Mic Newman Follows The Sun And The Parties

If you've been on a Melbourne dance floor anytime over the last decade there is a pretty good chance you've heard some of Mic Newman's handiwork. Since 2003 he's been pushing Melbourne onto the dance map. Under his own name and his fun loving moniker Fantastic Man he's become one of Australia's finest electronic exports—especially now the car industry's fucked.

THUMP: How did you get into making music?
Basically when I was 18 and started clubbing. My first gig was at 161 in 2003, exactly ten years ago. When I turned 20 I started producing. My old man had some gear lying around. He was a pretty serious classical guitarist and I always played the guitar pretty solidly when I was growing up. In fact I listened to a lot of Pearl Jam and Nirvana growing up. Then the house bug bit, and it's been a constant evolution since.

Were they your first musical influences?
Actually as a small kid the first musician I definitely fell in love with was Michael Jackson. But I guess everyone kind of did. In my own music though, it was the early Detroit and Chicago house sound as well as stalwarts like Moodyman, Theo Parish, and Omar S. The work from Space Dimension Controller is a massive motivator also. I get really inspired by someone who has their own definitive sound, with their own style. Musicians like Space Dimension Controller, their stuff isn't trendy, but it will never go out of fashion because it's so unique. Before I had really sat down and listened to his stuff I wasn't particularly into melodies, but he swung that around.

It's interesting you say that because the first Fantastic Man records were really jazzy, and soul influenced. Now they have a lot more old school Chicago sound to them, why?
That naturally happened. I'm one of those producers that moves on from where they're at pretty quickly. I'll get hooked on a sound then try something else—I've always been like that. There are some producers that just have one sound that defines them, but I like to chop and change a bit. The type of sampley, soul sound that was the early Fantastic Man records has kind of had its day for me. Now I'm more into the raw sounding, clubbier stuff. But that's just right at this second.

So in 2009 you had a breakout year, especially in Europe, how did you go from 161 to that?
In 2006 I travelled to Europe for the first time. After spending weekends in Melbourne at places like 161 and Revolver where, although fun, the music wasn't the most forward thinking; Europe completely changed my perspective. I went to Ibiza and clubs like DC-10 where minimal was really big. Just seeing the scale of underground music at clubs like Fabric, also in Europe was the first time I saw Booka Shade; when I returned from Europe my production completely took a turn.

Then in 2008 I came out of a long-term relationship and in 2009 I decided I was going to go back and really give it a shot. I did a lot of networking, and saw what it was really about. I only stayed for six months because it got really cold and the lure of the Aussie beaches called me back. Now I go there for the best months of the year, and come back here for the best months of the year. It's perfect.

Your rise was phenomenal though. You went from an unknown to a big name in a year.
Well I was always working on stuff while I was away so they were always things in the pipeline. Then three releases all came out more or less together, which does really well for getting your name out there. But I also felt like a few other people blew up at the same time. Like it definitely happened the same way with Lewie Day (Tornado Wallace) and Griffin James (Francis Inferno Orchestra). Also the Melbourne Deepcast crew got some exposure too. So it felt like there was this gang forming. And there was a spotlight on Melbourne.

You've said before the way you write for Fantastic Man and Mic Newman differs, how so?
Well it used to! When Fantastic Man first started it was basically just meant for edits and slightly more down tempo stuff. Especially because the stuff I was writing as Mic Newman at the time was more little more of a faster tempo, tech house type of sound. So Fantastic Man was a good contrast to that and a good creative outlet for me. In the last year or so both have come together more and more—mostly due to the fact that it's really hard to release as two different artists simultaneously. After the Fantastic Man EP was released on Lets Play House broke away from the traditional Fantastic Man sound they really began to start sounding more and more alike. I think from here on I may just release under Fantastic Man, and let Mic Newman take a break for a bit.

What's coming up then, other than killing off half of your professional persona?
I've started my own record label called Fine Choice, it's only going to release 10-inch vinyls. It's a good feeling being able to release your own music and not having to wait to hear back from labels, or release dates, or even just the personal preference of people. It's something I can plug away that I'm totally in control of. I've released a few things on that recently which I'm really proud of.

Lets finish with a nerd one, what is your studio set up?
Roland Sh 101, Roland Juno 106, Roland Re 201, Tascam 244 Portastudio, Yamaha DX7, Yamaha RX 7, Korg Poly61, MFB 522, Eventide H910 Harmonizer, Marrantz PMD430, Apogee Duet, Abelton live

Mic Newman is playing at Let Them Eat Cake on New Year's Day. For more of his upcoming shows click here.