City Nomads Radio: Dan Baartz

PUBLISHED January 27th, 2017 06:00 am | UPDATED August 19th, 2024 02:39 am

Dan Baartz began playing in his home city of Sydney at the age of 18 at some of the most prolific venues (even in his first year!). In the early days, Dan’s day job was managing an entertainment venue that primarily played house music, which not only completely immersed him in the scene, but shaped him into the house head that he is now. 

Having held residencies and guest spots at Sydney’s premier parties and venues such as S.A.S.H., Musik Matters, Strange Clouds, Bad Apple, Moonshine, High Tide and Sub Bass Soundscapes Events, he’s also shared the stage with the likes of John Digweed, Inxec, Hot Since 82, Hal Incandenza, Small People, Chaos In the CBD, and countless others over the years.

Currently, Dan is based in Bali as a resident of underground club Koh, dishing out stripped back grooves and deep club cuts. In this edition of City Nomads Radio, he shares his go-to late night spot in Bali, the growth of DJs, and the curated mixtape he’ve put together for us. 

Where did you grow up?

Born in Sydney, spent my toddler years in Melbourne and then back to Sydney at age 5 to start school. After returning, we moved around Sydney a lot but always on the North Shore of the city.

Who were some of the first DJs you ever saw that made you want to do it yourself?

I cut my teeth on dance music when Sydney was going through it’s electro era, I would see a lot of local DJs playing the likes of Switch, Dave Spoon, D. Ramirez etc., but I also really loved the bigger breakbeat stylings of Plump DJs, Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.

Is getting out from behind the booth and dancing on the floor still something you consider essential for the growth of DJs?

For sure. When I left my hometown of Sydney almost 4 years ago, I had been playing for a long time quite regularly in various clubs and bars and had become used to being behind the booth or somehow involved in the party. Travelling around Europe for the next 6 months with no gigs and nothing to do except going to events and enjoying the music has opened my eyes again to why I got into it all in the first place. And I believe that I learnt more about DJing in that 6 months of partying and not playing, than I had in a long time.

As a resident DJ at Koh Bali, what do you consider your main roles to be?

I usually play the first couple of hours at Koh, the direction I go can often change depending on the guest DJ that will play after me or how the crowd is responding to certain things. The main role is to create a vibe that people feel comfortable walking into, but also builds excitement up to the next DJ.

Describe your sound in less than 10 words.

Percussive, subby, sometimes dubby, always groovy.

It’s late and you’re drunk after a gig in Bali. Where are you going to eat?

There’s a few options, 24-hour McDonalds often gets hit late at night. If there’s a bunch of us and we want to eat AND drink then we’ll go to Soho in Oberoi where we have a ‘regular’ table and can sometimes stay into silly hours of the next day.

[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/citynomadsradio/city-nomads-radio-30-dan-baartz/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1 light=1]

Tell us more about this curated mixtape you’ve put together.

The mixtape is basically a representation of my role at Koh as I described earlier, evolving grooves from a comfortable start. It features a bunch of recent music I’ve been enjoying and has some original productions from friends of mine, Venda & Rossko.

Any shouts?

Shouts to every single person that parties with us in Koh and supports us every weekend, without them our club is just four walls and a sound system, and of course my partner in crime James Taylor

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To keep updated of Dan Baartz’s upcoming gigs and latest mixes and tracks, follow him here:
Facebook | Soundcloud | Beatport