Interview by Pete / Signal Drivers

Whether it’s DJing or running his night Wannabreak in Sydney, Stalka has made an impact on the breaks scene in a very short amount of time. He makes his first trip west to celebrate Destination?’s 3rd birthday and plans to pack plenty of pressies.

Creating a rather large name for yourself in the East, it's your first time to the West Coast. Tell us about the sound that defines you?
That's a hard question; I don't really have a sound that defines me because I tend play a variety of sounds from Nu Skool Breaks to Big Beat, Hip Hop, DnB and also Tech House, Techno and Electro. I hate to be pigeonholed & I guess the best way to describe it (hoping not to sound like a wanker) is "indescribable"…

How did it all start for you?
About 6-7 years ago I found myself on the other side of the turntables thinking to myself "I want to try this Dj-n thing". So I invested in a set of tables & a dodgy mixer. I was already pretty passionate about music in General and it came pretty naturally to me. I didn’t want to be big, I just wanted to share the music I enjoyed with other people - whether that be to a floor of 50 or 500 people - it didn’t (and still doesn’t) matter to me! DJ Switch who was one third of the legendary Live Breakbeat Group “INERTIA” from Perth was also instrumental in me taking up dj-n.

Where did the name come from or is it something your lawyer has advised against telling?
Haha - I used to answer that question with "Ask my ex-girlfriend… The one that has a restraining order on me" haha. I used to be Techno lover and Green Velvets track "The Stalker" was partial inspiration for the name. My real name didn’t sound very cool so I tried to find something that no one else was using and also had some "impact", that hopefully wouldn’t be easily forgotten. Unfortunately Stalker was a bit scary for some people so I dropped the "ER" off the end.

What can the Destination? crew expect from Stalka when you drop in for their birthday?
Allot of drinking and loud raucous behavior! And then some more drinking! Ha-ha. Birthdays are all about celebrating so that’s exactly what I will be doing! I will also be bringing a stack of Destination Promo CD's for pressies to hand out! I may or may not also be Santa’s little elf!

What are you expecting from your first trip west?
I want to see the sights and do the Tourist thing for a few days; I haven’t been to Perth since I was a kid and can’t remember much of it. I’m planning on checking out Rottenest Island and am looking forward to meeting all of the Perth crew! From what I have heard from Dopamine and The Sound Advice lads I am in for a real treat with some really nice people!

Sydney is at the forefront of the breakbeat sound, do you see the Sydney sound being different from the rest of the world and if so, how is it different?
I haven’t traveled enough to give an informed opinion but I don’t think we are doing anything different excepting a few producers and live acts who I would consider to be cutting edge. From what I hear both Melbourne & Perth have there shit going on - I'm really keen to get to Perth and see how green the grass actually is.

You're the man behind Wanna Break in Sydney, steadily becoming one of the largest breaks nights in Sydney. Tell us about that.
Wanna Break? was first formed by a group of breakbeat loving pissheads which included myself, Susi (the drinking machine), Matt (Dopamine), Tim (Robin Banks), Chris (Roostah) & Joules (Joules Fine). The idea came about to throw a cheap but wicked forum party for the ITM breaks forum community and to also give some up and comers a chance at playing there first ever gigs! I remember how hard it was trying to get my first gig and for me this was a great opportunity to give something back and help others get there foot in the door. It’s really all about having fun for us - I think if we ever get to the point where we end up taking it too seriously, we will chuck it all in and take up crochet or stencling haha.

Where do you see Wanna Break going over the next 12 months and the next few years?
Probably not moving anywhere too fast - we don't really want to. We've worked with the Burdekin Hotel in Sydney for almost 2 years now and there is much love between us! We would like to grow by getting more interstate djs on the bill and expose our audience to the awesome talents that we have on our own shores rather then just spit out internationals and try to make big $$$.

We want to keep the party as cheap as possible (because we think that’s important) whilst still offering great value, awesome production and wicked djs / live acts. We have already hosted the likes of Micah & Karlsav (Perth), Solid & Stable (Queensland), 30Hz & Baobinga (The Bodysnatchers (UK), Dusk (Adelaide) and look forward to playing host to Nago (Melbourne) and The Signal Drivers (Perth) in the new year along with our established and up and coming talent.

Dopamine describes you as one of the hardest working men in the business. What motivates you?
I don't work anywhere near as hard as John Wall (Fuzzy) but I do like to sink myself into alot of different things whether it be radio, club nights, gigs or whatever. Music is something I am passionate about and I will be involved with music for a long time to come, whether it be throwing the parties, playing at them, attending them or just listening to music.

Who is doing it for Stalka in the breaks world at the moment?
I find myself digging deep into the old crates allot lately and rediscovering some of the sounds that have been forgotten. It’s mainly big beat that does it for me with the old stuff, but in relation to current artists I would have to say that the likes of Si Begg, Andy Page, Lee Coombs, The Propellerheads, Beat Monkeys, Nubreed, Tipper, Hyper and many more all have had influences on me! Of course local talents such as Dopamine, Dirty D, Basskleph, llupa, Teknic B, Klaus, Bitrok, Karlsav and The Signal Drivers always get a place somewhere in my bag!

You can catch Stalka at Destination? turns 3 on 15th December @ Ambar. For more info see the teknoscape events guide