Gavin Campbell (Yothu Yindi) joins Timmy 5.30pm Thursday to talk about his involvement with Yothu Yindi and the up coming gig at Croxton Park Sunday 19th November 2017.
An originator, DJ, producer and label owner, Gavin Campbell is one of the most important influencers in Australia’s club and dance music scene. The founder and co-founder of landmark underground and mainstream Melbourne clubs of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Gavin pioneered the introduction of cutting edge strains of house, techno and other new music to the ravenous Melbourne scene. With a finely tuned archaeological ear, as a DJ he interspersed sets with deep-cut discoveries across genres including disco, funk and and created seminal cultural waves throughout this period that reverberate today. Though tireless in his pursuit of musical perfection during his 30 years of non-stop creating, the past two years have marked an auspicious return to form by the master, with music in the charts, exciting collaborations in train and the renaissance of his label, Razor Recordings. But to understand the significance of those achievements is to track Gavin’s remarkable journey, from young actor to awardwinning producer. In the early ‘80s, there were some glitzy mainstream discos along Melbourne’s King Street for the footballer set, but nothing for Melbourne’s young artists and uni students when Gavin opened an alternative club in the CBD called Swelter. DJing for the first time there, he learned the art of catering to a variety of tribal tastes in the one set. That was to hold him in good stead when his next project exploded onto the world club scene. In 1986 he teamed up with the promoter of rival underground hot spot, Hardware Club, to create Razor, credited with being the world’s coolest of its time (as the likes of Bono, Michael Hutchence and Sting attested) – because it was never about being seen. It was always about the music and those tribes who mingled joyously in the multi-storied art deco building where Razor existed Friday nights from 1am. Celebrities were free there to be just another face in the crowd and Gavin’s extraordinary talent for pulling together sets across genres made the ground level dance floor the most exciting in town. In 1989 Gavin founded Razor Records when he licensed a pair of old disco hits from the US, “Dance Across The Floor’ and ‘You Get Me Hot’, both by Jimmy Bo Horne. The label was then picked up by Mushroom Records in Melbourne and Razor started to make its own dance music. Its historic moment came through Filthy Lucre, comprised of Gavin, Robert Goodge (of ‘80s band I’m Talking) and DJ Paul Main, who together made Australia’s first international club hit with their remix of Yothu Yindi’s ‘Treaty’. It was awarded Song Of The Year at the 1991 ARIAs and was the fifth biggest-selling Australian record of the year. Gavin and Paul Main were the first Australian DJs to achieve an ARIA-certified Gold Record, as well as an ARIA nomination, in the Best Producer category. In 1992, Gavin opened Tasty, an alternative gay dance club way before its time – so much before its time that in 1994, Victoria Police raided the club and forcibly strip searched and illegally held for seven hours all 463 patrons and staff, with some cavity-searched. The reaction after was a moment that changed gay rights – and indeed, the rights of those attending music events – in Australia for the better, with politicians acknowledging the extremity and brutality of the raid. In the ensuing decade, Gavin created landmark clubs, Savage, Tasty, Temple, Bump! and Uranus, along with a successful stint as co-creator, musical director and resident DJ at Melbourne’s most recent clubbing juggernaut Poof Doof. Currently, Gavin holds down long term residencies at world renowned Australian multi-city event Trough X and Beaut at Toff In Town, with regular appearances at cult favourite Honcho Disko. Gavin has also recently DJed alongside Leftfield in Melbourne and regular guest appearances with John Course and Phil K on the recent Ministry Of Sound Reunion tour. The new Treaty remixes recently spent six months on the ARIA club chart which has resulted in Gavin spearheading a new live show called Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project. Gavin will be onstage this November as a central member of this show, performing with a Toaraiz SP-16 sampler and Ableton Live, at music festivals Strawberry Fields, Queenscliff Music Festival and Homeground First Nations Festival at Sydney Opera House. To prepare for the upcoming Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project shows, Gavin has expanded his production outfit Filthy Lucre to include Melbourne producer Nick Coleman and musician Ania Reynolds,musical director of Circus Oz. New remixes of several Yothu Yindi classics and Goanna’s Solid Rock have been produced, along with several original Filthy Lucre songs, all slated for release in 2018.
