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MK: How would you describe Proto Exotica’s sound and the vibe that you like to cultivate with the brand and events?

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F: The overall vibe we’re going for is playful, cheeky, light-hearted, a bit oddball with a focus on art/design. Sound wise, we try not to pigeonhole ourselves, as we’re interested in music from all around the world. A few genres I’ve been playing lately have been dub, disco, kwaito, street soul, spiritual jazz, house, acid/chug + more. 

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‍A: It’s a hard thing to explain but I think one concept we’re fascinated by is the word ‘Proto’ which basically means early or primitive. So in a Dance Music context we’re drawn towards the sort of experimentalism of late 80’s electronic music when they were trying to figure this shit out. There was texture, things were a bit wonky, a bit goofy and things had this sort of playful nonchalant spirit about it. So we’re always digging for stuff like that or even modern records which channel that spirit so I guess things like New Beat, Disco, Dub, Kwaito, Proto-House, Downtempo, Chug and then my guilty pleasure at the moment is Cantopop. The vibe we’re trying to push is cheeky, fun, a little sexy and ideally a party with a strong visual direction which is something I’m obsessed with and I feel like we’ve only just begun exploring!

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MK: I’ve noticed Proto’s been doing a few more global trips and collaborations, what’s prompted you guys to expand into more international gigs?

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F: We’ve been lucky enough to have friends and make friends all around the world during our travels, and have always been interested in collaborating with other brands/parties/individuals that create things in a similar vein and are doing things that resonate with us. We’re almost constantly planning the next trip abroad to share music with these like-minded collectives/individuals.

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‍A: I think after a few years of being cooked up in Australia traveling was something we were itching to do and what better vehicle to do it with than Proto. We basically just started reaching out to crews and people we respected and just started forming these beautiful connections especially in Asia. Australia’s kind of far away from everything but Asia’s a somewhat reasonable flight time so we decided to start booking flights and now we’ve created these connections/projects which are hugely inspiring to us!

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MK: How are you guys feeling about the current Electronic Music scene in Melbourne? Melbourne’s seemed to always have had a unique sound/ POV.

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F: Overall, really good! It’s so broad and varied, with so many different “micro-scenes” and niches. Same as our culture, it’s heavily influenced by other scenes from all around the world, which I think gives it it’s own sound, not totally unique mind you, but still its own sound. Something for everyone haha.

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A: Honestly I’m so proud of it, I think there was a period of time where people just associated it with Melbourne bounce or for a while we just mimicked European scenes but now we’ve really forged a strong identity/sound. I think we’ve got a long way to go though, we need more infrastructure to help our community grow and then there’s obviously the age-old problem of lack of venues but I’m sure we’ll prevail!

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MK: How did the visual design of the Proto brand come together? It’s very playful and I love the way you guys experiment with typography.

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F: Alex does pretty much all the design, although I dabble, and we have equal say in terms of the curation of each poster, sticker, print etc. I’d say it’s a bit of a blend of styles of who our biggest creative inspirations are in the next question, with our own cheeky little twist in there. I’ve personally always been obsessed with how letters play into each other + sit together, I guess similar to how graffiti writers may choose their “word” based on what letters they think work well together. We’ve recently been referring to the party and writing it as just “Proto” as it sounds and looks a lot neater on paper.

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MK: What are your biggest creative inspirations in the DJ/ music scene?

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F:  Sheesh, too many to say haha, and I’m sure I’ll miss many on this list. To name a few though. Locally - Animals Dancing, Waxo Paradiso, Efficient Space, Spasta, Finding Figaro, Love Above Records and Tribqu. Globally - Public Possession, Optimo, Transport, Sound Metaphors and Darker than Wax.

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A: To be honest Freddy mentioned most of the brands/DJs we look up to and reference quite a lot of but as someone who is in hospitality and runs his own space I need to shout out a few of those brands. Public Records in NYC is probably one of the best brands in the world right now, the art direction is absolutely immaculate, the level of detail they go to with their curation both musically and in their F&B is incredibly inspiring too. Potato Head is an absolute force in Asia right now and their HQ in Indonesia is probably one of the most culturally relevant spots for music culture in all of Asia. Zodiac in Jakarta is also incredible, with great attention to detail, solid branding, collaborations with all the right players and some world class bookings for DJs/Acts.

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MK: Any favorite tracks or records we need to check out at the moment?

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F: Michael White - The Blessing Song. Our good friend and fellow DJ Etai showed me this spiritual jazz song a few months ago and it’s in constant rotation for me.

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Country House - Tycoon To$h. A cheeky early 90s hip hop/house release on Japanese label and creative collective, Major Force, who went on to influence a number of fashion labels too (Cav Empt, Neighborhoods etc). I made an edit of this song not long ago and it almost never leaves my record bag.

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A: Kuruki - Souvenir > A moody little late 80’s Synth-Pop number which I’ve been loving at the moment.

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MBG - Long Wave (112 Underground by MBG) > Donky Downtempo Dream House.

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Back To Bassline - While My Sequencer Gently Weep> This whole EP is incredible, all very Dub-Centric in interesting left of field directions.

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MK: Any upcoming events or gigs for Proto Exotica you want to plug?

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F: One of my favorites Jura Soundsystem will be joining us at Angel Music Bar upstairs on the 10th August, alongside some other talented friends playing downstairs the same night! Really excited for that one, we’ve both been big fans since the Isle of Jura label started in 2016, and I personally own a lot of his releases/reissues now.

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A: We’re pretty damn stoked for that one as we’ve been big fans for a long time! There’s also plenty of fun stuff planned over the next 6 months but more on that soon…..

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What DJ set should people start off with to hear the Proto sound?

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F: Since it’s so long, covers so much ground, and is our most recent mix online, I’d say our 5 hour set at Cafe Fredas in Sydney. We do have a mix we’ve just recorded that will be coming out on the Barcelona based label Balearic Ensemble that I’m pretty happy with too, so keep your eyes + ears peeled for that!