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Connecting with Bamboo's Nick Dem Q

Author: Paul Beynon
Monday, December 1, 2003
When I called Nick on Friday night, he had just returned from 'Seven Eleven' where he had been hassled by some young guys in a Commodore. The perfect way to start the weekend!

Our conversation (which ended up rambling for the duration of at least two lifestyle shows) started with Nick keen to tell me what had been going on over at the Bamboo camp.

For starters, the label will be parting company with Vicious Vinyl as their deal with them is all but up, and in light of Bamboo's success the time has come for the pair to leave the nest and take full control of the direction and sound of their label.

"Bamboo is about making connections - connections with other likeminded artists, with the punters and music lovers in the audience."

One needs only to hear the scope and variety of Bamboos' releases to realise that they have clearly made a connection. Particularly with those amongst the upper echelons of the music biz, namely Satoshi Tomiie, Seb Fontaine and Steve Lawler, all of whom cane Bamboos' tracks on a regular basis.

"I remember when Steve Lawler was in town recently, we had been told that he was too tired to see anyone, but when Steve heard that Nick and Hess were banging on his door he jumped up and was more excited to see us than we were him," laughs Nick.

In what is all too commonplace here in Australia, Nick tells me that most of their support comes from overseas (an issue that frustrates Nick greatly); which makes it only logical that Bamboo are now signing international artists.

Their most recent release is from 'Eric Entrena'. Hailing from Spain, Eric is the first international artist to join the Bamboo team.

"Eric has played in clubs across Europe, has released his own work on 'Purpose Records' and Italian label 'Loud Bit', and his music also appears on numerous compilations. 'Let the Music Move You' was released on Bamboo just recently with a remix by Dr Kucho."

As the labels success continues to grow, so to does the success of Bamboo's club nights. Currently they are hosting events in Shanghai at 'Park 97' and in Beijing at 'Club 99'. Their next event will headline 'Dr Kucho'.

"We are hoping to make Bamboo nights even more interactive. We want to focus on the Bamboo night as a whole, instead of just focussing on the Bamboo DJs. We want to incorporate visuals that are unique to Bamboo and relevant to the moods and styles of our music."

The Bamboo sound is praised by reviewers all over. With a diverse style ranging from latin grooves to dark and nasty tech house, their sets make for a unique aural journey. One unfortunately that Melbournians will have to wait a little while longer for.

Without getting political and pointing out the ills of our local scene, Nick expressed his frustrations with Australia's current state of play, and I agreed with a lot of what he said.

Which brings me to the question as to how a pair of talented artists have their records stacking up in the crates of superstar DJs all over the world, yet the level of recognition received in their hometown is all but minimal-

I'll leave this to the Tranzfusion massive to debate. In the meantime I will be paying much closer attention to the Bamboo boys.

Bamboo X is out now.
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