CICADA Magazine - Unchained

CICADA

UNCHAI N E D

design & creative direction will landman

photography fraser john walters + charlie traynor + eric powell

cicada owners maison bell lucas bell

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Co-Founder

maison CICADA came about as both my brother and I thought we should create an event which promotes up-and-coming local talent, providing them with a platform to grow and establish themselves within the music industry. At the same time, settling for nothing less of high quality music and production, incorporating established DJs within the techno scene into our shows.

The third chapter took place recently. CICADA unchained was our postponed postponed postponed event, which was originally meant to take place in May. CICADA unchained eventually took place onthe 26th of November 2021. This felt like the first chapter all over again, as we had to reinvent ourselves as an event and relaunch our brand as so much time had passed in between events we thought it was fitting to come up with a new logo for the brand.

The idea developed as Lucas was eager to get amongst the nightclub scene, however was only 17 at the time. We ran our first event toward the end of 2019 under a different name Neon Entertainment. This was our first live show where we showcased three acts and had 350 people through the doors at Good Things bar located on Commercial Rd. That’s the first chapter of our story.

We never saw this as a bad thing, we saw all of these as opportunities to extend ourselves, constantly allowing us to reintroduce ourselves to many different people. With this, of course it was challenging. This whole project has been challenging as COVID has made it extremely hard to plan and promote shows as we in all honesty don’t know at the best of times if they’re even going to go ahead. With this, we continue to bush boundaries in the music scene – more specifically the techno industry in Melbourne as an event which is becoming known for sharing great music, excellent production quality, and being known for having a great, tightknit crew.

The second chapter embarks as we were thrown into a COVID spread state, nightclubs and bars were forced to shut, further postponing our second event at Good Things which was supposed to take place in March of 2020. Once lockdown finally ended and nightclubs and bars were able to re-establish themselves we were a little late to the party, booking our first event with Jaff from New Guernica in April of 2021. That event took off and that’s when we officially launched ourselves as CICADA nightclub. On our ‘first’ official launch we had 480 people through the door, putting together an amazing show featuring some very talented acts in STÜM and OOTS. With our launch show finally under the rug post an amazing turn out, we were looking forward to running again in early May. Unfortunately, we were thrown back into lockdown, further postponing the growth of CICADA.

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The aim of these magazines is to share a story of where it started, where we are going, whilst recapping ourevents in a chronological fashion. Providing those who were not able to attend, with a secondary experience, further hoping that others would love to come and experience our show. Wherever you are reading this we hope you enjoy this exciting and crazy journey. Hope to see you all very soon at our upcoming event

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jaff tzaferis

What is the history behind New Guernica?

How and when did the business initially start I was working full time with Kyle Bush (current business partner) for a club called Third Class doing the marketing and helping with bookings etc until that lease came to an end.

I felt it was time to put my balls on the line and put all I’ve learnt from throwing parties since 2002 into practice. I contacted an acquaintance, Steve Costa, who owned a venue called F4 and pitched the idea of Kyle and I coming on board as business partners, redesigning the space and taking full control of bookings. F4 loved the idea and were down for a re-fresh… and so we gave birth to New Guernica.

Explain the vision for New Guernica’s collingwood venue. Do you feel like that goal has been achieved?

‘The vision itself is simple really...’

Everything had to be of epic status. We were anal about getting the sound and lighting right so we can become the place for international acts to play when they are touring Australia.

We also wanted to create an inclusive new hub for young electronica acts, djs and bands to perform and grow.

Finally, we want it to be a comfortable new second home and safe space for all those music lovers and party goers who walk through that door. It’s still early days yet but I feel we will achieve what we’ve set out to do and working with the right people plays a massive part.

Favourite act that has ever performed at New Guernica? / Or favourite New Guernica event?

There’s been so many over the last 12 years, hard to pick one but If I had to, it would be between Superpitcher & Apparat. High tier artists who would fill venues twice the size. Sold out two shows for both. The atmosphere was electric.

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photography: fraser

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— Question 1

What was your experience like shooting at CICADA unchained in the new venue?

This was my first time shooting New Guernica and my first time at the new venue in Collingwood. It was an unreal first experience at the club being able to shoot the artists I listen to. As well as meeting some and connecting with new people.

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Everyone was so welcoming and I felt really comfortable which is important to me. If I felt uncomfortable I wouldn’t be able to capture the moments that I did. The dancefloor was packed all night and the vibes were genuinely so energetic for a Friday.

What motives drive you as a photographer to improve and progress?

‘I really want to work with all different types of events, and not just the one’ I feel like that’s the best way to out as a creative.

Whether it be DJing, photography or graphic design, I want to be a part of all of it. The feedback I get from the venue and artists after they see my photos really drives me too. If somone posts my image that means they like what my vision is and I’m all for it.

In a competitive market of photography, how does your style separate your work from other photographers?

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— Question 3

I don’t often look into other work and try to compare it to my own. There are a lot of film photographers out there but not too many who take photos inside venues such as New Guernica and Xe54.

I try not to take the standard nightclub photo of people posing in front of the camera. Sometimes I’ll do it if someone asks but I don’t go around asking people to pose.

I try to take photos of the atmosphere that we’re immersed in at the time. I want people to look at those photos post event and feel the need to some how experience that.

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fraser What equiptment do you use?

The camera that I currently use is an Olympus Superzoom 120 35mm Film Compact Camera.

— Question 4 ‘ Answer

This camera was released in 1994 and it was actually a gift from a friend around 2017. He really wanted to get me into film photography as I took a great interest in his shots, so he bought the camera from an Op Shop in Cheltenham for around $10.00. I started to shoot mostly anything I found to be aesthetic or visually pleasing. I used to take the camera with me on skate trips and into the city.

As I turned 19 I really wanted to invest myself in Melbournes music scene, so I set myself a goal for 2020, to start shooting in nightclubs and events for a job. I’m really happy with the way the pictures turned out for CICADA

— Question 5

Who are your creative influences? How do they influence your style of photography?

I don’t really follow many other photographers really. If I see a local photographer who’s work I like, I will give them a follow and interact with their posts.

Some of my favourite local artists would definitely have to be @_mishep and @charlestraynorr if you like my work, go check them out too.

Can you give us some insight into the hardest aspects of your job?

Working with a film camera is very difficult as I’m limited to the amount of shots I have. Sometimes it’s difficult to shoot when there are heaps of people around, accidentally bumping into me and stuff but that just means that the venue is full which is good. I can work around it.

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photography: fraser

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photography: john walters

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How do did you feel about your peformance?

Performing at CICADA was a blast, it was my first set back since the lock down and I had lots of artillery stored up that I was ready to fire.

CICADA is definetly and event that allows for DJs to thrive and play serious dance music, which is only met with an over the top love that can be only described as EPIC. Are there any experiences or artists that have influenced your creative intuition?

The Australian dance music scene has my heart. All of my favourite artists are Australian locals or Australian exports from places like the UK and Berlin. In particular Jensen Intercepor was the first artist who really opened up my eyes for pushing boundries and influenced both my approach to mixing and performaning.

What is the vision behind your new label ‘Happy Wax Records’?

The vision of Happy Wax Records, is to create a community of people who share a love for high energy music. Music that pushes the boundries of today, creating moments that can only leave you smiling. The crux of Happy Wax Records will only develop and grow as we begin releasing some of the best music to come out worldwide in 2022, with now 7 amazing and talented artists officially signed for release throughout the year.

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stüm How do you try to stay inspired and keep things fresh?

My love for dance music consumes my day to day life. Most of my time is spent searching through old record catalogues finding sounds and tracks that would otherwise been deemed lost.

I think that is one of the true beauties of dance music that keeps the fire burning. But I also keep things fresh by trying to push my productions and open up new sounds for myself by listening to my favourite artists and trying to push the sound further to create something unique.

Do you enjoy music production or live DJ performances more than the other?

For me personally, performacing and production really go hand in hand. When im producing I’m thinking about, moments and emotions that could be felt on the dance floor.

photography: john walters

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photography: charles traynor

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photography: charles traynor

Do you have any guilty pleasures when you DJ, does your music taste reach be yond what you play in your sets?

What led you to start DJing, and how did you step into Melbourne’s music industry?

The holistic lead into the DJing world was followed mainly just due to my pure love of music and the fact my brother was a DJ at the time. As such I was able to access those decks and I took a great admiration to them when I was around 16 and haven’t looked back.

My Guiltiest pleasures will have to be swapping basses and bringing them in, it is always a bit of fun. It can provide instant feedback to you as well if you do something people enjoyed, you can normally see just on their faces, or by the way they look at their mate standing next to them. I also listen to a lot heavier stuff in my own time, and I guess harder as well. Then again I am also a rather large fan of Doja Cat, she is pretty beast.

I started out learning the basics and really just everything that is the vast subject of music. So that by the time I was 18, I thought I was at least somewhat prepared. By prepared, I mean really nervous, yet still confident enough to get up there and smile. I started off small playing in bars, later movi ng into night clubs. Shortly after, another local event ‘social house’ reached out to me and really that’s it!

What are your views on the current music scene in Melbourne?

Relative to old feelings, my general outlook on the music scene right now is a lot better and you can really see the growth and potential with it too. The music scene went missing for about two years with covid, but I hope that will only lead to things improving in the near future.

How did the unique atmosphere of the divebar influence your DJ set? What did you expect before playing at the New Guernica venue?

My number one comment on the music scene in Melbourne is that everyone you meet is honestly just a great person. I can’t put my finger on it but they are all just so genuine.

From the average crowd goer to event planners, to the venue owners, they are all just really good people, and there such a positive environment. There are also so many talented people out there in Melbourne which add to the already growing music scene.

I had no real expectations going into the night, I tried not to so I could be surprised. I absolutely loved the most previous guerns, like I loved it. Like I loved the new venue, the grungy, relaxed dive bar atmosphere was actually awesome.

I drew so many similar comparisons to the kitchen at the old venue. The laser cage was sick, the people rocked, it was the most raucous sound system. To say it killed my expectations is an understatement. Whilst I had no real expectations, I know I was not disappointed.

What elements do you think makes a good live DJ set?

I think the number one most important thing to a good DJ set is a good DJ first of all. Then obviously following that the second most important thing is that the crowd is enjoying themselves, then after that, the DJ! I think it makes a really good set when the crowd is able to see that the DJ themselves, are enjoying their time and having fun with it. I think it’s really awesome as well when the DJ knows their music quite well, as in if they’re singing along and dancing to it well, it can really elevate their set as a whole.

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Question 1 —

Answer ‘

How has your taste in music been influenced?

My earliest introduction to dance music probably appealed just prior to my teenage years where I was introduced to house and techno by an older cousin who had been going out for a few years. I can remember feeling overwhelmed by the amount of new music I was discovering, and endless opportunity filled by this new genre of music.

This moment without a doubt began a compulsive obsession for dance music from a young age. Here I found myself falling into a black hole of techno sub genres and melodic house even before high school where I would casually listen to anything and everything you would hear at the club.

Still not old enough to see a real club myself I was invited to Facebook groups such as Mr. After Party in 2017 where people would share videos looking for lost IDs or experiences at different events. Watching these videos online made me hungry to go out for myself and hear the music I had seen on the internet. For years I watched these videos on repeat which later shaped my production and DJing, ultimately leading to a fascination with electronic music.

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How has creativity and innovation effected your sound and the way you peform in front of a crowd?

I often find myself making music with so many ideas and thoughts that it can become difficult strip my work back and finalize my projects. This can result in my demos having excessive layers and sounds as I try an attempt to ‘fit it all in.’ Sometimes tying to be too creative can often backfire as I feel like there is a fine line between making something that pushes the boundaries and making something that doesn’t quite work. I believe those who can strip down their work tastefully are very skillful as that is an art it itself.

However there are no rules for making music so don’t let this be a guideline as everyone has to find their feet individually and continue to do so.

As a CICADA resident where do you see yourself in the next year? What do you hope to achieve working with the brand and what are some shared goals you both have?

It is difficult to know how I will progress as time passes and how I will be influenced through the course of time. However, I hope to strive in my production and push my abilities where I aim to become recognized for some original music rather than remixes. In 12 months I’m hoping to transition away from rap oriented techno remixes, where I want to challenge my own expectations. I hope I can continue to form my own sound in techno and also venture out into some new subgenres through both my production and DJ sets.

I believe you must be constantly evolving as an artist, brand, or business to remain interesting for not only a fan-base, but for yourself. I think this is something that both CICADA and I can strive towards in the future to challenge ourselves. I hope both the business and myself can look back on our work in 12 months time and recognize that we have progressed a long way as creatives and understand that we can only improve.

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Co-Founder

oston Question 1 —

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When creating music and creating your own identity what do you focus on?

In regard to my own music, I particularly try to focus on working with a variety of different sounds to ensure that I am enabling myself to learn as well as begin to pave my style through my sound and keep it consistent throughout my portfolio of tracks. After creating many different styled tracks along the way, I feel that it has helped contribute to my identity and allowed me to incorporate more unique sounds into my music. This is probably the most important part of being a musician in my opinion, listeners should be able to hear a track without knowing what song it is, however being able to assume the artist by the style of the track.

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lucas Why do you make music?

This is a good question that I’ve never really thought about because I don’t really have an exciting motivational story that has led me to where I am today. As cheesy as it sounds, I just love music and how it has become more than just listening for me. For me, it’s got to the point where I can no longer just listen to a track, instead analysing every component and trying to understand how each sound has been created or manipulated to create a particular sound. Along with this, another reason I make music is because it creates a closer relationship between myself and fans. They can hear me play my music at shows and then go onto my artist profile and rinse my songs even when they’re not at gigs. Lastly, the bliss feeling of playing something you’ve spent hours making that can be played to a crowd of people who respect your sound is also the most rewarding feeling. For me it’s a testing ground for many of my unreleased tracks, if I can see the audience is bumping the sound then that usually gives me the final green light in my mind to release it.

What inspires the choices you make when creating a song?

Most of my inspiration comes from other up and coming artists who are threading their own unique sounds through the scene, it mainly inspires me to create my own style and not to follow any trends of music. Regarding my daily motivation to create my tracks, it would definitely be from SoundCloud where I am able to find other up and coming artists who are pushing these new innovative sounds from all around the world. I usually wake up in the morning and go listen to some tracks I have been rinsing lately in the shower, this will help me decide on the type of track I feel like making that day whether it’s breaks, trancey or just another fast-thumping techno track.

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How does your music impact running CICADA and how does this help create line ups?

What determines the people you choose to play at one of CICADA’s nights?

Having a strong knowledge of music definitely helps when picking artists, I especially like to have majority of the line-up consisting of DJ’s who also produce their own music. My knowledge also allows me to identify up and coming artists who are pushing the boundaries with these new sounds which I know attendees will appreciate and want to keep coming back for more.

The reason behind why I like to get mostly producers is because I feel as if gives these talented artists a chance to show the audience what they’re all about and really showcase their very own music in their sets and create a fanbase which in return creates more respect for our events from audiences.

In your own words, define what CICADA means to you as a project and where you see it going in the future?

CICADA to me isn’t a temporary project that is only going to last as long we can run club nights, instead it is a project that will eventually be able to successfully operate larger scale events in places all over Victoria and perhaps interstate. From day one me and my brother/ co-partner never wanted to solely run CICADA with the intention of only doing club gigs, we’ve been so inspired by people like Untitled Group who have managed to pull off these amazing shows showcasing both international and local talent right here in the heart of Australia. For us, we eventually want to move into larger scale festivals such as warehouse day parties, bush doofs etc.

However, we know that we are a long way off that at the moment which is why we are continuing to run the best possible events at the moment to create a more loyal relationship between our attendees.

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I’m all about giving people from walks of life a gig. I feel as if diversity in a line-up is super important in ensuring that everyone has a fair go as well as being able to promote equality throughout our operations to make sure that no one is treated unfairly because of their background/gender. When it comes to specifically choosing artists to play, I usually like to know them personally or have seen them play out before. This gives me a better indication of what I can expect from them for our night and what direction they will be taking the crowd.

However, I have had some unpredicted run ins with people which have led to gigs on the spot. For CICADA’s upcoming event ‘Euphoria’ I was at a record shop called ‘Profile Music’ in South Yarra and was introduced to a DJ named Bronsted. After starting to talk about DJing and production I went home and did some research on his past mixes and now we have our very first ever super talented vinyl DJ performing upstairs for our next event.

What are you personal goals as a DJ? My personal goals mainly consist of places in which I want to play at. Just before the New Year I sat down with my booking manager, David and discussed some places which I’ve always dreamed of playing as well as alongside some of my favourite artists whether they’re renowned worldwide or just locally. This year one of my main goals is to play at some more renowned clubs around Melbourne as well as some festivals, I’m also ticking off one of my goals off which is to play interstate so keep your eyes peeled for some more details related to that.

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Question 1 —

How would you describe the style of music you play today and how do you envision your sound changing as a DJ and Producer?

Answer ‘

I personally love to play crowd pleasing techno tracks that I know will get a good reaction.

This could be either tracks from my friends or originals/remixes from myself. My music is a sub genre of techno particularly between 134143 BPM. My sound has evolved over time along with my knowledge on Ableton. Comparing my tracks from when I first started to now is insane.

My music when I first began was very basic due to me being so new to Ableton.

I am always open to adjusting my sound and trying new things, I find that doing collaborations with artists is a great way to improve your musical knowledge, try new sounds, and grow your fan base.

What do you do to stay inspired and keep evolving as a music producer?

Question 2 — Answer ‘

The biggest lesson that I have taught myself is to not “try and stay inspired”. Every artist gets creative mental blocks and I’ve noticed it is not healthy for me to sit there and stare at my screen until an idea comes to my head. When I have a creative block, I tend to put everything down and go to the gym or hang out with mates, an idea somehow always comes into my head whenever I’m not trying to force it.

I’m always on the hunt for talented artists that I’m able to be inspired by and potentially collaborate with. It’s important to actually be a part of a community rather than just do your own thing in the dark.

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photography: john walters

Do you think social media plays an important factor in the development of an artist’s personal brand?

How do you feel about Melbourne’s music industry in today’s climate and what does ideal night life look like to you?

Social media is the biggest way to grow your artist brand. It’s also a good way to connect with other artists and showcase your personality as well as your music. Posting videos from shows really helps artists to grow their fan base. This could be from generating excitement through an unreleased track, to announcing your upcoming projects and gigs. Making friends in the industry is so special. The mutual respect between artists and friends within a circle is something I love about the industry.

Melbourne has come a long way in terms of its music scene evolving. I’m 22, old enough to have experienced Melbourne back when it was all minimal and shuffling, and also Melbourne now with techno and rave music taking over. I’m glad the scene is changing, it allows us to be a part of a worldwide music genre rather than just having our own niche (minimal). A lot of this movement is due to new artists with a more ravey sound emerging out of Australia. Some of these pioneers include Skin on Skin, X CLUB, Partiboi69, and Mall Grab.

What do you think makes an excellent DJ set?

Tell us about your upcoming label ‘Un matched Energy Recordings’ what does the future hold for this project?

Reading the crowd. It’s not a bad thing to chuck a well known track in a DJ set to get the crowd pumping.

I decided to start Unmatched Energy Recordings because I wanted to give talented new artists a platform to showcase their music, as well as to keep pushing the rave sound in Australia. I’ve made a lot of new friends in the industry recently and I plan to get them on with full EPs and V/A projects. Not limited to Australian artists…very big things coming with my friends from Ireland and the UK as well.

I also tend to analyse the type of gig I’m playing, what sort of crowd is expected and what sort of sound I wanna play. I always love to try and prepare at least a couple of my unreleased tracks for every show so I can bring it to the testing ground and see how it plays out with the crowd.

I also strongly believe in playing my sound no matter what time my set is. I don’t really like to change my sound too much or play more chilled music if I have an early set time. This is something I was scared of at the beginning, but over the last couple of years I began to realise that it helps my audience match my type of music with me personally and what I like to play.

The first EP (Unmatched Energy Volume 1) is going to be 4 tracks from myself that I have been lucky enough to play out in clubs recently. I’m very happy with the feedback these tracks have received. Very excited to release this EP soon.

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Question 1 —

When playing for CICADA what was the an ticipation? Especially because it was your first nightclub event, what was your overall feelings and how did that promote your mu sic choice and sound on the night?

Answer ‘

In the lead up to the event, I was super pumped - especially because I knew I was playing later and I could play some harder and faster tracks. I was already quite familiar with some of the other DJs playing, so I had a pretty good idea of what the vibe would be like.

When it came to the actual day of the event, I think that’s when the nerves started creeping in a little since it was my first time playing live, but I was super grateful for Amraks sticking around a bit to help me out at the start.

I started off a bit slow as a little warm up, but once I got a few tracks into my set, my nerves started to ease and I felt a lot more comfortable speeding things up. I honestly felt like that whole set went by so quickly. It was such a blast though and I’m super keen to do it again!

Question 3 —

Playing upstairs was quite unique from an outsiders view, could you explain the setup in the dive bar and your thoughts of the unique laser lighting setup?

Answer ‘

The setup upstairs was very intimate and moody. There was two areas upstairs - one was where the bar was and the other was the dance floor. The dance floor room was quite dark and the whole room was lit with red lights. I also loved the seating against the walls of the room and the small windows overlooking the streets outside. Gave it a bit of an attic vibe.

The most eye-catching part about the room though was definitely the red lasers in front of the decks, separating the DJ from the crowd.

They almost looked like prison bars and it was really cool when the smoke machine was on and people were playing with the lasers.

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— Question 4

Does your work in design influence your music? Please explain what your design work entails… what area of design is your focus?

‘ Answer

I think when it comes to influence, I would say my music influences my design more than the other way around.

In terms of my design work, I have worked on both corporate and creative projects.

However, these days I am a little bit more selective with what I choose to work on. Mostly I enjoy working on event artwork, especially techno events. I definitely feel like my design style ties in best with techno. I love incorporating gothic themes and fonts, metallic and chrome elements and just darker vibes in general with some pops of neon colours here and there. I’m definitely a sucker for some more kitsch edits as well.

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I think moving forward, I would also love to do some more cover art. I really enjoy trying to portray the sound of my mix when designing the cover art for my Soundcloud mixes.

What genre of music did you play on the night? How did the crowd react?

Primarily techno - melodic, hard and hypnotic, but I did also throw in a little trance. Since I was closing, I figured I could go a little harder and faster with my selection. One of my current favourite artists is I Hate Models, so I definitely had to play a couple of his tracks. I also played some Indira Paganotto, Héctor Oaks and Vladimir Dubyshkin.

The crowd was great that night and I got some amazing feedback - both during and after my set! I even ended up playing a bit longer than my intended duration because people kept asking for more. I didn’t have anything to compare to, but I really felt like it was a successful night and I felt so in synch with the crowd as well. Although I was super nervous and was struggling to look up at times, everytime I blended in a new track, I could just feel the crowd taking it in and feeling the music.

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amraks — Question 1

What inspired you the most to move from Canberra to Melbourne?

Since growing up in Canberra and quickly integrating myself into the Canberra music scene, I felt it was a natural progression to move to a new city and therefore expand my music into a different market. The music industry is constantly evolving and I feel it’s important as a producer to experiment with new things, move out of your comfort zone and to explore different environments to showcase it in.

‘ Answer

How does the music scene differ In Melbourne compared to Canberra?

The obvious difference is the population and size. Melbourne is a bigger city with a constantly moving music scene from week to week, full of many incredible opportunities. Whereas Canberra is an intimate music scene with a close supportive network of people and community. I’ll always speak highly of the Canberra scene because it’s so unique.

After supporting some highly anticipated acts in Canberra what was it like playing at CICADA? It was my first experience playing in Melbourne and showcasing new music in this scene. It was crazy to see how many people came through the venue and how diverse the crowd was.

Tell us about some projects your working on?

Throughout last year I’ve been working to establish a consistent sound for the next direction of Amraks. The main project I’ve been creating is my debut EP. The EP is a mixture of melodic breakbeat and hard hitting house. A combination of emotional intricate progressions mixed with dance floor ready drums. I hope that the ep forms a state of euphoria and connection for my listeners. I’ve also been working on a live show that showcases the EP!

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