Wanna Stay Alive? Stay With Me
He’s not afraid of the end of the world – in fact he uses it as creative inspiration. Who is this fearless man that will lead us into the apocalypse with party tunes and comic videos? None other than SAMPOLOGY. Hailing from Brisbane, the audio-visual DJ is currently celebrating the release of his debut album Doomsday Deluxe and touring around Australia and NZ with a wicked live extravaganza, aka his Super Visual Apocalypse Tour.
Sampology has a distinctive creative approach with an emphasis on reconfiguring whatever takes his fancy into something fresh and fun. His solid string of remixes includes tracks from S Mouse, Resin Dogs, PNAU and The Wiggles. Why turn dark themes like doomsday into a reason to celebrate? “I think pretty much everyone stresses out way too much for their own good, and the whole doom and gloom ‘2012 End of the World’ theme would be cool to flip into something ridiculous and funny.”
For the Super Visual Apocalypse, his turntables and drum machine are hooked up to a widescreen showcasing custom animations, video clips, news images and Bruce Willis films. “The visuals came from heaps of different sources but at the core the Golden Age Bruce Willis save-the-day type flicks are definitely there. There is a lot of wacky stuff thrown in there, as well as recent real life news items.”
Sampology exudes an enthusiasm for making what’s old new. “At the start, production for me was more about taking things that existed, chopping them up and putting them back together. When I jumped into doing the AV performances two to three years ago this was the same approach I took... One of the biggest things I fell in love with when I started listening to hip hop music really young was the fact that people took existing work, flipped it on its head and created something completely new. At the core, this is what I see as my creative style.”
The debut album Doomsday Deluxe covers a spectrum of electronic styles including some heavy synth layers influenced by electro-icons Hudson Mohawke and Rustie. “Their sound is really big but it's more overwhelming to you in an uplifting way through their big and lush chords, rather than being super dark or twisted.” The record is also flavoured by featured artists such as Spikey Tee (UK), Serocee (UK), Danielsan of Koolism and Hannah Macklin.
Sampology’s audio-visual shows have earned him some big festival gigs – including this year’s Splendour In The Grass – and his show is sure to shake the roof of Trinity Bar. “It's quality not quantity for me. I'm stoked that in a small room with a big projector screen people can go crazy to it and enjoy the show.” Oh, and his Bruce Willis mania continues. “In a week or so I'll be dropping an iPhone app that lets you put Bruce Willis' face and explosions over your photos.”
For an Armageddon-good-time, head to Sampology’s Super Visual Apocalypse, Trinity Bar, Saturday June 23, 8pm with DJ Rush, Strangeways DJs, Offtapia, Styles and Hyde. Tickets $15 before 10pm on the night.
