Otologic are not Swedish House Mafia and they plan to keep it that way.
Fresh from playing Splendour In The Grass, Otologic are two very busy guys. They’ve created a unique sound that breaks away from an industry that right now is heavily dominated by dubstep.
“I've never really been exposed to that kind of stuff, it's always been kind of house or electro stuff,” one half of the pair, Nick Murray, says. “I don't know if that's kind of come from a different area, some of it's alright, but it's not really our style.”
Founders of C-Grade — the notoriously hard hitting club night in Melbourne that recently celebrated its fifth birthday with a party that raged until the next day — Nick says it’s fast becoming a defining part of Melbourne’s underground electro scene.
“We'll keep doing it for as long as people keep coming. We haven't really changed anything about it. It's kind of the outlet every month that we can play whatever we want; it’ll definitely be close to us for sure.”
Renowned for playing eight-hour club sets, Nick says the length of time he and partner Tom Moore spend in the DJ booth doesn’t affect the style of music they play. Or does it?
“I don't know if playing for a long time really changes the style of music, I guess it kind of influences liking different types of music, ‘cause you kind of go through a whole range of different types [of music] over a whole night. So I suppose, playing for a long time means you can't just play the same type of music all night.”
Having performed all around the world, Nick rates the infamous The Sub Club in Glasgow — where he’s set to play again in a couple of weeks — as the best overseas clubbing experience the duo have enjoyed.
“Yeah, that's probably the best place we've played overseas ... it was pretty cool to be able to play there as well.”
Otologic are set to play the Rainbow Serpent Festival next year alongside industry heavyweights The Orb and Michael Mayer.
“Yeah, yeah, it's cool. I actually haven't been before but I've heard really good things. And it's kind of a big Melbourne institution doing Rainbow Festival. We're excited to be included in that.”
But before then, and once Nick returns from abroad, Otologic have a date with Brisbane Festival and a support slot with the notoriously mysterious British electro producer Zomby.
“Yeah, I'm keen to check him out. I don't know that much about him but I've had a listen and it sounds cool.”
It would seem Otologic’s reputation is set skyward. What seems to make Otologic even more prolific is the fact they know their music isn’t for everyone.
“I don't think we play the right kind of music to ever get to that stage,” muses Nick when queried about reaching the same global success as an act like Swedish House Mafia.
“We're pretty happy with it, we'll never kind of change the style, it's always about playing music we like. We’re both kind of moving into production as well so we're kind of expanding, but yeah, as Otologic, we're always doing the same kind of thing.”
Otologic support Zomby at the Spiegeltent September 20. They also play Rainbow Serpent, Lexington Victoria, January 24-27. rainbowserpent.net
