Starting a music and fashion magazine in today’s economic climate is a tall order for anyone.
Try doing that while breathing life into one of the country’s most exciting DJ duos, and you’ve got a wildly adventurous project that could only really be handled by the trusted hands of Pilerats.
After spending a good five years rewriting the rules of Perth’s music scene through their on-point passion for breaking new music, fielding surreal video clips and running some of the biggest parties known to man, Pilerats is about to be represented nationally as the Pilerats DJs hit the road, including a quick stop at Rollercoaster in August.
Made up of local music stalwarts Troy Mutton and Gene Williams, Pilerats DJs has found existence and success based on a very simple principle – being DJs people will actually want to see.
“The whole basis of the thing when we started was to basically have this platform where we could play music and not just write about it. Kind of putting our money where our mouth is,” Mutton said.
“I don’t want to sound like a wa***er, but when we started the idea of DJing as an rt form was kind of on the way out. There were more and more DJs coming out who wanted to stick to their own style and not budge, not give audiences what they might want.
“One thing I know is that to do this successfully, you have to have the ability to read a room, gauge emotion and tailor you set to that. I think we get a lot of feedback because we put effort into making sure each show is what the crowd wants.”
It’s served them well, with the duo coincidentally taking the position they championed in the first place – from fans talking about music, to playing music fans talk about.
The driving force behind Pilerats, breaking new music, has stayed constant through all this.
“Pilerats is still a website, and we’re still 100 per cent committed to supporting new and breaking music,” Mutton said.
“Where the mag was more general at the start, as it became more and more music-dominated, it became more important to us to include all that new stuff in our sets.
“So our shows usually take the shape of a mix between big bangers and stuff we think should be out there.”
That doesn’t mean the new material isn’t banger-worthy, though; being at least partially responsible for breaking acts like Hanzo, Kilter and Kite String Tangle alongside contemporaries like triple j, Pilerats DJs most definitely know how to get a party started.
“It’s important to us that we know the crowd we’re coming to, so we do a bit of research and try to get a gauge on it. Basically just saying, “how can we get the most out of this set?’” Mutton said.
“Were excited to do that over on the east coast. And also in Mandurah. I grew up there, so it’s going to be a bit of a weird experience.”
Catch Pilerats DJs when they hit Rollercoaster on Saturday August 12.
