No, this is not an article about Justice. I apologise if you were drawn here by the article’s title but it seemed rather fitting for local favourite, Sampology. The twenty-something-year-old (we’re leaning towards early) has lit up stages across the globe with an AV/DJ set up that will blow your mind whether you like dance music or not.
Having previously talked about 2manydjs using new technologies to liven up a DJ set, Sampology kicks it up a notch with a full video extravaganza. Using the 2008 video addition to Serato and a MIDI controller that links the audio and video, the Brisbane DJ creates unusual yet compelling mixes of video and song to cause a stir on the dance floor.
I remember first seeing Sampology play at the 2009 Oktoberfest, 1 year after he decided to enhance his DJ sets with the video component and I was in awe. I’d never seen a set like this before. While DJ-ing with a video component is by no means anything new (see: The Chemical Brothers), I’d yet to see it in this capacity.
Sampology well and truly pushed the bounds of what could done by not just using the video as a supplement to his show but also to his music, creating a whole new persona that stands out above the rest in a time where everyone with Ableton Live or a shitty mixer can call themselves a DJ.
While searching for a bit of a back story on how Sampology came to be, I came across an interview on the Scene Magazine website that pretty much sums up why I feel Sampology should feature on this blog and just generally, what this series of posts is about.
“When I DJ I very much have certain things I work out, but the bulk of the set I’ll freestyle. With the AVDJing, I guess I approach it more like a band performing a set: I tailor the direction a little bit differently here and there, but for the most part it’s a set that I’ve worked out and developed and I’m happy with. I know what I’m going to do when I step on the stage.”
