Scene Magazine cover story interview...
MATT KITSHON
GOOD TO BE HOME
Even after a long flight and days without sleep, you can still hear the excitement in Matt's voice as he picks upthe call from his Shanghai hotel room. The Met has been in the pipeline for years and he can’t wait to introduce Brisbanepunters to the newest and shiniest venue on the block.
"I’m really excited," Matt blurs down the crackled line. "It’s the first time in two years I’ll actually be callingsomewhere home. The last two years have basically all been just touring to a different city, different club every night, soit will be awesome to be able to push music in the one place, day after day."
Reveling in the opportunity to return to his hometown after two years abroad in China, Matt has turned his back onhis continued success in Asia in order to pursue his residency at Met. While that means a certain amount of responsibilityand expectation falls on his shoulders, he’s looking forward to the challenge. "Brisbane has essentially been a one club town for 4 years. [I’m] not taking anything away from clubs like Uber and Monastery- which I called home for a long time - but I really think a venue with a large capacity and a world class fit out is longover due in Brisbane. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of it." It’s no secret that as the world's electronic scene becomes more molded by a developing commercial market, the undergrounddance culture moves further into recession. Matt believes that with more and more clubs playing a greater variety of sounds,this recession will turn around.
"Once upon a time The Valley was the only place you went for electronic music and alternative lifestyle - the citywas the place for mainstream clubs. That’s changed, whether it be for the better or the worse … however, I think more venuesplaying a variety of music is good for any scene, no matter where you are and what you’re doing,"
Warming to the theme, Matt continues: "Variety is the spice of life. I think for a very long time there have beenvery few options and those options have all been doing the same thing."
It was this lack of options that fuelled Matt’s desire to immerse himself in the beginnings of the Chinese danceculture, where electronic music is still in its infancy and the underground scene is still fresh and vibrant. "The dance culture outside of the clubs just doesn’t exist," Matt admits, "dance music on the radio is a rarity; you don’thave record companies pushing artists, pushing products, like you do with EMI, Ministry of Sound in Australia."
It’s hard to believe that Brisbane used to be exactly the same, with electronic music only being pushed into thecommercial light in the last decade. "I’ve seen so many changes since the time we were punters," Matt recalls, "you didn’tget an international every week, you didn’t get an international every month; if you wanted to go see a top 10 or top 100 DJyou had to travel.
"We did 12 hours in a car, 5 kids in a van, all the way to Sydney, went out, saw who we wanted to see, turned aroundand came back and went to work on Monday morning," he laughs, struggling to recall the looseness of his yout. "I think thesedays, people don’t realise that it’s come so far, they take it for granted, every weekend they’ve got another great DJplaying a world class set."
That’s exactly what Matt will deliver when he steps behind the decks as The Mets resident; with years of experienceand an ear for future sounds, expect Matt to work the room like none other.
"My music has always had an edge to it whether it be electro or breaks or techno or house," Matt points out, "it’salways been a little left of centre … I like to blur the boundaries. I’m not a genre specific DJ, variety for me is what it’sall about … I want to take the best of everything and put it in and make something completely unique out of it."
After two years in China, Matt didn’t think moving back to Brisbane would be a further step in his DJ career. Still,he wouldn’t have it any other way. "Brisbane’s home," he says simply, "It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, home issomewhere you grow up, somewhere you always feel you are a part of. I’ve always been a Brisbane boy, always will be."
The prodigal son has returned.
- Seany Bhoy (Scene Magazine)
Matt Kitshon will take up residency at The Met when it opens its doors on Friday November 25.
Born and raised in what could be considered as dance music's finalfrontier, Brisbane, Australia, Matt Kitshon started djing after his first handobservations of the cultural revolution that was the acid house era of thelate 80's. In 2004 Matt relocated to his new home Shanghai, China, where he isnow based.
After a strong affiliation with the music, stemming from a keen ear forearly electro and breakdance sounds, before moving in to experimental beatsand eventually various genres of house music. Matt's career as a dj began with"Millennium" at The Tube nightclub back in 1995. He is credited withdeveloping and popularizing the breaks and tek sound that has contributed tothe Australian dance culture, as we now know it.
It was through early experiences on both sides of the turntables that Mattwas shown a way of life that immediately clicked into focus. From his earliestincarnation staging exclusive underground events similar to the now famousThailand "full moon" parties, he became one of Queensland and ultimatelyAustralia's most respected and sought after deejays.
Matt has played support sets for global acts such as Groove Armada [UK],Leftfield [UK], The Crystal Method [USA], Fatboy Slim [UK], CJ Bolland [GER],and Hybrid [UK]. He ;continues to be a feature on the Australian leg of theMinistry Of Sound, Gatecrasher, Dope on Plastic, and Renaissance world tourdates and has also appeared on the line up of major Australian festivals BigDay Out, Advenjah and Livid. Matt has supported almost every top internationaldj throughout his career, including Carl Cox, Sasha, John Digweed, Jeff Mills,Luke Slater, Derrick May, Roger Sanchez, Derrick Carter, Dave Seamen, JudgeJules, Dj Falcon, Graham Park, Steve Lawler, Sister Bliss and DJ Heaven toname a few. Matt has also toured to New Zealand for events such as AlpineUnity, New Zealand's largest outdoor dance party where he played support forTimo Mass and Austin Leeds, as well as international gigs in USA, Auckland,Christchurch, Queenstown, Manila & Boracay.
Matt held residencies in his home town of Brisbane at Viva, Port Office andMyBar where he demonstrated his ability to diversify and play deep, vocalhouse, whilst still spearheading deeper, darker sounds at The Monastery. AtQuest on the gold coast for the first two years of operations, Matt was onehalf of the unique experience and atmosphere that was "Costal Connection". Aconcept combining two of Qld's leading DJ's with performance art to createboth an audio and visual experience that set the standard of clubbing in thestate.
As Matt's career progressed, he became sought after by clubs aroundAustralia and played regularly at the infamous 'Sounds on Sunday' andAfterhours in Sydney, Amber and the Deen in Perth, The Embassy in Townsville,1936 in Cairns, and Motown on the North Coast of Queensland. More recently,Matt's wealth of experience, talent behind the decks and knowledge of asuccessful dance floor have taken him to his new home in Shanghai, China wherehe currently demonstrates his ability to open up the ears of his audience andbring house music to the masses..
While Matt has the ability to flirt with most musical styles, it is hisability to blend and morph genres to create something unique that is his truestrength. Central to this evolution, studio production became a naturalprogression for Matt with the completion of his fully equipped recordingstudio dubbed, Kitshon Inc., and D-Tek-Shon, an alter ego designed torepresent his production releases and harder edge dj appearances.
The advantage of an array of experiences and exposure to different genresof music makes Matts expansion into production work an easy transition.Competing agendas with interests in electro tek and house have induced acreative tension unleashed in his work. By fusing pounding house beats withretro synths, he is able to re-invent the sounds he has been familiar with forso many years.
Whether producing or Djing, Matt is defined and inspired by his great loveof music. Matt continues to confront the boundaries of music through hisinfamous performances and his depth of musical knowledge. His style and skillbehind the decks is guaranteed to rock any dance floor, creating a phenomenalatmosphere and lasting impression.