Dr Willis - Dr Willis: Hot, Hot, Hot
Having toured with the likes of Benny Benassi and Public Domain, Dr Willis knows how to rock the party. 3D chats with the Melbourne-based trance don ahead of Utopia Homegrown2.
How does it feel to be playing Utopia Homegrown2 – the biggest music festival dedicated exclusively to Australian hard dance-
To be honest it couldn’t really be anymore of a honour – it shows that all the hard work in the studio and the countless weekends on the road running myself into the ground DJing is actually starting to blossom in the eyes and ears of the public. In a nutshell it’s a very satisfying feeling!
As punters we always enjoy the different atmosphere of a festival vs a night out clubbing: what about for yourself, as a DJ, how do you find festivals-
Festivals are the pinnacle of what we do, the sheer level of production and the sea of people and playing your own production and seeing that crowd move as one, it can’t really be beaten for the feeling it gives me back! Don’t get me wrong, I love the intimate small gigs too, but the big events are what we aim to be playing at.
In honour of the occasion, can you list a ten-track iPod mix of Oz hard dance tunes-
Shit, I couldn’t name 10 of the top of my head. Let me rattle of some artists’ names that I have liked and played their stuff in the past and currently.
Hellraiser and The Engineer, these new guys Bioweapon, watch them, love their new stuff, even though I don’t play hardstyle the stuff that SDEE, Nitrous and Audio Damage that I have heard sounds the goods, LCK has a great package about to come out titled Penguins with some great mixes and I heard that Dr Willis character has done the odd decent track here and there.
You were making quite a few mixes and posting them on your MySpace profile last year – when can we expect an update, and what might be on it-
Ah yeah well I only have two hands and seven days a week and try to get ’em up there! I’m going to write it into my diary to do for tomorrow to load up my latest radio show. As usual it will be full of heaps of unreleased tunes that I’m currently playing in my sets and also showcasing some new stuff from my two labels Rockstar Wreck-chords and Freefall.
Are you working on any productions at the moment-
Always. Been in the studio with Mark Sherry the last few days, a track called Celsius 39 that we started on last year when you guessed it, it was 39 degrees. Also I have just finished a remix for the Organ Donors too that’s come out amazing that I will be playing at Utopia. Apart from that, got a few other projects always on the go both solo and collabs with such people as Re-Ward, tyDi, David Forbes and Gleave.
What else is on the cards for you this year-
Trying to keep focused in the studio and better my productions. Over for my annual tour of Europe in July and August which I will be playing at Dance Valley for the third year in a row, second year at Nature One in Germany, numerous club gigs including Lost in Belfast and some stuff in Denmark, off the top of my head. After that will be touring Indonesia in September including a monthly residency in Bali then festival season begins in Australia… shit where’s the year gone- Merry Christmas.
Ooh-er, you’re from the Margaret River – home to amazing wines and delicious cheeses. Got any tips on where to visit if we’re ever in southern WA and looking for a relaxing day out-
Either get a driver and hit the vineyards for a onslaught of tasting the finest wines Australia offers or grab your surfboard and hit Gracetown, my home town and my favourite place in the world!
WHO: Dr Willis
WHAT: Plays Utopia Homegrown2 at Acer Arena
WHEN: Saturday 18 April
MORE: homegrown.net.au / myspace.com/djdrwillis