We all know that within the confines of dance-music there are more sub-genres than you can poke a stick at. With names as varying as ‘Skacid’, ‘Clownstep’ and ‘Bubblegum Dance’ it seems as though a multitude of new sounds are born each week, with some only lasting days. It’s hyper-evolutionary nature can present a challenge for those who want to stay up-to-date. Proverbs about not turning your back on the ocean come to mind when one considers dance-music’s state of perpetual change.
So a guide is necessary in order to navigate these treacherous waters; and local DJs, Farj & Paul, have been making all the right moves to claim such a title.
Working under the moniker of GaragePressure, these bastions of new sound have stayed at the forefront of freshness by constantly scouring the Net for tracks that hint at the direction of dance-music. Their philosophy is simply to look forward, not risking stagnation. “It’s always, I guess, about the future music” explains Farj. “…We’ve always wanted to play music that people are going to get into [in] the future and it’s about subscribing to newer stuff all the time. So not being just comfortable with what you’ve got today and always looking for more into the future and that’s how we’ve approached it for the last – how long? – I would say a solid ten years that we’ve been trying to do this sort of thing.”
During those ten years GaragePressure has managed to secure a Friday night slot on FBi radio were, in the recent past, they’ve been finding the future in genres such as 2-Step, Breakstep, Grime and (the newest arrival) Dubstep. Meanwhile they’ve established Australia’s first dubstep label, Aquatic Lab, and it’s through these outlets, along with their own ‘Aquarium’ club night, that they’ve been serving up fresh sounds for Sydney ears.
These boys are so focused on their future orientated flavour that there’s hesitation from Farj when asked about a possible celebration in January marking GaragePressure’s decade birthday; “There’s a lot of priorities I guess … again, it’s kind of like looking forward, and saying it’s been ten years is looking backwards to be honest, it’s kind of reflecting.”
“We’ll lock something in man,” interjects Paul, “there’s so much on the plate in the coming months that we’ve gotta take care of, [but] we will mark the occasion.” Farj elaborates: “yeah, but it’s all about what we’re going to be doing in the next ten years, if we keep doing it for ten years. Our record label has started to get some more momentum now. The next release we expect is going to be really big, we’re getting really good feedback from it already.” And so they should expect it, what with their first release (LAB001) quickly selling out of the 3000 copies last year and the second featuring the grandfather of Dubstep, Zed Bias.
“[the second release] had some support as well, a lot of people have been feeling it. It’s a bit different … one of the sides is not really half-step it’s more of a rolling 2-Step. …The first one was a ‘wobbler’ so with the second one we thought we’d do something different, and the third one (LAB003) is going to be different again. So that’s Cotti.”
But just to bring on more ‘Pressure’ they’ve locked in a 4th release due out in November by a producer they’ve skilfully kept under raps. So until then you can check out GaragePressure’s weekly slot on FBi 94.5 from 9-11pm Fridays to see why I think they’re the sickest selectors since the lazy Susan.
