Raving In Albury

Call it a case of youthful exuberance, but Sydney-based DJ and producer Dave Winnel’s first foray into the field came via a display of naïve confidence.

“I used to go to underage raves in Albury and watch the DJs and I thought it looked pretty easy, so I thought I’d start DJing,” Winnel explains of his beginnings. “I’ve been DJing now for about eight years … all my friends started up with me but I was the only one who kept going with it.”

And was this DJing caper as easy to do as he first thought? â€œWell, the technical side is not too hard – but to keep going, that’s the hard part.”

Winnel is a case in point that sticking to your guns can pay off, and as for that “technical side” - it  doesn’t hurt to be dubbed a ‘guru’ of the program you use to create your tunes.

Somewhat of an “expert” on the use of Ableton Live (a program that is used for composition, songwriting, recording, production, remixing and live performance), it allows the regular on the tech scene to do their thing mixing, mashing and layering their original tracks and remix other acts. Dave get his Obi-Wan Kenobi on, teaching others the way. â€œIt’s a producing program that I use to DJ – so I don’t use CDs or anything when I DJ,” Winnel explains. “I pretty much use it every day of my life! One day I think I should work for them, because I already get around ten emails every day with questions asking me how to use it. So I’ve put out a ‘loops pack’ as well, called Future Loops that people can use and they can create their own music.”

However, doing the live thing is the ultimate pay-off for Winnel and in his time, he has had residencies at Sydney nightspots including Chinese Laundry, Le Rouge, Soho and even up north at Shooters on the Gold Coast. â€œIt’s the best thing about being a DJ is doing it live,” Winnel says. “It’s great … and the best bit is being able to play the stuff I have been making as well. But you know you are going well and it’s working when you have everyone’s full attention. They’re all dancing, but people are looking at you … they don’t know what to expect!”

Dave Winnel plays Electric Playground on Friday April 1.