sub⎹div q&a: Outsider

Within Victoria’s DJ circuit, the term “on fire” has never applied more to an artist. Outsider aka Jon Camilleri is rolling right now, coming off  legendary opening sets for Rusko, Dieselboy & Distance all within the last 5 weeks. One of Victoria’s dedicated drum & bass faithful, Outsider has quietly worked his way to the top of the 160+ bpm pile.

A native of Toronto, Outsider has been repping DnB for a minute on the West Coast, having played alongside TC, 16Bit, Aphrodite & Benny Page among others. In the club, he is a surgeon in the mix, clipping along flawlessly from track to storming track, able to blend ol’ skool amen-laden flavours with modern envelope pushers like the Shogun Audio team. We sat down with this titan to have a yakkety yak…

Give us the quick Outsider 101…

I’ve been DJing roughly 8 years. I started out playing old school hip-hop. Playing records at the time was more of a novelty, all I really wanted to do was make some scratch sounds & look good doing it. A year or so later, I got into the broken beat & underground sound (DnB, Old School Jungle, Techno, Breaks) – that became my platform with Drum & Bass being my main focus.

Who are some of your early influences?

Andy C, Ed Rush & Optical, Mystical Influence & Sniper, TeeBee. I can pretty much credit these artists for shaping my future.

Moving from TO to Vic must have been a big shift for you – TO’s DnB scene must have been a lot more vibrant than Victoria’s?

Toronto has always been known for its 24/7 music scene, multiple world wide headliners & huge venues hosting many rooms. Ya no big deal, I’ll take a small venue with intimate vibes any day over that. I love Victoria’s music scene, the local artists have inspired me in many ways I could never imagine.

Despite having dedicated diehard supporters like yourself, D&B is a genre that has come in & out of fashion over the last decade – do you think that all the new emerging bass music is revitalizing the genre in a way?

Drum & Bass has a ton of variety and depth. The emerging of half step, minimal, deep & intelligent sounds over the last few years are really helping me & many people stay interested in the complexity Drum & Bass can and has offered. The direction of these sub genres is definetly revitalizing and refreshing the genre.

Dubstep and Drum & Bass really seem to be patting each other on the back lately – how do you feel about the crossover between the 2 sounds?

Both genres are currently really helping each other to grow & get people involved with both sounds. The merge between the genres is getting stronger daily, it’s very apparent in the music & the multi genre events taking place as of late. Overall, the music rivalry is becoming thinner by the minute and that is a step in the right direction, especially for the younger audiences without the knowledge of both sounds.

Who are some contemporary DnB producers who you’re feeling at the moment?

Alex Perez, Break, Breakage, D Bridge, Grimm, Icicle, Logistics, Mutt, Noisia, Rockwell, Rythmicon, Spor, S.P.Y, The Insiders. Producers who have been a staple in the music industry for many years , but are always evolving & innovating will always get my vote. The sounds from [these] producers are always modern, current, and futuristic.

Closing thoughts?

Since landing in Victoria in early 2009 I have been blessed with many good opportunities, contacts, shows & love, I’ll like to concentrate on those things. More local artists, producer and promoter support. I find Victoria’s talent out-shines most of the international acts that have been coming to town as of late. Don’t believe the hype, believe the future.

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