So, with a new album out next month and half an Aussie tour remaining, we caught up with a hungover Dom…
Hi Dominic, how’s is going? A bit hungover. We ended up going out to Kings Cross and all over last night. We ended up in a stripjoint.
So no big plans for the day? Do you know what, I might just sleep. I’m so hungover I might spend the whole day in bed. Maybe I’ll venture out later.
Got no miracle hangover cure then? Just battle through I think. Facebook, a duvet and a pillow.
Cool. Your current tour’s pretty hectic. Will you get the chance to explore at all? We’re off to the far east next, to like Thailand and Cambodia and Vietnam, so in one of those countries we’re going to take like five days off. But yeah, our tour schedules are pretty mental.
Do you enjoy it being so busy? That’s the job I guess. But it’s interesting with us because we make our own sound in a way, we don’t fit into a particular scene. So touring, well it’s where the money is, but it’s good to display our sound all over the place. There’s so many interesting countries it would be a shame to turn it down. You’ve just got to suck it up and do it.
Anywhere you’d really like to play but haven’t yet? It’s a bit random but I’d love to play in North Korea, to be the first ever DJ to play there.
Your new album is out in February. What can we expect? Basically it’s an amalgamation of a sound we play. A lot of people ask what we call our sound, but we don’t really pigeon hole it, so the album is like an answer to that question. You listen to it and you decide what it is. It’s good to have that CV out there of what you do, it’s not like we say we play dubstep, or house or hip-hop or whatever. It’s a Stanton sound and the album is the portfolio.
Is it more rewarding releasing something you’ve written? Yeah I think it is. To actually have your own stuff that you’ve made from scratch is the ultimate satisfying thing, especially when you’re DJing and performing your own tune at the same time. The double whammy.
Do you get more nervous about whether it will succeed? The good thing is that when you have a really good gig, the next day you’re still inspired to get in the studio and makes tunes. And likewise when you make a tune, to actually go and roadtest it in a club at the weekend is the best barometer of how a track sounds. You can make a track and think it’s really good, but nothing’s as good a testbed as playing it to a crowd for the first time and watching how it works.
It’s been 10 years since the first Sessions record. How’s that make you feel? Old. It has absolutely flown by. Ten years of hardcore parties really, it’s fucking tops.
Still know how to party hard then? We’re professionals!
Drink of choice? Jack Daniels and Coke. Sometimes it can descend into shots. Any kind of shot. I think when you get to that kind of level it doesn’t really matter what it is.
How do you decide what to remix? Just if there’s something really distinctive about a track. Something really hooky that you just think, “that would sound good with a fat beat under it”. It’s the x-factor.
Anyone on your remix wishlist? You know, I’m more interested in working with really fresh good young people who aren’t massive. Like we used the Streets back in 2001 when nobody had ever heard of them outside of pirate radio. It’s good to work with people who are hungry for it, are fresh and new, but also talented as well.
What do you cook when trying to impress? Butterfish sashimi, with Veuve Clicquot Champagne to wash it down.
Got any tattoes? No, although I’ve got photos of about 12 people with Stanton Warrior tattoes. It’s a bit weird, but I’m very flattered, it’s good.
What do you do to unwind? Chill out really. I like to do adventure things, from shooting guns in America to visiting temples in Cambodia. I like hanging out with people who aren’t necessarily from the music industry.
Stanton Warriors play Villa in Perth (Jan 25), Shores Complex in Adelaide (Jan 26), Academy Nightclub in Canberra (Jan 28) and Bar Soma in Brisbane (Jan 29). Their new album, Warriors, is due for release in February. See www.stantonwarriors.com
