Australian DJ Anthony Papa talks about his artist album and ‘Flying The Flag’

At the heart of being an elite-level DJ is a mastery of music selection, room ambience, and beats. Always beat.

Renowned Australian DJ and producer Anthony Pappa gained an early advantage with Wheels of Steel. “My father wanted me to be a professional drummer, and that was the kind of path I was going down,” Papa told Billboard. While his other classmates were riding bikes and riding waves, Dad attended Drum Tech, one of Melbourne’s premier drum schools, where he learned from one of the greatest drummers, Virgil Donati. He is an Italian-Australian musician like his dad. “Well, it was very easy for me to make the step from drumming to DJing because drumming was serious to me.”

Those lessons paid off. Pappa moved on to vinyl and won the Australian DMC DJ Championship at the age of 15. Wizkid became the youngest to lift the trophy.

Since then, he has continued to fly the flag as one of Australia’s most in-demand and versatile DJs. He’s a veteran who can effortlessly operate records on three decks and play scratch, trance, house, and progressive house. Pappa appeared on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs every year from 1997 to 2003 and was featured on the magazine’s cover in 2000. He has sold over 500,000 records, including beatmix recordings from Platipus Records to Renaissance Recordings, Global Underground, NuBreed, and many more of the most powerful electronic music brands of the past 30 years.

Billboard caught up with Papa just days after returning from a performance at Tokyo’s WOMB, which was an “absolutely amazing” experience at one of the most iconic clubs in the world. “I still fly that flag,” he explains. “I’ve been DJing for 40 years, and I’m very happy and very grateful. It’s not an easy business to make a name for yourself, but once you’ve made it, it’s even harder to try to stay there. So I’m blessed to still be able to continue doing what I do and what I love. I’m very grateful.”

Let’s go back to my 13-year-old’s dad. Dad built his brand as a mobile DJ who throws birthday parties for friends and associates. With his win at DMC, Papa never looked back. Then the opportunity to play for the club opened up in the early 1990s, and Papa, now 18, had as much experience as many of the headliners. He became a regular at Melbourne’s defunct Metro. Metro is one of Australia’s largest clubs, with a capacity of over 2,000 people. historic chevron. And the chasers.

Papa hasn’t forgotten his roots. He is known for incorporating drumming into his sets, including residencies at Renaissance (Nottingham, UK), Twylo (New York), Oom, Japan, and has appeared at some of the most prestigious festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, including Glastonbury (UK), Creamfields (UK), ID&T (Netherlands), Extrema (Belgium), BPM (Mexico), and Tomorrowland. Belgium, SAMC Argentina, Ultra Miami (USA), Exit (Serbia).