MDC.315 Neil E & Billus

Three hours of deep underground house music from a couple of Naarm's extended blend bosses.

@jackhnelson & @billusmoon

Q. What sounds or feelings did you draw upon when gathering inspiration for this mix, and what listening environments could you imagine it being best enjoyed in?

A. Sam: would be amiss not to say deepness – hard to really say what that means, though. Music played deep into the party, everyone on molly, the sound system is the one from Labyrinth, and it’s in Yarra Bend.

A. Jack: Yeah much the same as Sam, we share a mutual love for deepness albeit in a slightly different way. I hope it will be a bit of an all hours mix for cooking, eating, driving or for the hours after etc.

Q. Are there any records in the mix that you were especially excited to share, and what is it about these songs that resonate with you so much?

A. Sam: Many resonate, but the Baby Ford track toward the beginning sums up the whole deepness-being-difficult-to-describe thing, for me at least. David Alvarado does that to me as well – he features a fair bit here.

A. Jack: there have been many tunes I would've loved to include - but without much defined planning we got to this mix one afternoon. Bit of a mish mash of different deepish tunes from over the years, moving around home base which is good old house music. Nothing too serious.

Q. You’ve both been involved in facilitating a myriad of great underground parties in Melbourne over the last decade from outdoor raves to basement club nights, Jack, tell us about your latest endeavour Reasons and how that fits into the music community focussed party ethos?

A. Jack: Reasons came about as a bit of an evolution from just running parties, toward something that connects and platforms the people around me and incorporates music, food and art.. After spending time overseas, I felt a strong pull to bridge those worlds, and to bring some of those ideas we encountered abroad back home.

Q. I know you’ve both been working hard on various studio projects both solo and collaboratively, tell us about the latest endeavours, and what sounds are you enjoying exploring whilst working together?

A. Sam: Making music together has always come naturally, finishing tracks less so. Plans mostly go out the window once we start, but I feel like we’ve always converged on a distinct feeling without having to explicitly voice. I like exploring all sounds with Neil, but I guess we’ve always tended to steer toward some kind of 90s nostalgia. The final track in the mix is a useful example.

A. Jack: We’re both always making music in some form, sometimes with more focus than others, at least for me. We’ve always got a few bits in the works I guess (including the last track in the mix), but as Sam said, finishing things together doesn't always happen... Lately, I’ve been trying to be a bit more deliberate with what I am making. Definitely a few releases to come in the next 6 months, as well as a new non-dance music project.