Brisbane multi-instrumentalist and producer Blatwax won't let something as minor as a broken computer stop him from bringing the goods.
Having spent his youth submerged in psychedelic blues and progressive metal, 23 year old Blatwax AKA Blajke Chandler says he found his calling when he accidentally discovered the electronic dance music scene.
“When I was about 15 I was obsessed with grunge music and I played lots of guitar and basically sat around in my room for years recording crap on Garage Band. I hated electronic music and then one day a friend dragged me to a rave and I was swept off my feet and ended up diving headfirst into it.”
With an upcoming show at the Hi-Fi supporting successful electronic artists Opiuo and Spoonbill, Blajke is excited to be on the same bill as such big names and optimistic that technical difficulties won't get in the way of a good time.
“I've played with Spoonbill and Opiuo before at Rainbow Serpent Festival, that was really cool because it was a much bigger crowd than what I'm used to. I've seen Opiuo at the Hi-Fi a few times and his shows always sell out. Unfortunately I won't be able to bring my regular live rig to this one because my computer has died ... For now I'm going to have to revert to typical old school DJ tactics. I'm very out of practice but it will be good fun and an interesting slant on the live show.”
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has experienced an astronomical increase in popularity with international audiences in recent years, but Blajke says the Australian scene is headed in a positive direction.
“In Australia, a lot of the EDM scene focuses around the psychedelic experience, at least in the underground anyway. More recently it's changing because of artists like Madeon and Skrillex and it's become a lot more mainstream which isn't a bad thing at all. It's made people tighten their belts and become better producers. In Australia Opiuo and Mr Bill and a lot of glitch artists are in this odd middle ground between rave culture and a mainstream slick sound, so I'm really happy with how things have turned out.”
Blatwax plays with Opiuo and Spoonbill at the Hi-Fi, Saturday May 4.
