DJ Void

Dem: Tell us about your first experience as a DJ at a club, and what motivated you to become a DJ.

Void: My first foray into the clubs was with DJ Lazarus over at the Velvet underground. He was kind enough to allow myself and Darktide an hour or so at the beginning of one of his Sunday nights.
It was a hell of a lot of fun - we sucked, couldn't match a beat or start a cd in some cases, but it got smoother as the night progressed. But as bad as I remember I was, it changed my perspective on things - I had an awesome time and I found a new way of making music. I've always loved music, but there's something powerful about loving music with people around. I've seen DJs make a crowd and break a crowd, keep a crowd hyper and cool a crowd down and its a phenomenal thing. Something I definitely would like to craft and eventually become a more permanent part of.

Dem: Your main focus currently is Future Pop Radio? Tell us more about that and why we should listen.

Void: FPR was something that I started way back when - 2000 or so? I can't remember. Anyway, it fell apart when I left the country for a while and then got started up again as a joint venture between Darktide and myself in 2002. I started it as an outlet for some kind of creativity and it just grew into something much larger. Currently we have 4 DJs, two of them from the states, with shows that span from Noise to Trance and everything in between. We try to showcase new music as well as classic club tracks, but primarily its about getting the music we love heard. It's just an arena - an excuse to play the music. I'm actually overwhelmed with the amount of support we've been getting from our listeners - it's definitely a driving force for what we do. Why should people listen? Why shouldn't they? We've got a virtual cornucopia of musical styles, shows archived over the span of a year, we take requests and we're always looking for ways to make the site better. Pretty much, if someone were to tell me that "I don't listen to FPR because of X", we'd fix it.

Dem: What one off events or regular nights have you done in the past?

Void: We've done a spattering of sets over the past year including Darkrave, Synthpopgoestheworld, the recent Hocico/Haujobb/Terrorfakt show, and quite a few guest spots thanks to the kindness of Lazarus, Trauma, and B0lt.

Dem: Name your personal top 5 bands and tell us why you like them.

Void: I don't know what you want here, so you get two lists - pick one!

Favourites of all time:
1. David Bowie - Do I need a reason?
2. Coil - Masterful soundscapes and industrial beauty. Incredible experimental madness.
3. Bauhaus - Though I'm not normally a Goth-music lover, I don't think I have a choice here.
4. Mesh - Haunting vocals and danceable beats - gotsta love em.
5. Nine Inch Nails - One of the first bands I ever bought a CD of, and I still haven't stopped listening to them.

Contemporary/Current Favourites:
1. Mesh - I can't get enough of them.
2. Iris - Yeah, it's wussy synthpop - and I love it. Awesome mood and soothing vocals.
3. VNV Nation - First band that hooked me on this whole FP thing - and Ronan's lyrics and vox are just perfect
4. De/Vision - More wussy synthpop, but oh so good. Plus, they get good remixes that keep them on the dancefloor.
5. Epsilon Minus - Two words: 00ntz 00ntz.


Dem: What bands do people most request?

Void: To tell you the truth, I can't remember. Since there's two of us, people normally request things from the person not DJing. But from what I recall, most requests come for the big 5: VNV, Covenant, Apop, Beborn, and Funker. Either that, or something totally random and obscure.

Dem: What bands do you wish people would request more?

Void: New bands! Or really old bands. I don't care. I wish people would come up to me and request a song that makes me say "Yeah! That's an awesome track, I'll put that on right now!" It sucks when people request a track and you have to inform them that you just played that band two songs ago. I just wish people would request different songs then the same old same old.

Dem: In your opinion, what are the best and the worst parts of being a DJ?

Void: The best part by far is when people are having a good time. Sure, blame it on the booze, but there's something nice about just watching people dance their asses off to a good track that you've selected. The worst part has got to be when it becomes routine. It hasn't happened to us yet, but I see some DJs who are playing music they hate because the crowd wants to hear it. I don't think I could do that. DJs love music so much - to make them play the same old stuff night after night is like making a world class chef cook nothing but kraft dinner for the rest of their lives. Not a good scene.

Dem: Do you still see yourself doing this in 5 years?

Void: God I hope not. Heh. I'd prefer to have evolved FPR into something bigger and better. 5 years is a long time, and I don't think that I could stick with it for that much time if it wasn't constantly improving. So I do hope to be doing this, just not this as it is. I also hope to learn how to make more sense.

Dem: How do you feel about the current state of the scene in Toronto, and where do you see it going?

Void: I think it's divided. I don't know. There seems to be a mesh of the goths, cyberpunks, rivetheads and <insert nifty name here> and they all go to the same clubs. Which is cool, but it's hard to appeal to the ebm and the synthpop and the industrial kids all at the same time, so you start to hear the club hits over and over again in an appeal to please everyone. I think that there's room for growth, but growth only comes with the abandonment of elitism - which is another thing that I find is prominent in the dark scenes. People seem to be more concerned with being "darker" than everybody else and turn their noses up at the plainclothes kids that come in off the street - not a good way to expand the scene. I think things like the popularity of Darkrave and Synthpopgoestheworld demonstrates that there is a good scene, with good people and I hope that it keeps going in that direction.

Dem: Anything else you'd like to add?

Void: Thank you to all the people who have supported us, all the people who have helped us out and mostly to all the people who listen to FPR and tell us how good it is / how much it sucks. It helps tremendously and maybe next year we'll kick RSA out of the "best radio station" award! I'd also like to give mad props Cohaagen Records, Alfa Matrix and Artoffact Records - I don't think any of my CDs come from anywhere else. And finally, I know we're all guilty of burning CDs, but support the artists when you can - if you can't buy the CD, go see their show, if you can't do that, bully a friend into buying the CD! These bands don't benefit from worldwide popular exposure and every little bit counts.