AK SPORTS releases Club Madhouse_002 – the debut compilation on AKs Club Madhouse Records.
DJ/Producer and Rinse FM Radio Host AK SPORTS has established a worldwide presence, globe-hopping from homeland Sydney to current postings between London and LA with their warehouse-ready beats and breaks.
Their well-tuned ear for electro has inspired the recent birth of compilation piece CLUB MADHOUSE_002 on AK’s record label of the same name. CM002 combines the work of artists around the world, with predominant Aussie roots and global influence from North and South America to the UK & Ireland; This mixtape is jam-packed with 14 ‘genre bending whoppers’ of the techno/trance/hardstyle variety.
Read below as we catch up with AK SPORTS for their personal insight to the CLUB MADHOUSE comp …
Hey AK, thanks for chatting with Broke Magazine! Rumour has it there’s an exciting new release in the pipeline – would you like to tell us more about the inspiration for this compilation piece?
Hello! Thank you! I wanted to combine all this really impressive (and frankly a bit turbo) music I had from (mostly emerging) producers around the world, and make a dynamic and fun compilation.. Voila Club Madhouse_002 an exploration of new-world-rave. There’s breaks from the UK, hardstyles from Ireland, latin-techno from Colombia and breakbeat techno from Naarm Australia to name a few … 14 artists at various stages in their careers coming together. It’s a real madhouse 😉
It is evident that the CLUB MADHOUSE track list has been curated with an expert ear for hardstyle electronic music. How long have you been a fan of this genre – was there a certain moment or event in your life that triggered this interest?
Feeling frustrated with Australia’s limited market, further exacerbated by Eora (Sydneys) strict lock out laws, (which shut down most of the best venues and Eora’s once pumping nightlife..) I moved to London before the pandemic and started getting heavily into breaks and jungle, even a bit of big-beat and hybrids. Having a show on Balamii radio gave me the freedom to explore these genres and furthermore I found myself drawn to any hybrid style that included various genres in the one track, perhaps genres we hadn’t previously seen mixed together. At the same time techno was developing into a way more versatile and playful genre so I quickly found joy in moving a lot of my influences to harder 4×4 techno kicks exploring hybrids that included trance, hardstyles, hard dance & UK sounds. Finding myself now rooted in what I like to call new-world-rave which is under the techno umbrella but is extremely dynamic. It’s hard, fast & fun music that switches the narrative up a bit and has unexpected twists & turns. I think this compilation is a good reflection of that in the way it moves around genres but they overlap and would fit in a mix together. In fact I made just that in hour two of one of my recent rinse FM mixes, call it a label showcase ^__^
You have the chance to B2B with any artist that’s inspired you and your career – who would you pick and why?
That’s a great question! I think a lot of the artists that I really f^ck with in terms of their careers trajectory, attitude and imprint they have made on the industry probably couldn’t keep up with me (BPM Wise) in a b2b these days … It would have to be someone in the hard techno world who also has some pretty extensive range. I think Locked Club would be mad to b2b with actually, they play like hard ass breaks/techno which I love but are also very playful in their choices. Brutalismus3000 might make more sense as they have a lot of similar influences in their 4×4 bangers and I’m a massive fan of what they have built.
Would you like to tell us more about your journey as a DJ? Where you started, and did you expect to be known across the world for your music?
In terms of expecting to be known for my music.. absolutely no way!! I was late to the game producing and still am a bit confused when people say they love my music. I still don’t think people know what I DJ even though I am getting booked to play around the world .. I’m like to promoters you know I play really hard right? But diverse? They are like yes that’s why we booked you. I’m like cool cool cool lets go.
It’s a real journey .. I started out throwing parties in Bondi Beach Australia, initially independently as a means to chat up hottie musicians which then turned into being employed full time as a promoter and booking agent at a pretty exciting company (at that time). However the money was absolute peanuts so in desperate need for a raise, my boss suggested I learn how to DJ and jump on some of the parties I threw. Next minute I’m hanging back at the office after hours setting up the decks, having a mix and packing down the equipment, sometimes inviting DJ mates over to join often drinking sparkling wine.. at one point I thought I might call myself DJ Bubbles. I picked it up quite quickly and was lucky to get support from a local cultural institution in Eora called Fbi radio via a program called Dance Class which helped kick start my career not only DJing but on radio which I loved. I used to do the graveyard shifts 3-6am pretty rough but also often would literally have a party in there mixing and doing mic breaks inviting mates into the studio was super fun times esp. with no one else in the building. Those hours are totally normal to me now but at the time it was really rough waking up (if I wasn’t already out) to go to radio. And then it got to a point the lock out laws as well as my vision for my career, that I couldn’t stay in so called Australia anymore.. so just shy of a year before covid I hot tailed it over to London, to me the beating heart of the global music industry. London was a huge challenge but I refined my taste and sound at Balamii radio and worked hard on production linking up with the Club Glow dudes who were also playing breaks and jungle, before the big resurgence or I guess at the forefront of.. which resulted in my rave tape / EP with Kessler on their label. Then covid came and I made my Brexit back to Aus and lived by myself in a beach shack in coastal NSW for 5 months. I was producing most days and blasting music dancing around by myself to ABBA every night (gave myself Tinnitus be careful with volume!!) which really prepared me for the hot run of releases on esteemed UK underground labels like Shall Not Fade and the disgraced Lobster Theremin that were to follow. Randomly I ended up getting flown out to LA mid lock down (another story) and feeling musically displaced, as soon as things opened up again I launched a warehouse party with Bianca Oblivion and Star Eyes called WARP MODE – importing UK talent and supporting underground LA talent eventually throwing LA’s first Boiler Room which was a bloody wild night and something I will never forget.
If you could visit your past self at the start of this journey and give one piece of advice, what would it be?
You got this 😉
Final question – what is your DJ rider essential?
Top shelf bianco tequila and cut limes! (please not the fake stuff.. )
And on that note, pass the salt! We wanna party with AK SPORTS.