Hey Ziggy, tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Ziggy and I’m a queer, trans artist who started djing around a year ago. Music is a big passion of mine, I love so many types of genres and have for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I moved to Naarm in 2017 that I had a friend mention I should DJ, and I kinda put that in the back of my mind for a few years until I actually started. I was mostly focusing on creating other types of art. I am also a photographer, I like post processing with shots I take, collage making and poetry. A lot of my art is mental health or identity focused. I’ve always enjoyed sharing music with people that are in my life, the excitement I get from that really helped push me to become a DJ, as well as I love dancing and want to make other people dance. 

How would you describe your sound, in three words? 
My typical sound is Groovy, broken and maybe a bit cheesy at times. 

I wouldn’t describe this entire mix like that though. I am definitely still finding my sound, as I like mixing different genres of electronic music but groovy house is definitely my most comfortable place to be.

How would you describe this mix? What do you want the listener to feel? 

I recorded this mix to challenge myself, as I usually mix a lot of groovy house. Mixing electro and techno is something I’m getting more comfortable with everytime I do it, which is super exciting because I don’t want to be pigeonholed into mixing one type of genre. 

Initially I recorded this mix with an intention for the listener to drift through a nice groove into something a bit more chaotic, with ebbs and flows throughout. 

Personally listening back to this mix, I feel it relates to different emotional states I experience with my mental health. I’d like the listener to take in all the sounds that are playing and feel the emotions behind that. What I love about this is that everyones going to have a slightly different way of experiencing this mix because we are all individuals. 

Would you give us some of your thoughts on your experience as a DJ in the scene here in Naarm? What do you feel the industry has to improve upon?

Since I’m still new to djing I haven’t had copious amounts of experience. I played my first club gig for GraySpace last year in December for MMW and that was really exhilarating. The nerves were definitely there, but I had so much support around me from other people in the scene which made me feel so relieved. I’ve made some amazing friends from the scene here in Naarm! Really incredible, like-minded, passionate people who are really here for the music. I love it, we have a really great electronic music scene here in Naarm! 

I definitely think diversity in line ups is improving, which is really important to me. I think we need to do better but I’ve definitely seen a big shift with who is being put on lineups. I’ve been seeing more queers, trans/non binary/gnc people and women making their own events as well. These are the types of gigs I want to be dancing and playing at! 

What is next for you? Any gigs coming up?

For a while now I’ve been writing lyrics for a punk techno project. I’d say it’s Peaches inspired lyrics, dirty broken beats and I want some acid throughout some of the songs also. So that’s really exciting. 

I’m going to start hosting Housemates at Syn once a month and host a synth punky show on Area 3000 called Dead as Disco. Overlapping punk and electronic music is fantastic and I think it will tie in really well with the project I’m working on. 

I have a lot of openings for gigs at the moment. I’m really keen to play more club shows, the atmosphere is wild! Opening for GraySpace last year really solidified that. Seeing people dancing to your own set is so fun and left me wanting more!! 

I have also started doing some photoshoots/press shots for people in the electronic music scene and it’s really exciting to see where this is going to take me.