The Potbelleez are one of the most popular dance acts in the busy Australian music scene - quite an achievement when you realise that two of them are Irish ex-pats. The success down under is beginning to show signs of taking root in the Northern Hemisphere, with recent shows at Electric Picnic and and the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project proving very successful.
The Potbelleez will play their next Irish show at the Industry Club and Venue on 3rd June and you can purchase tickets through entertainment.ie/tickets.
We recently caught up with the band to get their thoughts...
How did it come about the two Irish DJs form a band with two Aussies?
We were both playing around the Sydney bar and club scene, so throughout that period we pal-ed around and ran gig's with various people and bands, like La fiesta sound system, wicked groove, and parties in general.
When I had a party at my gaff, I went to the bathroom and Ilan was taking a shower whistling a tune, a few gigs and months later, Jonny and I started to write/record with Ilan and came up with 'Don't Hold Back'. With Blu she was playing around the scene too, we got introduced at our club night in kings cross and immediately she jumped on the mic and started rapping over our tracks, so she was included in our Potbelleez DJ sets from first we met her.
Was it easier to make an impression on the Australian scene than it was on the Irish scene?
I think so. Jonny had played around Ireland and Dublin and had a few residencies and radio, but found it very hard. I had a show on pirate radio 'Nova' and played in Sir Henry's in Cork, but there seemed to be so many 'main stayers' and 'big players' in the Irish scene that there was nowhere to go. There are only so many clubs, with only so many opening hours and there are only so many people to go to the clubs.
In Australia there is 20 million people with 5 million in Sydney, so there are so many people that need entertaining which means there are a lot more venues to play in. Also their licensing Laws regarding opening hours are much more relaxed, in Melbourne and Sydney you can party in clubs all weekend long! So in general there is a lot more work to go around. That's not to say it's not hard. The way we got thorough was really organic. I had a residency in Darling harbour for 5hrs a night for 5 years, which was a great rock to build things around and invite other DJs and parties. That place was the first time Jonny and I had played all night together and gel-ed our musical/ DJ bond. Along with that residency we were able to promote our own underground events; we did a host of boat parties and also beach parties that were all massive. We built a big following and we were offered full time club gigs all over Sydney and then interstate work came. I'm not saying all that time was easy, we worked really hard in early days and kept up our work ethic throughout our career. I can safely say we definitely earned our stripes.
Read the full interview here...