Respect The Music
In a market saturated with clubs, Sounds on Circle provides something a little different for punters. Think tasty beats whilst you dine and sexy rhythms to accompany your dress shopping. Located at Circle on Cavill, in Surfers Paradise, James Canning is one of the resident DJs providing the tunes for Sounds on Circle.
Sounds on Circle seems like an excellent way to spend an evening out; what sort of music are you spinning?
Between Lucas Black, Daniel Carter and myself we play a diversity of soul, funk and jazz inspired beats, perfect for diners in the surrounding restaurants. It is the perfect place to start the night off.
The music scene on the Gold Coast is a different beast compared to what's happening in Brisbane; what does the Coast have that the city lacks?
Well the GC has beaches! Oh and of course Respect Music (Canning’s musical enterprise). On a serious note though, we are currently looking into getting our sound up into the Brisbane market. I feel that the Brisbane market is far from lacking, I only wish such diversity upon the Gold Coast.
As great as the Coast is at the moment, what development would you like to see happen next for the music scene?
Things we could use “more†of to strengthen and evolve the scene: Different is good in my eyes, even if it is not my preferred sound, at least it is different and someone took a risk in standing strong for what they love. I admire this, as it brings about evolution and growth of the scene and arts. Anyone pushing new things has my support 100 percent. Things we could use “less†of to strengthen and evolve the scene: People who do not take responsibility for their actions and who have a clouded perception of what it is to respect others. These people’s words mean nothing and that is a terrible energy to be surrounded by.
Playing music to peeps; how nice is it to present fresh music and spin classic tunes for the dancefloor?
It is a great feeling showcasing new tunes, unfortunately the scene doesn’t allow for myself to play to dancefloors too often, this is why we pride ourselves on this with Respect Music Radio each Sunday night on Radio Metro, where we play a diversity of soul, jazz, reggae, Latin, broken beats, funk, disco and house, with the majority of the music being new productions.
If you could support any act in the world, who would it be?
The people I would like to support? I don’t think I would be worthy of doing so, but if given the opportunity I would love to perform supports for the likes of Patrice Rushen, Raphael Saadiq, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, D’Angelo. It’s a great thing to dream!
Away from the DJ booth, you have a few things on the boil with Respect Music - how busy is the lifestyle of James Canning?
No such thing as time off, put it that way, but hey I would be doing nothing else as I love what I do and the dreams are all slowly coming into fruition. We have a radio show, a label with releases ready to go and we have a successful and growing agency. I have even started to collaborate on tracks with peers, which is flattering. All of this is thanks to the many people who help me every day, people who have played parts devoting their time to our mission statement, ‘Love, Respect, Music’, or believe in what we do and invest in us.
What are your thoughts on the proposed Venice-styled development for the Gold Coast - thumbs up?
I knew nothing of this. But it sounds like a step toward a classier destination, which encompasses what we specialise in musically. Thumbs up from me.
James Canning plays Sounds On Circle, at Circle on Cavill, Saturday May 30.
