Meet Mixmag Australia/NZ's Managing Editor: Jack Colquhoun

Hey!

I’m Jack (he/him), Managing Editor of Mixmag Australia/NZ. It’s such an incredible pleasure to be here, in this role & helping launch a brand that truly & authentically cares about the past, present & future of dance music & its influence.

Mixmag has long stood out to me, as a longtime enjoyer, player, reader & promoter of dance music, as an organisation able to share its influence far outside of where it calls home. The beauty of dance music to me has long been the ability for it to unite people across the world, while still paying respect to the individual communities & cultures that make it.

So, I felt it was important to be open & transparent about who I am, about what I want both for Mixmag & for our wider dance community.

I grew up in Eora/Sydney, and fell in love with nightlife and electronic music right as Sydney’s infamous lockout laws were put in place. I chose to double down, and engrain myself deeper in music. Over the last decade this has meant hosting shows at FBi Radio and Nomad Radio, as well as regularly throwing events and starting a label under the name Lovejoy, among others.

It’s as a result of this privilege that I fully understand the importance of community support for Australia’s electronic music culture.

Australia is a hotbed of creative expression & experimentation, far away from many of the influences of the rest of the world. Primarily, Mixmag Australia/NZ will focus on the furthest reaches of what makes our dance music unique, while still dedicating itself to promoting the communities that make it possible. So too, we understand that protecting local dance communities from threats often associated with attention by large media organisations is incredibly important.

Dance music is inherently political. It is built on a long & deep history of protest, of Black, queer & trans rights, & the best spaces it creates are expressions of freedom in its most pure sense.

Mixmag Australia/NZ will be dedicated to upholding the values that all modern dance music should. We recognise that we are operating entirely from, dancing on, listening on & speaking on Stolen Land. We stand for a Free Palestine. We will highlight & stamp out all injustice within dance music whenever possible, & platform voices crucial to reaffirming the diversity at the core of what dance music is.

We sit at an incredible time for dance music globally, but particularly at home. In my role as editor, I promise to uphold the values our community holds so dear, while also respecting the generations of people whose shoulders we dance on.

This is for all of us. I hope we can do you proud.

<3

Jack Colquhoun

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You can find me on Instagram.