DJ Obliveus - DJs used to be the enemy
Author: Michelle Pirovich
Sunday, January 18, 2004
"Changing the spelling of my name to 'Obliveus' used to cause me all sorts of headaches. I don't think my name was spelled correctly on any promotional material for the first year that I played here. But it's my own fault, so who can I really bitch to- Nowadays, I make sure to point out that I actually spell it correctly and it's those evil bastards at Webster's Dictionary that have been stuffing it up for the past 200 years."
Born Eric Ryan, DJ Obliveus was the front man for a funk/ska/reggae band in San Jose, California. After 5 years Eric grew sick and tired of band dynamics, quit and began looking for something else to keep him occupied.
"An old friend got in contact with me and invited me to a warehouse party he was DJing at. At the time I hated DJ's. They were enemies of the band scene in my close-minded opinion. To make a long story short, I went to the party, partook in some happiness and bought decks 2 months later. I was hooked from the start. I moved to Melbourne 1 year later and haven't looked back since."
With little direction as to where to head musically it was an appearance by Soul of Man that settled the score for Obliveus.
"I walked away from Soul of Man with a sense of direction. Up to that point I didn't know dance music too well and just bought the deep house and hip hop records that my friends said were cool to play. After seeing Soul of Man I knew what music I wanted to play and I've been a breaks head every since."
With a great affection for beats and sounds of the disjointed and syncopated type, Obliveus is successfully working breaks, drum n bass and jungle into one almighty beat fest.
"My inspiration for d'n'b and jungle came from MC Direkt about 2 years ago. He started bringing over all his d'n'b records and all it took was a few smoke/spinning sessions and I was hooked. Fortunately, I've been able to include all 3 styles in my sets at 'Beats Working' and occasionally at 'Fractured'. Both styles induce such a positive reaction from the crowd that I think there will be a time when all 3 styles can sit together in one room at one party and that time is now. More people just need to have the confidence and trust from the crowd. They're both just two peas in the breakbeat pod."
Having just celebrated their second year of breakbeat shenanigans, 'Beats Working' is only one small part of a very busy schedule for DJ Obliveus.
"Organising the Beats Working website takes up a good deal of my time most weeks. In addition to running Beats Working I'm also a resident with Fractured, Destroyer and Break Rock City. I run a monthly d'n'b night with Direkt, Fickuss and Dopebeat called 'Prime Mover'. But all of this pales in comparison to raising my 2-year old son, Zachariah. He's my little man and along with my wife, the most important thing in my life. My "real" job is a Primary School teacher, which is by far the best job to have if you love DJing. I always have weekends off and I get plenty of vacation time every year."
DJ Obliveus's track of the moment is 'Brothers Bud Vs Z2 - The Herbgrinder (Original Mix).
"I've always been a huge fan of dancehall/reggae music and this track just melds reggae and breakbeat so well. My sets have been leaning heavily towards this vibe of late."
Whether it's the direction he takes at this years 'Rainbow Serpent Festival' though will depend on the position of the sun and the moon.
"If it's early in the afternoon, expect a lot of jazzy beats, dancehall and ol skool funk breaks. If it's later at night I'll play heaps of funky ragga breaks in the Freestylers, Finger Lickin vein with some d'n'b thrown in for good measure. It really depends on what the crowd is up for. I think the fresh a Tags