Musica for grown ups

In his mid-30s, with a wife and a young daughter, Bondi-based DJ and party organiser Kane Bligh says his days of staying out until 6 or 7 am are a thing of the past.

This is why the Sydney dance party he runs, Musica, starts at 6 pm and finishes at the family-friendly hour of 2 am.

“I have a daughter who is 4 ½, I have friends who have kids, we can’t be going out until the early hours when we have to be home in the morning to take care of them,” he says.

Some might say this is dance music gone soft, but the organisers argue it’s a move that recognises not all dance party patrons are responsibility-free 19-year-olds.

Through a combination of high-end design, experimental DJs and a thorough consideration of how to create ambiance, Bligh is working hard at establishing a brand that will appeal to an older and more discerning age bracket: the over-25s.

“I think a lot of promoters cut a lot of corners,” says Bligh. “We want to go against this grain.

“For example, at Musica we like to create different moods throughout the night. You want to build up the atmosphere gradually, not only through the music, but also with lighting and visuals. You can’t go into a banging party straight away.”

After two years spent DJing in Sao Paulo, Bligh has plenty of experience to draw from.

“In Brazil, they realise that it’s the small things that matter, like when you leave the event you never leave empty handed, you’re always given a CD or something,” he said.

“Promoters establish a brand for themselves that becomes recognised – people say ‘I’ll go to that night because I know I’ll have a good time’.

“They put so much emphasis on people having a good time that music almost becomes secondary.”

But Bligh guarantees music certainly won’t be secondary at Musica, flying out international acts Hernan Cattaneo (Argentina), Apparat (Germany) and Marc Marzenit (Spain) for the April 24 show at The Forum, Moore Park. Tickets are available from Moshtix or inthemix.com.au.

-By Paris Cowan