Actor/ DJ Alex Dimitriades is set to once again get behind the decks and bring his records to Brisbane.
Alex's DJing career is often mentioned as an aside to his work on Underbelly, The Slap, Head On and The Heartbreak Kid, but it actually predates his acting.
“It's the mainstream that has the problem,” he says. “It's partly my fault, I was a DJ before I was an actor, but I wasn't known and haven't been known as one. It's two sides of me that will never go away.”
He does concede that for him, there are similarities between the art forms.
“I understand the parallels between storytelling and telling the truth. My music selection is very much about telling the truth because real music doesn't lie, and that's what I try and play. When I'm DJing, it's just me being myself, rather than playing a part. When I am playing a part onstage or in front of a camera, that's very much about channelling another person. I guess, when acting, you can do or say things that resonate in your own life, but it's not really you. There's a cloak of mystery involved. Whereas with music I feel like the only mystery is in the music itself. It's just a great escape, an energy, and I love running with it.”
It was '80s music that inspired Dimitriades initially, and there are seemingly few contemporary musicians that continue to do so.
“Very few and quite obscure bands [inspire me now],” he admits. “On the live music front, there's a band from Milwaukee called Kings Go Forth and they have a bit of a throwback '70s soul sound. A lot of people are doing it at the moment, but they're the most authentic and they're doing it right. Just fucking good music. I primarily collect vintage music and tend to play the sounds that have influenced all the various musical movements that have shaped our generation. A lot of the music doesn't age — it's incredibly influential. Samples are sometimes 20 or 30 years old and are responsible for creating some of the biggest contemporary hits. That Fatboy Slim sample... [sings] 'I'd like to praise you'... by Camille Yarbrough is from the '70s or something! Billions of people who buy the record don't know that. It's all reinventing old music and I like to present that to people.”
Due to all of these influences, Alex struggles to describe his sound, but certainly knows what he's aiming for as a DJ.
“I just play the funky shit. It doesn't matter if you've heard it before or not, the main thing that I look for in a crowd is an open mind.”
Alex Dimitriades plays poolside at Bacchus with support from Benn Hopkins and Sharif D on the sax this Sunday November 25. For more info (and private table reservations), head to bacchussouthbank.com.au.
