In just five short years Darius Bassiray has managed to amass an illustrious list of achievements in both his DJing and Producing. Quickly and Widely becoming noticed as some of the latest high quality talents on offer from Australia. Darius Bassiray's sound and attention to detail has seen him make a mark with not only his productions but with his DJ sets.
Joining forces in 2002 with Daniel Banko under the Rollin Connection guise- the two have experienced great success becoming one of Melbourne’s forerunners of the Deep Rolling Tech House sound. Just 12 months after coming together, Darius and Daniel set up their own night “Darkbeat,” a name which in the last five and a half years has become synonymous with providing only the best local and international DJs.
On the production front Darius Bassiray has made a name for himself producing fresh, unique beats which have turned heads on the dance floor and enjoying releases on on Jamie Steven's, Stel and John Delagelis' imprint 'Dieb Audio" out of Athens, Greece as well as “Arabica,” “Proton” and “Composure,” Darius' releases have been played and charted by the likes of Laurent Garnier, Slam, Peace Division, Terry Francis, Ivan Smagghe, Mistress Barbara, Hernan Cattaneo, Habersham, Desyn Masiello, Hybrid, Chris Fortier, Maetrik, Anthony Pappa and James Zabiela featured “Lorenzo” in his “Four” compilation.
As DJ's - Darius & Daniel are often trusted with the most crucial DJ sets in Melbourne. Danny Howells has been quoted as saying Rollin Connection's warmup set for his recent Australian tour "was the top 10 % of any warm up i have had - THE fuckin warm up to end it all".
Since their first DJ appearance at “Sunny,” as some of the youngest DJs to play the main room, at only 21, Rollin Connection have come to support an endless list of the worlds most talented and revered DJs including Lee Burridge, Mathew Jonson, James Holden, James Zabiela, Clive Henry, Michael Mayer, Layo & Bushwacka, Marc Romboy, John Tejada, Sander Kleinenberg, Samuel L Session, DJ Three, Petter, Ame, Chris Fortier, Nic Fanciulli, Guy J, Jimmy Van M, Hybrid, Anthony Pappa, Hernan Cattaneo, Habersham, and countless others.
They have had a relentless tour schedule around Australia including residencies at Darkbeat & Sunny, and have also played Earthcore, Hot BBQ Festival, Likes Of You, Blow Your Own Way, Pretty Simple, Renaissance, Chinese Laundry (Sydney), Lost Baggage(Sydney), Spice (Sydney), Subservice (Sydney), Loose Kaboose (Sydney), Civic (Sydney) Drop (Brisbane), Bar Open (Perth), Habitat (Perth) Q Bar (Bangkok), and OMP (Kaula Lumpur)
At the end of the day it all seems to be adding up right, with growing local and international exposure, Rollin Connection have a bright future ahead of him not only in the in the studio, but in the DJ Booth.
Joining forces in 2002 with Daniel Banko under the Rollin Connection guise- the two have experienced great success becoming one of Melbourne’s forerunners of the Deep Rolling Tech House sound. Just 12 months after coming together, Darius and Daniel set up their own night “Darkbeat,” a name which in the last five and a half years has become synonymous with providing only the best local and international DJs.
On the production front Darius Bassiray has made a name for himself producing fresh, unique beats which have turned heads on the dance floor and enjoying releases on on Jamie Steven's, Stel and John Delagelis' imprint 'Dieb Audio" out of Athens, Greece as well as “Arabica,” “Proton” and “Composure,” Darius' releases have been played and charted by the likes of Laurent Garnier, Slam, Peace Division, Terry Francis, Ivan Smagghe, Mistress Barbara, Hernan Cattaneo, Habersham, Desyn Masiello, Hybrid, Chris Fortier, Maetrik, Anthony Pappa and James Zabiela featured “Lorenzo” in his “Four” compilation.
As DJ's - Darius & Daniel are often trusted with the most crucial DJ sets in Melbourne. Danny Howells has been quoted as saying Rollin Connection's warmup set for his recent Australian tour "was the top 10 % of any warm up i have had - THE fuckin warm up to end it all".
Since their first DJ appearance at “Sunny,” as some of the youngest DJs to play the main room, at only 21, Rollin Connection have come to support an endless list of the worlds most talented and revered DJs including Lee Burridge, Mathew Jonson, James Holden, James Zabiela, Clive Henry, Michael Mayer, Layo & Bushwacka, Marc Romboy, John Tejada, Sander Kleinenberg, Samuel L Session, DJ Three, Petter, Ame, Chris Fortier, Nic Fanciulli, Guy J, Jimmy Van M, Hybrid, Anthony Pappa, Hernan Cattaneo, Habersham, and countless others.
They have had a relentless tour schedule around Australia including residencies at Darkbeat & Sunny, and have also played Earthcore, Hot BBQ Festival, Likes Of You, Blow Your Own Way, Pretty Simple, Renaissance, Chinese Laundry (Sydney), Lost Baggage(Sydney), Spice (Sydney), Subservice (Sydney), Loose Kaboose (Sydney), Civic (Sydney) Drop (Brisbane), Bar Open (Perth), Habitat (Perth) Q Bar (Bangkok), and OMP (Kaula Lumpur)
At the end of the day it all seems to be adding up right, with growing local and international exposure, Rollin Connection have a bright future ahead of him not only in the in the studio, but in the DJ Booth.
Check out Darius' sound and our interview with him!
Butter - So what came first the production or DJing?
Darius - I started DJing 8 years ago, in my little apartment in Hawthorn, after playing out for around 4 years I started producing after Stuart Mckeown arrived in Melbourne and taught me the basics in around 2004. After 2 months of messing around on the computer I released my first track called Lorenzo on Proton Music and I was lucky enough to get a great remix from Habersham which to this day sounds very futuristic and current.
That tune was still one of my biggest releases, I think it worked because I put all my ideas I had in my head into one tune as it was one of the first things I wrote , it all came out of me, and it put me in the ears of a few people, in terms of producers and DJ’s outside of Australia being familiar with my work.
Butter - You've made quite a name for yourself in the dance music scene in a short space of time, where you always involved in dance/ electronic music?
Darius - Yes, in terms of musical out put I have only been involved in electronic music. After attending some rude parties at places like the Cage at the turn of the century, I was introduced to Sunny parties by some of my older friends and I really connected with that sound and haven’t looked back since.
Butter - With an ever growing amount of people pumping out similar sounds, its becoming harder and harder to make something that catches peoples attention and sounds fresh, how do you manage to keep people interested?
Darius - I never think about what people may like in a tune, I just write what comes naturally. Having said that I am a firm believer that music that has an element of ethnicity to it will always remain timeless and current. World music and the like doesn’t seem to age with time and usually if programmed the right way within a production will have longevity.
I used to be very much into one style of music but over time I have learnt good music is good music, simple as that – and now I listen to, play and try to produce fresh sounds.
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Butter - What has been the biggest change in your production and DJ style since you started out?
Darius - Learning off my friends has definitely aided and assisted my production techniques. I will be the first to say I am not very technical , I don’t sit around and critique a million ways to create a snare drum, I’d like to think I have a good ear for sounds and I just do it. Having said that, there are times when I need a certain element to a tune that I don’t know how to do , and that’s when I turn to people like Paul Beynon who is technically off the bus.
Butter - Tell us about Darkbeat, how did you and Daniel Banko go about starting one of Melbourne's most prestige nights?
Darius - We started Darkbeat in a little bar in Smith St, Collingwood with a few friends as we needed a place to DJ as we were just kids. From there it grew and grew to a point where we left our full time jobs to concentrate on the party. We have had great success with it over the last 8 years and we are very much thankful to all of our supporters who make the party what it is. When people tell us that they appreciate the party because its all about the music, the crowd and the sound, that in itself is why we do what we do.
We are not about having a big super corporation behind us or having heaps of good looking girls prancing around and having their photo taken. How long we can sustain that for , I don’t know but if we make it to 10 years of solidly throwing parties I will be happy.. We celebrate our 8th birthday this Easter.
We have also started a new concept called No Nonsense which really emphasizes long DJ sets from internationals as well as locals – these are my favourite parties at the moment. Sven Vath, Guido Schneider, and Tom Clark is the next one.
Also Darkbeat Local Sessions have been amazing last year for us, again with the emphasis on long sets with a local DJ playing a 4 hour set. Gavin Keitel, Phil K and Kasey Taylor have been our first three guests – we definitely would like to expand this concept next year.
Butter - Tell us a little about the Rollin Connection guise, is this where alot of your time and effort is positioned?
Darius - Yep definitely. We DJ almost every weekend, so a lot of time needed researching, and sourcing music. We still enjoy it as much as ever, and this is still where a lot of our time in positioned. We have been really lucky and are very grateful to have played some really good gigs over the years.
Rollin Connection have established a solid name as DJs playing gig after gig and supporting the likes of James Holden, James Zabiela, Michael Mayer and Marc Romboy to name a few, how do you maintain the energy in your sets that keeps people coming back for more?
Each set is different, depending on where and when we are booked. We play a lot of warm up sets , which is personally one of my favourite sets to play , I think it takes a lot of time and experience to get those types of sets right , maintaining the energy of a room , but not taking the spotlight so to speak.
We just played a peak time set at Rainbow Serpent Festival at 3 am which again was very different, more bigger records that sound great in the bush on a outdoor rig - Soon I will be playing an extended set at Ebb and Flow at Loop which will be a retrospective type of set and again something very different all together – it will be more of a groove based set, left of centre in terms of direction and programming – so adapting well to the environment I guess is the answer to your question.
Butter - So whats in your earphones at the moment?
Darius - Maetrik– I have been following him for years since his early album on Triebstoff – I always knew he was destined for great things – and his new album on Crosstown Rebels as Maceo Plex I think will pummel him right into the ears of many listeners , I think he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.
Other producers Im digging at the moment are Silicone Soul, Habersham, Deetron, Rift, Robag Whrume, Mathew Jonson, Lusine, Kobuto & Koji, Carl Craig.
DJ wise i always have time for Chris Fortier, Jon Beta, Mike Callander, Lister Cooray, Lee Burridge, Phil K, Ozzie LA, Gavin Keitel, Matt Gatt, and LIVE wise – again Mathew Jonson is really doing it for me at the moment.
Butter - On top off DJing, producing and running your own night, you also run your own label (Text Book Music) which has been pumping out some A grade tracks. Tell us about Text Book and the releases you have going on.
Darius - Text Book Music, is really something I am excited about. I love the fact I get total creative freedom to present music that means something to me. I really took my time with it making sure I got the correct music to present, im stoked with the response it has been getting. In terms of our releases, the first was my orginal El Camino which was remixed by Chris Fortier, Stuart Mckeown and myself and Paul Beynon which was a continuation of our ‘Balls Deep’ remixing we started with Jeebuz Champ on Dieb Audio.
The second release was Paul Beynon’s fantastic Psychedlic Beach Doof with remixes from Rob Dowell, and myself and Beynon Balls Deeping again. The third release is what I am most excited about. It is an EP called the ATL EP , which is a 5 track EP from producers all from Atlanta. These guys (Habersham, Absence Of Essence, Komposit, Rift, Rob Dowell, etc) are so cutting edge with their music it genuinely excites me… These tunes - I am not sure how to even genreise (is that a word?) them, which is so sick.. They are somewhere in between techno, and electronica. They are fuckin serious. It’s a very similar sound to what I present when I play , and I was very happy when they asked if they could release this music on Text Book…
Butter - What does Rollin Connection and Darius Bassiray have in store for us in 2011?
Darius - As Rollin Connection, we are warming up for Sven Vath in early March which we are really excited about then the very next day we head over to North America, playing the Balance Party at the Miami WMC, then we do Atlanta, and Los Angeles, then a few interstate gigs including a 4 hour set before Phil K in Canberra in April, then back again to run more parties for Darkbeat / No Nonsense, then we head to South America to play in the main room at Pacha in Argentina. Banko played there last year with Anthony Pappa the room holds 5,000 people , so its gonna be the biggest room I have ever played! Then we do Chile, Brazil and Uruguay.
For myself, I have a new original tune coming out on Pinksilver with Jon Beta, and a remix for Fade, a remix im working on with Habersham for Melbourne producer Child, and another remix of Stuart Mckeown’s Chemical Thrust for Text Book Music. I also play the next Ebb and Flow at Loop Bar on Feb 11 which Im really excited about – its gonna be one of those sets where I really get the freedom to let loose and go deep into the rabbit hole.
- thanks for reading!
We are not about having a big super corporation behind us or having heaps of good looking girls prancing around and having their photo taken. How long we can sustain that for , I don’t know but if we make it to 10 years of solidly throwing parties I will be happy.. We celebrate our 8th birthday this Easter.
We have also started a new concept called No Nonsense which really emphasizes long DJ sets from internationals as well as locals – these are my favourite parties at the moment. Sven Vath, Guido Schneider, and Tom Clark is the next one.
Also Darkbeat Local Sessions have been amazing last year for us, again with the emphasis on long sets with a local DJ playing a 4 hour set. Gavin Keitel, Phil K and Kasey Taylor have been our first three guests – we definitely would like to expand this concept next year.
Butter - Tell us a little about the Rollin Connection guise, is this where alot of your time and effort is positioned?
Darius - Yep definitely. We DJ almost every weekend, so a lot of time needed researching, and sourcing music. We still enjoy it as much as ever, and this is still where a lot of our time in positioned. We have been really lucky and are very grateful to have played some really good gigs over the years.
Rollin Connection have established a solid name as DJs playing gig after gig and supporting the likes of James Holden, James Zabiela, Michael Mayer and Marc Romboy to name a few, how do you maintain the energy in your sets that keeps people coming back for more?
Each set is different, depending on where and when we are booked. We play a lot of warm up sets , which is personally one of my favourite sets to play , I think it takes a lot of time and experience to get those types of sets right , maintaining the energy of a room , but not taking the spotlight so to speak.
We just played a peak time set at Rainbow Serpent Festival at 3 am which again was very different, more bigger records that sound great in the bush on a outdoor rig - Soon I will be playing an extended set at Ebb and Flow at Loop which will be a retrospective type of set and again something very different all together – it will be more of a groove based set, left of centre in terms of direction and programming – so adapting well to the environment I guess is the answer to your question.
Butter - So whats in your earphones at the moment?
Darius - Maetrik– I have been following him for years since his early album on Triebstoff – I always knew he was destined for great things – and his new album on Crosstown Rebels as Maceo Plex I think will pummel him right into the ears of many listeners , I think he deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment.
Other producers Im digging at the moment are Silicone Soul, Habersham, Deetron, Rift, Robag Whrume, Mathew Jonson, Lusine, Kobuto & Koji, Carl Craig.
DJ wise i always have time for Chris Fortier, Jon Beta, Mike Callander, Lister Cooray, Lee Burridge, Phil K, Ozzie LA, Gavin Keitel, Matt Gatt, and LIVE wise – again Mathew Jonson is really doing it for me at the moment.
Butter - On top off DJing, producing and running your own night, you also run your own label (Text Book Music) which has been pumping out some A grade tracks. Tell us about Text Book and the releases you have going on.
Darius - Text Book Music, is really something I am excited about. I love the fact I get total creative freedom to present music that means something to me. I really took my time with it making sure I got the correct music to present, im stoked with the response it has been getting. In terms of our releases, the first was my orginal El Camino which was remixed by Chris Fortier, Stuart Mckeown and myself and Paul Beynon which was a continuation of our ‘Balls Deep’ remixing we started with Jeebuz Champ on Dieb Audio.
The second release was Paul Beynon’s fantastic Psychedlic Beach Doof with remixes from Rob Dowell, and myself and Beynon Balls Deeping again. The third release is what I am most excited about. It is an EP called the ATL EP , which is a 5 track EP from producers all from Atlanta. These guys (Habersham, Absence Of Essence, Komposit, Rift, Rob Dowell, etc) are so cutting edge with their music it genuinely excites me… These tunes - I am not sure how to even genreise (is that a word?) them, which is so sick.. They are somewhere in between techno, and electronica. They are fuckin serious. It’s a very similar sound to what I present when I play , and I was very happy when they asked if they could release this music on Text Book…
Butter - What does Rollin Connection and Darius Bassiray have in store for us in 2011?
Darius - As Rollin Connection, we are warming up for Sven Vath in early March which we are really excited about then the very next day we head over to North America, playing the Balance Party at the Miami WMC, then we do Atlanta, and Los Angeles, then a few interstate gigs including a 4 hour set before Phil K in Canberra in April, then back again to run more parties for Darkbeat / No Nonsense, then we head to South America to play in the main room at Pacha in Argentina. Banko played there last year with Anthony Pappa the room holds 5,000 people , so its gonna be the biggest room I have ever played! Then we do Chile, Brazil and Uruguay.
For myself, I have a new original tune coming out on Pinksilver with Jon Beta, and a remix for Fade, a remix im working on with Habersham for Melbourne producer Child, and another remix of Stuart Mckeown’s Chemical Thrust for Text Book Music. I also play the next Ebb and Flow at Loop Bar on Feb 11 which Im really excited about – its gonna be one of those sets where I really get the freedom to let loose and go deep into the rabbit hole.
- thanks for reading!
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