Nile Rodgers' guitar playing and compositions are uniquely his own. Even if you didn't know about Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, you could make an educated, safe guess that the guitar line on "Lose Yourself to Dance" came courtesy of the Chic leader. Likewise, Tiesto has stepped up and owned his signature Big Room Trance sound that has led the way for thousands of DJs after him. But a lot of the newer DJs are ironically following the trend of not having a trend. More and more DJs, for better or for worse, are exploring as many sounds as possible, avoiding the term "genre" like ebola... too soon?
But for those not so adverse to genres, Ben Grzywacz, or as thousands of his fans know him, Uberjak'd, may be the next DJ you need to see live. The Australian DJ/producer has created his own brand of Melbourne Bounce and shows no signs of slowing down, nor should he. The best way to describe the Melbourne Bounce is something that the tourist office of Australia could have come up with--a sound that sucks you from down under. The driving beat creates this sensation that something is pulling you from the underground like a zombie hand reaching out from the dirt while the melodies lift you up during the breakdowns. It has the distortion of Dubstep, the disruptive nature of Electro, and the melodies of House. It's a formula that has allowed him to cross boundaries while staying comfortably in his own. Not only does he fully embrace his own style, he also has become a strong candidate for collaborations with other DJs. He's recently put out a new EP, Uberjak'd & Mates, which features new work from him and a different artist on each track. The way he melds his sound into that of the DJ he's working with leads us to believe that he got the, "Plays well with others," remark from his teachers in elementary school.
To Uberjak'd, Melbourne Bounce is much more than the name of his own sound: "It's a feeling. It's more than an offbeat bass or a vocal chopped lead. It's music that makes you happy. It has energy that makes you want to dance. It makes me feel good so why not share that feeling? It's a badge I'll proudly wear any day. A sound or genre is only as restricting as your imagination or creativity. Think outside the box and the labels don't exist. Music is music and good music will always be listened to. " But before he went on world tours and made all the girls and boys, alike, go crazy over his music, something other than music took priority.
A younger Uberjak'd was passionate about cars, building and driving them. Whether it was the adrenaline rush or watching too much Fast and the Furious movies, living fast and hard was in his blood from the beginning. But then a near death incident while in a car made him think that he might want to switch hobbies. Giving a shot at producing and DJing, Ben spent months in his bedroom before actually hitting a club: "The adrenaline rush definitely wasn’t the same [laughs]. Maybe when I got the chance to play some shows it got the blood pumping a bit, but that wasn’t for a year after." During his early grind, he explained that a normal day for him was as follows:
A normal day for me was getting up at 6 AM. I would go and work in my dad's factory till 4 PM. He gave me the job just as something to fill in time after I finished uni and got a 'real job,' as other people referred to it. But I wanted to stick to it because it gave me the chance to work on music over the night. I would get home at 5 PM, shower, eat, then jump into the studio till like 2-3 AM in the morning, then do it all again till the weekend came. Then I would play down at a couple local clubs in Adelaide for some residencies I had picked up. It was hard in hindsight but at the time it didn’t matter. I was doing what I loved so I was happy. Now I probably get just as little sleep but I feel blessed to be able to do what I love and have so many fans that make it possible. It's been said before but you are nothing without your fans.
His love for creating new music motivated him to stay persistent and improve from his first song, a rework of Ultrabeat's "Pretty Green Eyes." Eventually, he would have the owner of a club in Adelaide to thank for the start of his career: "My first major break was probably thanks to a guy called Colin Coleman. He ran a night club called Almost Famous Thursdays and it was my first residency. It was my first chance to play the music I was making in my bedroom to a club full of people every week and it was where I met Laidback Luke and gave him a copy of my remix of "Rattle" which he played in his live sets. I also met two good friends of mine now through that club, Will Sparks and Deorro."
Fast forward to several signings to powerhouse labels (Dim Mak, Ministry of Sound Australi, Mixmash) and madly popular singles, Uberjak'd is just as attuned to experimenting as ever. He's going after those special WTF moments: "We all know those moments when you hear a track for the first time and you're like, 'WTF is this!' Those are the moments we want to create with music." But when he's not chasing after those, you can catch him hosting the #1 music podcast on iTunes Australia, "The Ubercast." It's his opportunity to let his fans hear new songs first as well as stay up to date on other great tracks from around the world. And if he's not recording his latest episode, you may find him at a local oyster bar: "I like my oysters. I’m always down for some good ones, so if anyone has any dope spots to suss let me know on Twitter @uberjakd."
The music industry is a funny thing. You could be the most talented artist of your generation but never get your dues until late in your career or you could make it big immediately and live like a rock star. For Uberjak'd, the latter took its course. He didn't let himself give up and wants everyone else to take a page out of his book: "To all the young guys and girls sitting in their bedrooms wanting to be a DJ/producer/musician, my message to them is, you can do it. Give it your best and do it for the right reasons and you can succeed. They say you have to be lucky in this industry to catch a break, but the thing is the harder you work the luckier you will get." And last but not least, we had to ask if he plans on throwing a party with Corey Washington Delaney any time soon. He gave a hopeful answer: [Laughs] If you're out there mate, let me know. Maybe we can G something up at your place."
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?Jurassic Park
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?Laidback Luke
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?CDJs not linked
4. What is your current DJ set up at home?Laptop and headphones. Yeah mate [laughs], that's all I have. I don’t have decks at home.
5. What's your favorite record of all time?"In White Rooms" - Booka Shade
Keep up with Uberjak'd on his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Bryan Hahn will keep you updated on this party with Uberjak'd and Corey Washington Delaney. He's on Twitter: @notupstate.