"Appreciate and nurture it!": Rich NxT on Australia's dance culture

One of FUSE’s original residents, Rich NXT, this weekend embarks on the start of a tour taking him from the waning Summer of the UK, and into the warm embrace of an Australasian Spring.

With shows lined up across Australia and Asia, the DJ known for his minimal and techno chops is bringing his wealth of experience into cities and venues seeing a period of growth and attention akin to the UK’s own early 2000s club culture.

Ahead of this string of shows, including his headline position at the helm of Carousel’s 1st birthday, Rich shared a few thoughts and feelings on his looming trip down South.

Q: Rich, you’ve got a really close relationship with S.A.S.H, having played for them a bunch over the years. Can you give us a bit of a rundown on how you’ve become so close with the crew?

A: We really have a shared love of good music and good people. Since the first time I played for S.A.S.H in 2016, there's always been a great rapport. All of the crew and DJs have made me feel welcome over the years and it's been a privilege to witness the party go from strength to strength, and other cities and other countries. We'll always make the effort to hang when we can in Europe too when the brand is on tour! Family time and rave time!

Q: Your role in starting FUSE is something so well documented, but I’d love to know as the world becomes arguably even more focused on dance music than ever before, how your reflection on what FUSE meant for dance culture has changed with time?

A: I think FUSE definitely opened doors for a new wave of dance music and dance music artists. Everybody onboard when the brand broke through came from the time before social media as we know it now. I think we had Myspace but that was about it. The vibes were hedonistic and driven by the need to rave every Sunday with music that somehow managed to bring in lots of our influences while never imitating a thing. A lovely blend of naivety and creativity fuelled by the passion to play and produce whatever we felt at the time.

I think in hindsight there was definitely some kind of void that we filled for ravers. Management put a lot of effort in ensuring the parties were super safe with attention to detail on sound and venue which made a together vibe, taking influence from the already great dance community in our hometown (London) and then growing quickly with collaborations in the UK and further afield. We have a strong bond, the buzz on a Sunday morning getting ready for FUSE, texting each other in excitement, seeing what everyone had been up to the night before and talking about what new music we had, I guess became infectious.

One phrase was always on the tip of the tongue. "Today is a good day for a rave."

Q: ‘What NxT’ is now in its 7th year, going on 8th. How has the incredible burst of energy that’s come about in a post-COVID world impacted the way you’ve planned releases? Is there any particular sound or style that you’ve found yourself really keen to platform?

A: With ‘What NxT’, from the start and right up to now, it’s all about championing the music I love to play. I get to release music from fresh artists with sounds that may not have been heard widely. The platform has been really blessed to host music from young breakout artists and it's great to see so many come through and smash it like Josh Baker, DXNBY, Boss Priester, PACH and Antss alongside the many great artists who were already established when they released. In the past couple years I have really stepped up on the release frequency too. Going digital allowed me to showcase more artists and take more risks!

Q: Being back in Australia, what are some of the things you’ve grown to understand about Australia's music culture over time?

A: The main one is a really wicked sense of fun on the dancefloor; there is always a good feeling. A great combination of heads down moving as well as ‘hands in the air’ moments. Crowds seem to go with the flow of a set and there is never a time when you think "oh shit, I need to change up here." They’re very accepting and happy to hear new sounds for which DJs are very grateful.

Also, dressing up is definitely a thing.

I love the fancy dress element that comes into play at some events, even though I remember one year I arrived to play with my outfit and was quickly reminded that the fancy dress party was the week before! One other thing that I like too is the outdoor location raves. They seem to be really successful over here and I will always be up for a rave in a forest or a valley!

Q: Australia has a real culture of more ‘unregulated’ events and more grassroots club spaces that, in many ways, mirror the UK in the late 90s & early 2000s. What do you think Australia could learn from the wins & losses that UK rave & club culture experienced in these years?

A: Appreciate and nurture it!

We certainly did before councils and the like made these kinds of events and venues harder to come by. We have lost a lot of good places to property developers in the past few years or though being priced out of running due to high costs in the supply chain.

Keep people safe, don't create reasons for authorities to shut you down and try to foster good relationships when you can with the powers that be, as the hand that feeds can turn into the one that bites.

Q: As an expert and someone with so much experience, I’d love to know what you think could be in the future for Australia’s blossoming dance music industry?

A: I think the spread of our music into all corners of the country as well as in NZ has been great to see and it would be great to see more artists breaking through with more labels benefiting from the joined up nature of the industry and getting worldwide acknowledgement. It's already happening, with yourselves (Mixmag) setting up in Aus and NZ. Having a platform like this will be integral to the continued growth of the scene.

Q: What does it feel like to be playing the first birthday of a venue halfway around the world?

A: I can tell you it will feel crazy.

Distance can sometimes hit you at the strangest times but often during a set. I'll be halfway through a mix and stop and think, "wow, I am halfway round the world playing the track I made last week at home, isn't that mad!" I have heard a lot about Carousel and literally can't wait to get on that sound system!

Q: What do you think of Carousel, and how does it compare to clubs you’ve played at?

A: Weekly parties are wicked and the best way to cultivate a scene.

S.A.S.H is back in Oxford St, featuring great music week in, week out, a model that I know really well from our days at 93 Ft East with FUSE as well as mainstay clubs like Fabric who work tirelessly to give clubbers an experience throughout the weekend. The line ups I see are really recognisable too, with parallels to events like LOCUS which really helps the scenes links between Europe and down under!

Q: What are you most excited for in these string of shows in Australia and Asia?

A: Trying out new music definitely. I've been busy producing solo music and also collaborating (with Rossi and Madvilla), as well as lining up the rest of my labels releases this year (including a collab EP with Guti), so bringing new music is always something to look forward to.

It's funny, when I leave Aus I always wonder what my record box will sound like the next time I visit. It's hard to envisage at the time but when the time comes to go back again, and I listen, it always makes sense, like it was fated to sound that way all along.

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Tickets to Carousel’s 1st birthday featuring Rich NxT are available via mixmag.net.au.

Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ’s Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.