This week I met with the girls from Melbourne DJ duo, Easy Tiger. They’ve been making a name for themselves across Melbourne, playing alongside the likes of Ruby Rose and showcasing their talent at massive gigs like The Footy Show grand final party and Spring racing carnival. After my chat with the girls it became apparent that Easy Tiger are definitely not just a couple of pretty faces, their DJ sets are giving the guys a run for their money and their growing popularity is proof. This sassy duo is set to impress Melbourne with their edgy look and their ability to get even the shyest crowd moving on the dance floor.
Q: Where does the name Easy Tiger come from?
Katie: We’re quite cheeky and we don’t take ourselves too seriously, it was a favourite slogan for us especially at gigs when we would get boys come up to us and we would say ‘easy tiger’ in a cheeky but polite way. It became the perfect branding for us because it summed us up pretty accurately.
Q: How did you get into DJing, was it something that you always wanted to do or did you have other career paths in mind?
Katie: I’ve always come from a musical background, I started playing the drums several years ago and I’ve always been interested and intrigued by the world of DJing so I thought, it’s now or never. I started learning and taking it seriously and eventually thought, why not get paid to do something that I love doing.
Claire: I started when I was 17 so it was always something that I wanted to do, but I’m from Tasmania so 2 years later, there’s only so far you can go in that scene, I came over here and thought, if I’m going to be serious about this I need a scene that is actually going to challenge me.
Q: What inspires you?
Claire: The European scene for me because a lot of the stuff we play is vocal house, those big anthems, which isn’t really prominent in Australia, it is more so in Europe. Also I think that we’re inspired by ourselves, we’re inspired by the fact that what we bring is quite fresh.
Katie: We have such a love for old school tracks too, the 80s and 90s classics and the fact that we get to utilize great mash-ups and make them our own and create our own sound is really inspiring.
Q: What is your favourite song that you ‘just have to’ include in your set?
Claire: It changes for me because I get bored so easily and I drive Katie nuts because I’ll look at our set and say ‘I’m bored, I’m bored’. But a Whitney song for me always gets a great response and I love Whitney. And I do love the Bingo Players they have that really deep base drop, that always gets the crowd going.
Katie: Massive Bingo Players fan, if I could put ‘Cry’ into every one of our sets for the rest of our lives I probably would.
Q: You’ve been playing some pretty high profile parties of late, what’s been your favourite?
Katie: I really enjoyed the Birdcage at the races, completely different vibe, it definitely wasn’t about building a massive dance floor, but there was still so much energy in the room which made it really fun.
Claire: We did the Footy Show, which was great because there were 15,000 people in that arena, high energy, high pressure, but that’s the sort of stuff we love. We also have a nightclub residency at Eve and that’s more about partying, that’s always fun there because there’s always someone that wants to jump around and have a ball.
Q: What has been your most memorable gig?
Katie: They all have their own place, but some of our very first gigs together were the most memorable. Not necessarily because they were the biggest but because we were starting a new chapter in our lives and really starting to build something and learning how to DJ with someone else. Our early gigs were a turning point for us as a brand, we’d finally found our niche and how to work with each other. It sort of happened organically and I think that was a really memorable moment for us.
Claire: I agree, some of our first gigs together where we would just go in, not 100% prepared, we went in on the fly, which I’ve loved to do for the last 6 years. I’ve always been someone who just works in the moment and we did that at (probably) our third Eve gig, I think that turned out to be my best.
Q: If you could have any MC in the world (dead or alive) who would you pick?
Katie: Even though she’s not technically an MC, I’ve always been a massive Gwen Stefani fan growing up. I’ve always thought to myself, if I ever release a track or anything I would love her to be on it, I think she would be amazing. But you always know that someone like Lil’ John or Lil’ Wayne will get the party started, that would be pretty amazing.
Claire: I would have someone like Will Ferrell, because everyone would be expecting a rapper like P. Diddy and I would just have Will Ferrell rock up, or someone completely unexpected. Having him rapping over the top of our sets would be the best! (But Lil’ John or Lil’ Wayne is probably the proper answer haha).
Q: Melbourne’s music culture is quite vast, how popular do you think DJs are compared to live bands?
Katie: I think it used to be a lot more about the bands, especially because Melbourne’s got an incredibly popular indie and hip-hop scene. Each is going to have its own place in Melbourne, but I think that DJs are taking over.
Claire: Its very interesting because I often DJ with a band and its DJ vs the band and I’ll play all the commercial house music and they’ll play all the rock music and people love that because they get the best of both worlds. But it depends on your mood for that night, they definitely both have their place.
Q: DJing is largely a male dominated field, any words of wisdom for aspiring females out there who want to make a name for themselves in this field?
Katie: Do it, it’s as simple as that. It’s really important to stay focused on your end goal and don’t let other people’s journeys distract you from your own. Don’t worry about your competition because there is always going to be someone waiting there ready to push you off your pedestal, just do the best that you can.
Claire: I think the biggest thing is not to compare yourself, just put your head down and do it and concentrate on your sound and your talent. It doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a girl, if you’re talented and you know your music, that’s what’s going to book you over anyone else.
Q: Summer is just around the corner, which means festivals and gigs across Melbourne, where can we catch Easy Tiger playing?
We have Eve coming up on the 8th of December, for their annual white Christmas party. We’ve got a massive gig we’re playing over new years, but that’s still under wraps at the moment. We’re playing at a club opening in Singapore next weekend and doing a bit of schoolies stuff next week. There’s heaps of stuff in the pipeline, but nothing that we can really talk about yet sorry!
Thanks girls! To find out more about Easy Tiger visit their Facebook Page.
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