix will have you longing for the dancefloor

The Love Above is renowned across the music plains of Melbourne as one of the most vibing collectives, curating some of the most talented electronic artists in the country. They’re a grassroots crew committed to supporting others in the scene while making an impact on important issues concerning the community.

The Love Above started as a sanctuary of house and disco in Melbourne’s underground club scene – a party which explored the record collections of Ryan Berkeley, Dawn Again and DJ Ingrid.

Other Joe

Beats by Beat: Other Joe’s ambient experimental mix is delicate yet powerful ‘listening music’

If you’ve got a book to get through, we’ve got the soundtrack, courtesy of Other Joe. “It’s a reading mix,” says the Melbourne ambient music producer and label owner. This episode of Beats By Beat is a lockdown treat, if that isn’t a perfect oxymoron. It’s an hour of fluidly mixed, delicate yet powerful harmonies, consisting mostly of sounds from Melbourne artists.

Other Joe has been making ambient music since shortly before 2014, when he realised he was into what he calls “listening music”. Though he works with rappers on the side, making trap and hip hop beats, his main jam is slow, often experimental electronic soundscapes, occasionally complemented by live instruments played mostly by his friends.

Kavil

Beats by Beat: Kavil melds free jazz and electronic soundscapes in honour of Joe McPhee

If you listen to this episode of our Beats By Beat series, there’s a good chance you’ll hear something new. Dissonant, chaotic-but-organised free jazz – in honour of multi-instrumentalist, Joe McPhee – meets electronic sound design in this mix by Kavil.

He’s the curator of a diverse and musically rich mix series called Bleus, so it comes as no surprise that Kavil has used the platform to shine a light on musicians venturing into quite far-flung areas of the electronic music landscape. He crafted this mix meticulously using Ableton, rather than going the typical route of recording a DJ set. The result is a rich layering of up to six tracks, and arrangements whose intricacy and precision may not have otherwise been possible.

Foura

Beats by Beat: Foura’s feel-good set celebrates the resilience of the electronic community

They say you can’t take the party scene out of Melbourne, and it’s true. Despite some of the world’s most hectic restrictions, local electronic music lovers are finding innovative ways to connect, network and dance together during lockdown.

Foura, formerly known as Lotus Moonchild, has long been a staple of the city, running parties and holding residencies at some of our favourite locations, including Revolver, Section 8, Lucky Coq, Glamorama and Hawker Hall, to name a few.

Acid Chess Club

Beats by Beat: Acid Chess Club brings a smorgasbord of feel-good selections

James Benjamin is a mixing magician of many music ventures. He dons a variety of hats – working as the Founding Director of collective Crate Mates, runs a music and arts event with 4D mediums through Tesselate, and is the co-founder of Chewin’ the Fat – an event and mental health awareness charity working to create open spaces for the dance community to feel comfortable in a place where people can discuss mental health.

His events have featured some of the best electronic selectors of the country, including DJ Earl Grey, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Otologic, Emma Stevenson and nation-favourite CC Disco.

GREETINGS

Beats by Beat: GREETINGS mixes forgotten Italo-disco treasures with a premiere of his new EP

GREETINGS, also known as Jackson Greatz, has been a Melbourne staple of the electronic music industry over the last decade, as well as a major export into Asian and European markets. He just returned from his tour through Asia last year, finding influence in the cities across the east.

GREETINGS is passionate about late-night house jams and the Italo disco that peaks a party. He embraces both the past and the future in his music development, picking from retro and forgotten treasures and incorporating them into his own individual sounds.

Fluxx

Beats by Beat: Fluxx go deep with a textural set exploring the darker side of the club scene

Fluxx have done anything but sit comfortably this year, or dwell on the fact that their newly-born club night was decimated at the beginning of 2020.

The Naarm/Melbourne-based power trio featuring three beautiful curators and DJs, Ruby (RBI), Jac (House Mum) and Elle (Yollks), created their collective and club night with a strong and purposeful vision – to champion emerging DJs and producers who identify as people of colour, gender non-conforming, queer or femme.

Papi Chulo

Beats by Beat: Papi Chulo delivers a homage to the big sounds we missed in 2020

Natali Caro, aka Papi Chulo, is a DJ, comedian, actor, drag king and good-time deliverer. She was born to Colombian and Chilean parents in Camperdown, NSW and now frequents the airwaves of Sydney’s prominent Fbi Radio with her show Kings & Queens, championing her queer and LatinX roots, celebrating diversity in both identity and musical style.

This delicious mix is a homage to the big sounds we missed out on in 2020 and a culmination of the pent-up energy from this past year, as well as the live music and dancing we’ve missed so dearly. Papi Chulo aims to transport you to a better and simpler time, where not much mattered and the only apocalypse in sight was computer generated.

Consulate

Beats by Beat: Consulate reaches into electronic music’s murky corners for this high-energy mix

Consulate’s story is, in some respects, a familiar representation of Australia’s musical ecosystem: a migrant from WA, he’s been in Melbourne for nearly two years now, making music, studying sound engineering and dabbling in a few other interests and practices. But his music is by no means familiar.

Featured on Perth’s 2011 Boiler Room bill (as Emerald Cabal) – and again on its 2013 bill – his skills as a producer of twisted techno, jungle and, more recently, bass-centric genres, have been known across Australia for the last decade by those with their ears to the underground. He’s released music as Consulate through the likes of Good Company Records and Germany’s Bitterfeld Musik and has made equally sizeable waves as one half of Senate, contributing, for example, to the Butter Sessions/Noise In My Head Domestic Documents compilation, featuring electronic musicians from all across the country.

Monfreaq

Beats by Beat: Monfreaq mixes up an intense, heart-pumping selection to get freaky to

Monique Hillier discovered her eternal love for DJing while living in the Netherlands. Bored at university, she would escape to the decks, finding serenity in the form of a good mix. Today, she’s amassed support slots for the likes of DJ Koze, Bradley Zero and Denis Sulta.

You may have seen her frequenting the institutional dancefloors of Technoir, Daydreams, Novel and Revolver, getting the hearts of groovers pumping with electro, choppy breaks and hedonistic techno with plenty of pace.

DJ Mum

Beats by Beat: DJ Mum unleashes a drum-centric mix packed with Melbourne artists

For the latest instalment of our Beats by Beat series, classical pianist turned UK bass aficionado, DJ Mum, offers a mix packed with music by Melbourne artists. Though the music is diverse, its consistent thread is percussion – steady but intricate and imaginative. A quarter of the well-reputed Local Knowledge label and events crew, it was drum and bass that initially awoke DJ Mum to the wonders of electronic music. Following her nose through broken beats and UK bass-heavy sounds led her to what you’ll hear in this mix.

MARSH LONG

Beats by Beat: MARSH LONG brings colour to the darkness in a euphoric techno set

MARSH LONG describes herself as a bright kaleidoscope of colours, yet frequents the city’s best electronic music institutions with her delicate version of dark techno. She’s passionate about building a storyline and incorporating different concepts into every set, while remaining a master of feeding off a dancefloors’ energy, despite only being in the circuit for over a year. Listen to this epic mix MARSH re-recorded multiple times in an effort to build a powerfully energetic mix to perfection.

Tangerine

Beats by Beat: Tangerine breaks away from her “hectic” norm with a blissful soundscape

Ambient music seems to have resurged in Melbourne in the last year or so. The lockdown is no doubt largely to blame. High energy and club music just didn’t make as much sense to many people in isolation, forced into quietness and left with much time to introspect.

Tangerine’s venture into ambient soundscapes for this episode of Beats by Beat is another example of a musician creating a mix attuned to what she calls the “smaller side” of her musical personality.

Dociyle

Beats by Beat: Dociyle crafts an interstellar experience with his genre-defying new mix

Taking you to otherworldly places in both audio and visual form, Shannon Mavrik has kicked down the traditional barriers of electronic music with his latest release. The new project, Dociyle, comes from a love of sci-films and games scores, meeting techno, garage, bass and electronic music.

Dociyle is a new sound of production that comes following Mavrik’s contribution to the talented Brisbane-based duo, Penelope Two-Five. The duo managed to nail interweaving live music in techno that featured delicate vocals over the top of stompy and darker beats.

This time round, Mavrik’s new alias is an interstellar experience that is accompanied with a cinematic video production to go along with it.

Laila Sakini

Beats by Beat: Laila Sakini’s new mix is a work of captivating experimental ambience

Bouncing between Melbourne and London since 2015, Laila Sakini could not have picked worse times in the last 18 months to make her usual round trips from north to south. Leaving Melbourne’s marathon lockdown only to return to London as COVID began to shut everyone inside, she knows “what it’s like to be indoors in lots of countries”, she tells us wryly.

A silver lining, perhaps, is that she seems to have remained productive. On the day of our interview, she was dropping a remastered, re-issued vinyl release of Into the Traffic, Under the Moonlight, via Boomkat Editions and has put out or contributed to several other releases in the last couple of years.

She’s collaborated with a wide array of instrumentalists, made music for film and with a poet, so she’s no stranger to experimenting to create unique and interesting sounds and we think this mix more than lives up to the hype she deserves.

Music Company

Beats by Beat: Emerging record label Music Company offer an expansive mix for home listening

Many labels strive for the cutting edge, but few pull it off. Melbourne’s Music Company is only a year – or eight releases – old but is quickly establishing itself as a foremost publisher of the freshest sounds from Australia’s constellation of artists making ambient, experimental and otherwise avant-garde music. It may be trite to warn against genre-pigeonholing, but in this case necessary.

The label’s founders Brad Shawyer and Lauren Mitchell have thus far built a discography ranging from single-instrument live recordings to the most inventive forms of ‘computer music’ you’ll hear. We could call it some type of listening music – perhaps best imbibed from the couch rather than dancefloor – but Shawyer suggested some upcoming releases might elude even that broad category.

Fortunately, we can allay these semantic concerns and get to know Music Company a much better way. Tune in to Mitchell and Shawyer’s mix for episode 28 of our series and get a taste for one of the most interesting new labels in Australian ‘electronic’ music.

WISER

Beats by Beat: WISER gives us a mix that’s outer-worldly yet down-to-earth

It’s impossible to properly describe the outer-worldly yet down-to-earth, wholesome but turbo essence that is Stephanie, aka WISER.