Interview: Hydraulix on Deadbeats, Australian Bass Music and Building His Own World

How did it feel seeing your name on We Are Deadbeats Vol. 7, especially as the label celebrates ten years?

It’s a label I respect and love so much even on a fan level. So it’s definitely special getting to work with them again. So happy for Zeds Dead and the whole Deadbeats team about hitting this milestone and the fact I get to be part of such a landmark moment for them is truly something that isn’t lost on me.

How did “RiGHT TiME” with Mary Droppinz come together, and what was the creative process like?

Honestly it all happened pretty effortlessly. I had the original demo for a little bit and never quite knew what to do with it. I had the little techno/hardstyle intro part and a skeleton of the main drop but never really fleshed it out. So when Mary hit me up to work on something I knew she was a multigenre queen and immediately thought of this tune. After her adding some flavor and bouncing back and forth once or twice the tune was done. The stars really aligned on this one.

You’ve had support from Skrillex and Excision. What did that recognition mean to you at the time?

Honestly, I’m a dubstep and bass music fan first. So when support comes I get super excited about it. I got into this because of some of the people I’ve been lucky enough to be supported by. But I also go through massive feelings of imposter syndrome about my music. So I try to take those moments in and remind myself that maybe im not shit hahaha.

What makes Deadbeats stand out to you compared with other labels in the bass music space?

With Deadbeats I’ve always found it to be quality over quantity. Obviously Zeds Dead are top of the game and have been for a long ass time, they have an amazing ear for what works. Pair that with the team they have running it and it’s just a homerun. Whenever a Deadbeats release makes its way into my inbox even if I don’t know the artist I know I need to check it out.

How has growing up and making music in Sydney shaped your sound?

I consider myself extremely lucky to have been shaped by the Australian scene. Getting to call iconic venues like Chinese Laundry my home club and be part of a scene that embraced bass music and all its weirdness was something I’ll always hold close. Hell, I may not even be around now if that wasn’t the case. I started in this making wobbly fidget house and transitioned into dubstep and the Aussie scene was always open to it. I think it’s that freedom that allowed me to grow as an artist.

What do you think makes the Australian electronic music scene so strong right now?

The Aussie scene is a funny one. We have so much talent and really all support one another and want to see each other succeed. It’s a real sense of pride in our countrymates. Plus we are so segregated from the American bass music scene over here. It often feels like we are on the outside looking in. I think it’s not being engulfed in it but capturing glimpses of the American scene, European scene, Asia scene that we kind of become this melting pot. haha

You’re playing huge shows like Red Rocks and Lost Lands. How does that compare with playing clubs back home?

Those shows are always so crazy to me. We really don’t have much if anything like that in Australia. It’s so big and grand and feels like a circus in the best way possible. And I love that. But there is something about the smaller low ceiling nightclubs where the crowd is right in your face and the sweat is pouring that just feels like home and has a crazy energy about it. No pyro, no LED wall, just a dope system and a crowd that sings pretty much every drop nearly as loud as the music itself.

Your sound crosses dubstep, bass and experimental territory. How important is it to you to keep pushing outside one particular sound?

I feel like I used to really push so many different styles. And sometimes it sounded like a different artist from song to song. I still want to push different genres and styles as I love all bass music. But recently I’ve really been trying to build my own little world. I want to push and write different stuff but still have it all be unmistakenly Hydraulix. WUB

Has moving into the international scene changed how you see yourself as an Australian artist?

I don’t think too much, no. I spend the majority of my time in Australia and I’ll always see myself as an Aussie artist. I think being so segregated out here has really kept me pretty humble with things. I’m obviously super grateful to be included in the international scene and I’ll never take that for granted but I will probably always see myself as the outsider looking in.

What’s the next big goal for Hydraulix, and what are you chasing creatively right now?

For me at the moment I’ve been really focused on a bigger project for next year. I want to continue to grow and build my little Hydraulix world and hopefully continue bringing people into that world. I’ve been really enjoying creating at the moment and just want to continue doing that.