INTERVIEW WITH DJ FUEL AND SABRO FROM YORK AND 23RD FOR MUSIC FESTIVALS AUSTRALIA

INTERVIEW BY MICHELLE SYMES, NOVEMBER 2020

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Music Festivals Australia in what I can only imagine has been a crazy time with the release of your new song ‘Do You Think About Me?’ on the Friday the 13th.

York and 23rd, firstly congratulations on the new song it’s awesome but Friday the 13th for a release day, assuming you’re not superstitious in any way?

Thank you and definitely not, hahaha we believe that you make your own luck. Hard work and persistence will always pay off regardless of the day it says on the calendar.

It has been four years since your last original music came out, why have we had to wait so long?

Well, It wasn’t due to a lack of motivation or writing new music. We have in fact been working away and have a lot of music ready. But life got in the way a little with Sabro having his first little bub, and Dj Fuel juggling working commitments & working away at building his new label.

‘Do You Think About Me?’ has helped launch the newest name in recording Pumping Records, getting the label catapulted into popular conversation overnight. This has to be something your proud of especially given your connection to the label?

Yes, we are enormously proud. And that was partly the reason we held off on releasing music for so long too. The plan was to release on the Pumping Records when Dj Fuel launched it but it wasn’t the plan to be first cab off the rank but we all felt the record was the perfect fit with cross-over genres appeal to show what the label had to offer and to show our versatility too.

When you first met in 2015, it is told that you bonded over your taste in music, but it was a very teacher/student relationship in regard to the industry. Is this still the case or as music has progressed to more digital platforms those roles have changed?

The taste in music is still relevant as it’s forever evolving and we are still on the same page, you could say we both have the same palette, when new music comes along we both vibe the same stuff. As for the teacher/student relationship, we both brought different elements to the table. Dj Fuel with the Industry and Sabro with the technical side, and just like music both sides are evolving. We are not ones to sit still, we continually research and learn more about those parts and converse on how they could benefit us as both York & 23rd and our solo projects.

Creating your own vocal content for your music was a natural progression for you to make, was this an easy step to take? What were the challenges involved in deciding what was the right sound you needed?

It was always the plan but having limited resources at the beginning of the York & 23rd project we didn’t have a track record, so finding willing songwriters/vocalist to get involved was a challenge so we used what we had at our disposal, ie samples. As for the challenges regarding the sound of the vocal on Do You Think About Me? This was a tough one, we did go through a few vocalist, all great in there own respect, it just didn’t fit this record, as soon as we heard a demo by Kalun, we just knew this was it..

You worked with Kalun Townsend from Goldblum for this song. Were you fans before the collaboration?

It was one of those organic relationships when it comes to this record and the collab with Kalun. Dj Fuel & Kalun worked together in their “9-5 jobs” and both knew of each other’s music endeavours. Original Dj Fuel asked to Kalun to write lyrics but once we both heard his voice on the instrumental (which is a totally different sound to his Goldblum stuff) we needed to have him on the record. And he happily agreed.

DJ Fuel, you work in broadcasting, so it's fair to say you’re on the inside when it comes to radio. Did this help to get ‘Do You Think About Me’ the airplay it deserves on Australian air waves or did the National stations recognize the commerciality on their own?

In some respects, yes but the song will always do the talking. You must understand the nature of the beast. I would never pitch a Trance song to a commercial radio station or anything not in line with the stations demo or music position. I have heard stories and witnessed it myself, people will pitch anything to any station with the hope they may play it, you only end up wasting the music directors time & you’ll almost certainly end up blacklisting yourself from their email list.

As for Do You Think About Me?, It has the commercial appeal with the vocal, but also the roots of house music for the dance stations. So I made sure I reached out to this correct stations for this record.

Do you think the 25% minimum quota requirement for Australian music to be played on our radio stations (data from https://www.aph.gov.au/) is a fair number given the ever-expanding talent pool we have in this country? Would you like to see that number increased or even a dedicated Aussie station?

We can never have enough Aussie Music on our radio stations. Speaking from my own experience with my radio show, I play a lot of music by Australian artists as I think they are some of the best in the world and deserve all the exposure they can. (Dj Fuel)

Collaborations expected and not so expected are happening a lot these days, and with great success too. Is this a trend we will see York and 23rd follow? Who would you love to work with both locally and internationally?

Our door is always open.. we have a list of international artists we would like to work with, but we can definitely say our local list is a lot longer, producer wise and songwriters/vocalists.

The music scene in Newcastle is amazing and has produced talent from the underground for many years. Who do you see coming up through the ranks that we need to watch out for?

It sure has, Newcastle LOVES its music which spawns great producers, musicians & singers, Being signed to Pumping Records we can say that there is a small crew of very talented artists here who have some amazing records to be released over the next year. Without giving too much away, just watch this space, some may even be remixing our single Do You Think About Me?

What's next for York and 23rd? What can we expect in 2021 and beyond?

Music, Music and more Music.. and gigs when Covid is over. For beyond that, touring and working with more amazing artists and creating great music for everyone to enjoy.

16 NOVEMBER 2020