TF Archives

DJ Moneyshot - Mo' Money

Author: 3D
Monday, November 10, 2008

Scottish by way of Cardiff by way of Sydney (now) party don DJ Moneyshot is pretty much the king of mix-CDs. So expect mayhem on the dancefloor when he plays Club Club this week. 3D threw him a few questions to mash-up.

Do you find mashing up different styles harder than simply mixing one genre-

One style all night is pretty boring. In my head it makes more sense to try and tear up the dancefloor by mixing an old soul or pop tune with some dubstep, breaks or dnb. But, yeah, it takes a lot more thought beforehand, and more skill on the night to do it. But I get a bit twitchy just letting two similar genre tracks blend out. If I were in the crowd I’d want to hear the DJ thrashing between styles. In my head, a ’70s rock classic only works when flipped against an ’80s hip hop B-side.

You submitted a mix for Solid Steel radio this September. How far back does your relationship with the Ninja Tune family go-
I was a big fan first, in the late ’90s, after hip hop got gash. I dug their forward-thinking beats then found out about the radio show they do. I tentatively sent a live mix I’d done from decks into a Mini-Disc in something like 2003, and they played it live out to 36 countries. It was like finding a voice. Every mix I do I think ‘how would it sound on a Solid Steel show-’. Since then I’ve done about seven mixes that they’ve played, and won their mix of the year title for a kooky rock mix called Mother’s Ruin. I still get a glow when they deem my sets worthy enough to bust on their hallowed airwaves.

You’ve played some mean parties – what’s have been some of the highlights-

Bomb-shelters in Slovakia with my four-deck DJ partner, Parker; museums in Vienna with an MPC/vocalist band; playing just next to Red Square in Moscow, and fans travelling from neighbouring cities to see me; all-nighters in Barcelona with Bugz in the Attic; nights in Wales with Ugly Duckling that rocked so hard they named a B-side Cardiff; and boat parties in Bristol with MTV Jackass-lites, Dirty Sanchez… (20 grand of booze on sponsors Redbull’s tab – thanks very much).

You’ve also mixed a Welsh rap set on BBC 1Xtra – we didn’t know there were that many Welsh rappers, let alone enough Welsh rappers to fill an entire mix. Is it made up of Welsh talent or is it called like so simply because, you know, you’re from Cardiff-
There are probably more rappers in Wales than rap fans, which is a shame. The scene gets props from all over, though. The artists there are literally getting five stars in London-based mags because of the talent. I urge any real heads to Google the Dial-Up, SFDB, and Associated Minds record labels to get a clean dose of that old boom-bap. It’s not all just rhyming ‘leeks’ with ‘beats’. Rappers like Conrad Watts, Nobsta Nuts, Mudmowth and Ralph Ripshit are mad tight. Plus producers like Secondson, Optimas Prime and Rockwell are hyper than a heart attack. Fact.

What new sounds have been creeping into your sets lately-
A bit more bass-heavy sounding stuff from the UK. Honourable mentions include the new future beats direction The Nextmen are taking with their recent remix of the Stanton Warriors’ Get Wild. And the latest dubstep flex that Scratch Pervert Prime Cuts has added to Hit That Gash by Foreign Beggars and Zinc. Besides that I’m rinsing out Parker’s future-funk and samples album, To Eternity, and upfront indie electro, ska and mod rarities. And heaps of a cappellas that I’m transferring from vinyl to mp3 to bust out with my Serato set-up over God knows what.

Finally, we can’t let an interview pass without asking what your favourite money shot is…

I’ve not met Sydney’s DJ Moneyshot yet, or I’d dub him my favourite – great minds and all that… So I’ll have to say Ron Jeremy’s ten-second countdown, no-handed ejaculation. Which is a delightful image to leave on.

WHO: DJ Moneyshot
WHAT: Plays Club Club at Chinese Laundry
WHEN: Saturday 15 November
MORE: jammusic.com.au

Tags