As Australia prepares for the heat of summer, there are some among us coordinating costumes and practising their best dance moves with Strawberry Fields just around the corner.
In case you’re not versed in the rich culture of Australian electronic festivals, Strawberry Fields is one of Australia’s biggest and best of the kind, attracting top-tier electronic artists to set the floor while toeing the border between New South Wales and Victoria.
One such artist is CC:DISCO!, alias of Courtney Clarke, who’s been a mainstay of the Melbourne club scene for years.
Now one of city’s most popular party-starters, Clarke was originally from up north, and will be returning to her hometown of Tocumwal to light up the festival stage in 2018 – her sixth year in a row.
“Every single year is different, and I will also do something different. What you play and how you prep all depends on the stage and time you’re playing at,” she says. “But not prepping too much is also key. Strawberry Fields is great because it’s not too big that you can’t see and read the crowd.”
As the fest is practically held in her own backyard, Clarke will be scanning the crowd for familiar faces.
“I always take my dad and brothers, and I always have a great time. It’s the bush, and it’s my hometown, so I love playing disco and more uplifting tunes in that environment, and I feel really proud of what the Strawberry crew have done for my area.
“If only I’d had the opportunity to discover dance music when I was growing up, I’d have been DJing a lot earlier in life than I did. There’s not much to do around there, especially for people who are into music.”
CC:DISCO!’s sound mercilessly pumps the dancefloor with disco, house and boogie cuts intended to reduce pretention, leaving space for “only pure feeling”. Having performed over 60 festival sets, Clarke is still getting used to the nerves.
“I don’t think there’s ever a gig I don’t feel nervous at, but festivals I’m always super nervous because I’m first and foremost a dancer. I know how amazing a good set can be to a punter, and I always think back to when I wasn’t a DJ and try to connect with those feelings.
“Clubbing and festivals changed my life, opened my eyes and ears up to a whole new world; some of my bush stories are best not to be printed, but let’s just say I’ve lived a good life. This affects how I think about track selections and the direction I think the party needs to head into.”
Despite the crazy costumes and generally young crowd, many of the attendees are very astute electronic enthusiasts. While this could be a source of intimidation for many artists, Clarke admits that she tries not to let this control her too much.
“You can’t think about it too much. You just need to do your thing and do it fucking well, and then the good times will follow. I try not to take DJing too seriously because at the end of the day it is to make people dance, feel safe and feel happy.”
It’s a marathon that will hopefully never end, but what territory is Clarke planning to charter this coming fest?
“I think that it’s part of the role as a DJ to always try and push the current music being made, so I always try and slot new music into my sets. As much as I love the old stuff, the future is new producers so you need to support that too.
“I really try hard to create a safe and happy place where people can dance hard – and smile. At the end of the day, what keeps me going in life is when there’s a sea of people smiling, dancing and hugging each other right in front of you.
“To me, that’s what my job is: to connect with people and make them feel happy. I hope that can continue forever.”
