Coming in hot into the scene is none other than Naarms up & comer Black Dave, Dave has started making his name around the Naarm scene playing at the likes of Revolver Upstairs, Xe54, Marination, Bourke Street Courtyard for Novel events and recently just came off a stellar set at the Sound Gallery, Dave is also fresh off a release titled "Desert Dancer"
We think Dave is a good fit for our drop this month, as he is blowing up over the scene playing at the big clubs around Melbourne, and shows off his love for different genres of electronic dance music. We recently caught up with Dave for him to tell us about his music career and what you can expect from him in the future.
Q & A:
Question 1: When did the drive to start mixing and being involved in Dance music be a big thing for you in your life?
A: Looking back, I think from a relatively young age I’ve always loved dance music. I can remember vibing out to Music Sounds Better With You and Groovevjet on the radio when they had just come out. I think that love progressed whilst growing up which led me to be an obessed edm fan, and through that become exposed to the big festivals like Tomorrowland and Ultra. After watching that for a few years I kinda knew I was gonna give DJ'ing a crack.
Question 2: Your set on The Sound Gallery was extremely unreal did you go into this set planned? or did you go with the flow?
A: I don't ever really plan any set if I am honest. Most times I will rock up with like 200-300 songs in a playlist and just vibe off how I'm feeling when I get there and just play off the crowd and my vibes I'm getting. For The Sound Gallery set, because I wasn't playing to any crowd, I reduced the number of songs I had in my playlist to around 100 and just went with the flow with how I felt when I was playing.
Question 3: Who has given you the drive to get where you are today?
A: I think watching people succeed and continue to do well in the scene gives me big motivation to continue to do more and work harder on my own craft, in both producing and DJ'ing. I think it shows me that if I keep doing putting in the yards, people will begin to notice.
Question 4: What is your favourite Venue you have played at?
A: I've played at a few nice ones but I think playing on a ship in Williamstown at the Good Behaviour event earlier last year would have to be up as one of my favourite spots I've played at.
Question 5: How is the producing side of your career going?
A: Yeah, its going well. I started producing EDM on FL Studio a few years back then stopped for a few years then I downloaded Ableton towards the end of last year and started learning that. I've currently got a few unreleased tracks that I'm really excited about and am hoping to get some of them out on an EP before the end of the year. At the moment now, it's been really difficult to find the time to sit down and focus on producing with fulltime work and other commitments getting in the way, but I hope to finish a few more tracks real soon.
Question 6: What is the one song you can't forget to play in your sets?
A: One song I've absolutely been rinsing in sets this year is the Alex Kassian Remix of Peyote Dreams' State of Mind. I think I heard for the first time at Pitch and has honestly been a favourite throughout the year.
Question 7: What is one piece of advice you can give to those just starting in the industry?
A: Go out a lot and network with people at your favourite venues, you never know who you're going to meet when you're out. Try and leave a good impression on everyone you come across, really does make a difference. Play music according to your time slot, don't try and bang out all the best songs you have when you're opening the floor. Lastly, just enjoy every set you play whether its opening or closing, playing to 10 people or to 200, someone has chosen you because they believe in you and that's something you shouldn't take lightly.
Question 8: Name your style in 5 words!?
A: Energetic, fast, groovy & hard hitting.
Question 9: What is your dream?
A: To continue to make music and have some of my tunes being played by favourite DJ's. I don't think there is anything more satisfying than that for any producer.
Question 10: Do you feel like the naarm community is growing stronger & stronger towards electronic dance music?
A: Well I think electronic music has always kind of been big in Melbourne/Naarm but yeah, I do believe it is growing a fair bit. I think the average 18/19-year-old would usually be listening to some form of electronic music whereas a few years ago they maybe weren't. I think its really positive to see and I hope it continues to grow and create more talented people within the community.
Below is the link attached for Daves most recent release labelled "Desert Dancer"
You can also find Dave here on his social media handles below
SOCIALS
Instagram: @BlackDave
Facebook: @Dave Mweemba
Soundcloud: @Black Dave