A online platform and mix series that’s been around as long as us is the iconic Melbourne Deepcast. The series has channeled a broad range of musical influences over a huge run, hosting a balance of the scene’s most sough after and promising selectors. From French house music pioneers Braxe + Falcon, to local Melbourne legends such as Hannah D the series has always made a grand effort in showcasing a side of DJs where they can experiment for fun, convey happy and colourful moods, and be original to a wider audience, both at home and abroad. Co-founder and curator of the series is Myles Mac and it’s not in any way surprising that he’s become a stellar DJ since the site launched in 2009. An obvious stalwart in the Melbourne music scene his mixes and DJ ability have become synonymous with masterfully crafted treasure troves of musical delights. Be it street-soul and balearic inspired mixes for Trushmix, to outdoor downtempo sun-chillers for Juanita’s, his selections are unmatched. We caught up with Myles to chat about the the site’s humble beginnings, his recent Made in the Shade parties, a defining Sustain-Release performance with regular DJ partner DJ Possum and his now famous MDC end of year review mixes. His Truancy Volume has been a long-time coming and it’s one we’ve patiently waited for knowing its arrival would be a goldmine of 90s house anthems and feel good energy. It’s a perfect mix to roll out the end of summer with, loaded with big pianos, big vocals and even bigger grooves.
Hey Myles! Thanks for answering some questions for us! So how have you been recently? What’s 2024 and your summer been like for you thus far? Any particular highlights? “Hey Riccardo, it’s my pleasure mate. Feeling honoured to contribute to such an exceptionally curated series, big respect for holding it down for so long! Winter down here in Melbourne has dragged a little this year, but we’re finally seeing some warm and sunny glimpses of spring this week which has been a real treat. 2024 has been fun so far and I’ve been lucky enough to play tunes and connect with some great music people in a few different parts of Australia, as well as a trip to Tokyo earlier in the year with some friends which was super memorable.”
So obviously Melbourne Deepcast has been such an important part of your life as a curator and DJ, I thought we’d go way back and just talk about the early MDC days. You’ve been running the same amount of time as us pretty much. How did MDC first get off the ground? “Yeah it’s crazy to think we’ve both been running for 15 odd years now! Definitely feel blessed to have had the opportunity to put great mixes out into the world for this long, and that people are still listening and trusting the curation as it has evolved over the years along with my own music taste.
The idea for MDC came about as co-founder Andy Hart and I were diving right into the deep end of house music at the time (2008/09), both in our early twenties and feeling inspired by the slower, groovier house sets we were hearing from DJs like Cassy and Steffi in Berlin. We both thought it would be cool to have a platform to share underground mixes from ourselves and our DJ friends at home since there weren’t many series’ focussed on this deeper side of house and techno at the time in Australia.
Things grew pretty organically from there, and we always made an effort to showcase emerging Aussies alongside international guests, with lots of unanswered emails being sent out in the early days along with some excited phone calls when someone we looked up to would turn in a killer mix.”
You recently played a gig in Tokyo with Andy Hart. Must be amazing from your humble beginnings to see how you’ve ended up playing gigs in Tokyo all the way from Australia. “Yeah we did! Before Andy moved to Berlin around 2013, we had been playing together pretty regularly and shared really similar taste, especially in house music. After he moved we probably hadn’t played a proper gig together for close to 10 years, but somehow managed to keep collecting the same records, so it felt special to play some old favs together again when we were over in Tokyo. Thankfully we get to do it a little more often at home now too since he’s moved back to Melbourne.”
So what were the early years of MDC like? Was there a plan in place of what you wanted to achieve or were you kind of going with the flow? “As I said before things grew pretty organically, it was a bit of a slow burn for the first few years before we got somewhat established, but we both wanted to try and bridge the gap between the incredible sounds we were hearing overseas but felt were somewhat lacking at the time in Melbourne. As the years went on and we were able to land some more recognised names on the series it became a bit easier to curate as it wasn’t such a hard sell anymore, and guests that we respected seemed genuinely up for contributing to the cause. It also helped that around the same time some of our producer mates were starting to get more recognition overseas and there was becoming a spotlight of sorts on the dance music coming out of Melbourne.”
Are there any mixes from those early days that really cement the MDC history/nostalgia for you? Mixes you can remember back on and pinpoint a particular moment in time? “A couple spring to mind for sure, Tama Sumo was (and still is) one of my absolute favourite DJs, so to have her contribute a mix spanning the kind of house, disco and techno that felt like you were in the thick of the dancefloor at Panorama Bar on a Sunday afternoon felt pretty special for us at the time.
Another one from the early days was Kid Sublime’s mix, while most guests were contributing mixes in the realm of house and deep house, he sent us the freshest mix of soul, r’n’b and jazzy hip hop that I still find myself going back to today. Definitely brings back some great memories of sunny afternoon hangs in the park and it served as a defining entry point into another realm of ‘deep’ music for me.”
Had you been into dance music long before starting the site or had it all started kind simultaneously for you? Do you have a dance music record that really stuck with you that you feel kind of set things in motion for you in all this? Could you have guessed you’d still be doing this now in 2024? “I got into dance music properly in my first year out of high school back in 2005, hearing big vocal and electro house anthems for the first time and thinking that was the absolute bees knees! Always funny to look back on that time, the music hasn’t aged too well and neither has the fashion but it was a fun first step for a lot of people my age who would go on to do cool things in the scene.
A record that set things in motion, and one that I still love today would have to be Alan Braxe & Fred Falke’s classic ‘Intro’, I remember having it on a Ministry Of Sound compilation CD and just thinking that was the pinnacle of feel good house music. Probably a big reason why it felt so special to have Alan and DJ Falcon contribute to the MDC this year, kind of a full circle moment considering how much they inspired me to get into it all from the beginning.
To still be active in the music scene all these years later and to have people continue to get down to the music from all corners is something I’ll always be grateful for. Good music has a way of bringing great people together and that really will always be my favourite part of the job.”
So I assume you grew up in Melbourne but do correct me if I’m wrong. When did you start heading out to parties and what sort of lineups, parties and DJs do you remember from that era? I recall reading an interview where you mention going out to see veteran vinyl DJs of the time around 2007. Who were those? “That’s right, I grew up here in Melbourne and after those early electro house days, Andy and I started to delve deeper into the techno parties happening down here around 2007/08, hearing the likes of Christian Vance, Aril Brikha or Vince Watson play live opened up our minds to another world of euphoric underground music that we didn’t really know existed. The club DJs in that scene were predominantly still playing vinyl back then too, and some of the DJs who had been doing it since the 90s had amassed pretty insane record collections which kind of commanded a level of respect from us youngsters coming through.
Local veterans like Dave Pham, Mike Callander and Aram Chapers were always guys we looked up to, and I’ll never forget seeing Deetron put on absolute masterclass mixing seamlessly across three (or 4?) decks for hours on end, definitely left feeling well inspired after that one.”
Do you think you would be DJing the same music if you were living elsewhere? What about the city inspires you most? Is the music culture the best it’s ever been do you reckon? “I’m sure if I were living elsewhere I would be influenced by the music of that scene to some extent, but I still do find myself still being heavily drawn to the sounds of the 90s and early 00s, which seems to be more of a worldwide phenomena. Digging the weird and wonderful club music from that time is a seemingly endless pursuit, but I do like to keep an eye on what local producers are putting out there, as there is certainly no lack of talented artists and some incredible labels down here pushing the scene forward. Getting to know other like minded music people who are also in it for the love is what Melbourne is great for. There are so many genuine heads in our scene that are fountains of knowledge and have dedicated years to uncovering great music purely for the joy of it, so learning what I can from them helps to keep me inspired.”
You’ve been throwing a series of parties alongside Best Effort called ‘Made In The Shade’ the last couple years. Can you tell us a bit about the party, the venue where it’s played at, and the general ethos of the event? “The Made in the Shade parties have been running for a few years now, happening once or twice over the summer months in the courtyard garden of an old Italian social club called The Thorn here in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The ethos is very much that of a DIY open-air party, the drinks are cheap, the setup is all done by a small team of us and we have a DIY built sound system that we store at the venue and roll out for each party. Nik (aka DJ Earl Grey) and I always try to curate the parties with people who get the vibe and play music that speaks to the relaxed and friendly environment, with early comers chilling out on the grass in the afternoon before it becomes a proper dance party when the sun goes down. The local dance community has really gotten behind these parties too which makes all the effort feel worthwhile, it’s always so nice to see the same familiar faces coming back each summer to get amongst it with us.”
Can you tell us a little bit about your approach to DJing? I’ve always loved listening to your mixes as you strike such a good balance of being just a great digger but also knowing when to really up the dancefloor ante, not shying away from big vocals on tracks or just finding a solid party groove. “Thanks mate! Really appreciate that :) I guess I like to try and keep things fun and somewhat relatable when I’m playing a set or recording a mix. Even if the tracks are quite niche and underground, I like there to be a playful element or a familiar sounding sample/melody that all sorts of people might enjoy whether you’re a digger nerd or just a regular appreciator of good ol’ fashion vibes. As I mentioned earlier, early/mid 00s vocal house was my entry point into the whole thing, so I still have a strong affinity for good vocals in club tracks, and try to search out records that do it in a way that’s tasteful, adding just the right amount to elevate a great track without making it feel cheesy or over the top.”
Are you able to anticipate how records will fit into your sets beforehand, or is selecting the flow more intuitive? How much planning informs your sets, and how do you choose records for specific contexts? “For me preparation is the key to playing a decent set. I try to plan as best I can in terms of building the energy throughout a set, especially if it’s a longer one, with sub folders for early, peak time and later in the night so I can easily switch between styles. I also like to make lots of different playlists for specific contexts or moments, ‘peak time piano house’, ‘late night journey tracks’, ‘end of the night tracks’ etc. I feel you can never be too organised with that stuff, especially when you are playing all kinds of different sets and time slots. When playing records I’ll do a similar thing with sections of different vibes organised within the bag. Of course there’s always room to move, but I find having done the prep beforehand gives you more time to be creative with mixing as you’re not stuck scrolling for the right track all night.”
What are some of your most memorable nightlife experiences? How do you compare the intimacy of a club or sun filled courtyard to a festival like Sustain-Release? Do these different spaces serve distinct purposes for you? “Sustain-Release last year was definitely one of my most memorable festival experiences to date, it’s so well curated and in such a beautiful location in upstate New York that you really just feel lucky to even be out there, let alone having the opportunity to play. Slowing down the tempo throughout the set and ending with some of our all time favourite downtempo tunes as the sun came up through the forest was something I’ll never forget. For me the joy in DJing comes from playing music in all kinds of different environments to all kinds of people. I think that playing in a lot of bars over the years has given me a different kind of appreciation for the club sets, but it’s also forced me to deepen my knowledge and discover a range of different styles that aren’t necessarily as suited to the dancefloor, sending me down some wonderful rabbit holes I never knew existed.”
Your MDC End of Year Review mixes have become a pretty special yearly occurrence. What’s your organization like for them, are you planning the mixes the whole year throughout, dropping files into a playlist as you go? I really wish I did something like this over my years in dance music as it sounds like a nice way of looking back and seeing what you were listening to. “It’s never too late to start! I really do enjoy the whole process of putting those end of year mixes together, it kind of compels me to spend time at the end of each year looking back and appreciating all the awesome new music that was made, discovering cool new artists or just catching up on things from my favourite producers that I’d somehow missed earlier in the year. I always start a playlist for the new year in January and gradually fill it up with my favourite bits from friends’ labels or songs that I stumble across randomly throughout the year. It’s nice to think that 11 or so years since I started doing those mixes that people still seem to enjoy listening to them.”
You’ve formed a great DJ duo partnership with DJ Possum the last few years, recording some incredible mixes together and playing stand out sets at the likes of Sustain Release. You’ve also got some all night party sets at NTs Loft in London and Club 77 in Sydney coming up. Can you tell about the crossover in your styles and music taste and what you feel makes the DJ sets so fun to play together? “Yes it’s been really fun few years getting to play more b2b sets with Maria aka DJ Possum, when we made our first mix back in the throes of the first Covid lockdown our tastes were actually quite different but intersected nicely around 90s r’n’b / hip hop and smooth 80s soul tunes. The first mix we did was just a collection of stuff that we wanted to listen to continuously while passing the time away playing ping pong, and since it got quite a nice reaction we just decided to keep doing more of them.
Since then our tastes have both evolved together and we actually have a pretty similar take on things these days, which makes it easier to flow off each other especially over some of these longer sets we’ve started playing. Maria grew up in Colombia so she likes to bring elements of Latin music culture to the table when we play, and we both have gotten pretty into the crossover styles connecting UK rave, house and progressive house from the mid 90s. Those records are always high energy, have catchy vocal samples and are packed with quirky twists and turns making them incredibly fun to play to a dance floor. Club 77 was wicked fun and we’re absolutely stoked to be doing it all night at NTs Loft next month in London!”
How does music fit into your daily routine? Do you regularly listen to music or search for new records? How do you focus your intentions and craft, and how distinct are your roles as a DJ and running the podcast? “No real set in stone routine, although I do tend to search for music in one way or another most days, it’s an addiction as much as anything at this point, and one that you can’t really switch off. I try to rip all the new records that I get these days too, so that whole process takes up a bit of time, but I play a healthy mix of digital and vinyl so it’s always nice to have both options at the ready. I get in the zone when preparing for a mix or an upcoming show, that usually drives me to search even deeper for a particular sound that I’m feeling. MDC kind of sets its own pace, when the mixes arrive I’ll set aside the time to prepare and release them, but I still treat it as a fun side project so I like to keep things as fluid as possible with no strict schedule to adhere to.”
Can you tell us about three albums that a) define you getting into electronic music in general, b) maybe a midway album when you were fully invested in DJing and and c) a recent album that you’ve especially enjoyed? And what made these albums so special at the time.
a) Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery’ was the ultimate entry point into the whole world of dance music for me, I remember my cousin gave me the CD back around 2003 and I was hooked! Every single track is pure nostalgia for me, and the slower emotional cuts on the album really are phenomenal.
b) Ian Pooley’s ‘Meridian’ would have to be one of my favourite house music albums, and one that will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s as timeless as it gets and released in ‘98 when Pooley was in his absolute prime. Blissed out downtempo and groovy atmospheric house for days.
c) Recent album wise I’m gonna go with Jamma-Dee’s ‘Perceptions’ LP from last year, this guy is incredibly talented and just seems to always nail that chillin west coast vibe with his productions and insane DJ skills. It kind of has it all, sun soaked hip hop, g-funk, r’n’b and house flavours all rooted in west coast funk.
What sort of other hobbies or interests do you have outside of electronic music? Are there any books, films, shows or other things you’ve seen or been reading/watching that you might want to share? “I’m a bit of a sports enthusiast when I’m not doing music stuff, I like playing tennis, golf and ping pong when the weather is nice, or going on hikes out of town with my Maria whenever we get the chance. We just finished watching a great Spanish drama series called Cardo which was a crazy emotional rollercoaster, and a film that stands out from recent memory was Wild Tales, an Argentinian dark comedy / thriller that is as absurd and hilarious as it is shocking.”
Could you describe the process of creating this mix? Was there a specific message or feeling you wanted to convey? “I put a lot of love into this one! It was probably a year or so in the making, and features a bunch of records I got especially for the mix, either on my travels or from finally succumbing to gems calling my name from deep within the wantlist. Since it was the first club mix I had done in a while, I wanted it to encapsulate the kind of summery mid 90s house I’ve been playing in my sets of late. Plenty of cheeky vocals, big pianos and feel good energies, leaning heavily towards the quirkier UK club sounds of the time, and gradually taking things in a techier late night direction. A breezy dance mix to see out the end of summer, or bring in the springtime wherever you are in the world!”
Last, usual question from us, what was the last thing to put a big smile on your face and when was the last time you had a proper dance? “Our dog (son) Lemons puts a big smile on my face every day, he’s so cheeky and cute it’s hard not to grin when you see that little face running down the hallway haha! Had a proper dance the other weekend when our friend DJ Pipe was in town, he played such a killer set of tasteful bouncy tech house, full of crazy records I had never heard before, so that was a real pleasure to witness. Thanks for listening!”
Myles Mac: Soundcloud, Instagram, Resident Advisor
Melbourne Deepcast: Soundcloud, Instagram, Website
You can download Truancy Volume 334: Myles Mac in 320 kbps and view the full tracklist on Patreon here. Your support helps cover all our costs and allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform. Members will receive exclusive access to mixes and tracklists. We urge you to support the future of independent music journalism — a little goes a long way. If you need any IDs though, please leave us a comment on the Soundcloud link and us or Myles Mac will get back to you with the track :)
