ASPECT is Eora's answer to its dance-heavy digital radio drought

The departure of much beloved and cult appreciated digital radio station Nomad Radio in late 2023 left a noticeable gap in Eora/Sydney’s dance music broadcast landscape. When compared with the likes of Naarm/Melbourne’s Skylab Radio, Eora’s offerings are few and far between, albeit propped up by the never ceasing commitment of frequencies like FBi Radio, 2ser, Radio Skid Row and more.

This week, that landscape welcomes in a much anticipated voice, in the form of ASPECT.

The streaming platform is a production born out of MIK Studio, a creative house based in Sydney’s inner west. Doing their best to utilise the studio’s facilities, the ASPECT team made up of Tom (Creative Director), James (Audio Engineer) aka swisherman from Eora-based collective DUNJ, as well as Grant Offner (Audio Engineer), and Brigitte Greene (Art Director), have launched a project that Eora has been without for too long.

To time out with the launch of such an exciting project, we sat down with Tom and James to get their thoughts and hopes for ASPECT.

Q: Such an exciting time for Eora dance music, guys. Why was this something you wanted to kick off?

TOM: Through a shared love of international underground music scenes, we felt that there wasn’t enough opportunity in Australia for less represented talent to have access to a space that could creatively impact their presence socially.

SWISHERMAN: We saw the opportunity to not only help local artists grow their following, but to bring in international artists for a stop on their Australian tours. When underground (ish) artists tour through Eora/Sydney - they tend to either do a FBI mix or a Triple J mixup - but we don’t really have a local equivalent to something like Just Jam, The Lot Radio or Red Light Radio - DJ sessions with a tight knit visual component to match. Hopefully we can shine a light on some sick locals while also connecting bigger international artists with the local electronic music ecosystem.

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Q: Who is going to be involved in ASPECT? Is there a specific musical direction you’re running with?

SWISHERMAN: It’s a real melting pot to reflect the current state of the underground in Eora/Sydney - taking influence from the sounds of Marrickville warehouse all nighters, to the echoes of bush doofs and outdoor DIY raves. The current sound in our city is vibrant and alive - and sways between so many different genres in such a fluid way. I think that's a reflection of the last 10 or so years of restrictions which pushed events and parties out into the fringes, where different communities were forced to work together out of necessity.

I love in our city how much different scenes and subcultures now cross over - and i think its through that shared experience of just trying to play loud music somewhere somehow - which can often feel like an uphill battle given the legislative challenges that get thrown at us.

That all being said - the musical offering of ASPECT is attempting to bridge a lot of these gaps and create a genre agnostic space where people can come in and play what they want. Expect big switch ups, jungle mixed with techno, plenty of breaks and just a big mish mash of all the proper party music that is coming out of this city.

Once we are up and running, we'll be looking to hand over curation control to some other talented local tastemakers and labels to showcase their favourite artists. I am really looking forward to seeing how this will help evolve the sound of the platform beyond our own reach. If you or someone you know are interested, get in touch.

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Q: What are you hoping that ASPECT is able to bring to the Eora dance community?

TOM: First and foremost we wish for ASPECT to become a genuine community of music lovers who are supportive and diverse. ASPECT’s values are positive, non judgemental, and welcoming, so we are opening our arms to anyone out there that might want to get involved somehow!

Ultimately though, we just want to foster a platform that allows for simple musical enjoyment. Championing sounds from all parts of the world.

SWISHERMAN: We really want to just bring people closer together. I love good electronic music - especially when it's filtered through the mind of other creative people. I think we have an opportunity to create something simple yet special with what we are doing.

We also hope to give local collectives, labels and artists the opportunity to curate their own lineups at ASPECT, much like a club would hand control of bookings and curation to labels/promoters. I think this will help create a wide reaching community feel around the project - and hopefully help connect people and communities beyond just the DJ and music world.

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A post shared by Aspect (@aspect.fm)

Q: How can people support what you’re doing?

TOM: There is so much to come. Our first recording is launching tonight (Wednesday, September 11), with sounds from an incredibly talented local DJ, Producer and label head known as Monako and we’ll be premiering on our Youtube (@aspectworldwide) & IG channel: @aspect.fm. We’ll be following up with fortnightly sessions after that, so keep your eyes peeled!

We’re also always on the lookout for visual artists who would like to get involved, meaning collaborative audio / visual experiences, shows, and even exhibitions on our platform. Get at us on Instagram and reach out!

SWISHERMAN: We really want this platform to reflect the community and the culture that we are a part of. We don't want this to be about us - it's all about the music. So like & subscribe… but beyond that - get in touch! If you know of a sick local DJ, producer or visual artist who deserves a light shined on them, let us know.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone at MIK Studio for helping us to make this happen, and especially to Grant and Brigitte for playing such a huge role in getting it all off the ground; we couldn’t have done it without you.

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Follow ASPECT via its Instagram & Youtube channels.

Jack Colquhoun is the Managing Editor for Mixmag ANZ, find him on Instagram.