After moving to England years ago to further his career, Anthony now demands respect the world over, and especially in Europe where Anthony basically resides due to his intense schedule in the region.

Highly respected due to his seamless and technically proficient mixing and cutting edge track selection, Pappa has gained recognition through his Nubreed mix with Global Underground and also his recent Resolutions mix release. We caught up with the globetrotting boy from Down Under to find out how he is pogressing in this demanding industry.

Anthony Pappa

How was the year 2002 for one of Australia’s most successful DJ’s?

It was a good year for me. I travelled the world consistently playing gig’s everywhere and really enjoyed the gig’s.

For those have not heard you in a while, how would you describe your current sound and tastes?

My sound is underground dance music. House, Tech House, Progressive, Techno and Breakbeat.

Where did you play on NYE? How was it?

I played in Charlotte which is in North Carolina in America. It was a great gig and l really enjoyed playing there. I love the atmosphere at the NYE party’s. Everyone is in a great mood and ready for a good night.

You play an enormous amount of gigs a year, more than most DJ’s would ever dream of. How was it to actually having some time off over Christmas?

It was great. I wanted to be in Australia to celebrate Christmas with my family and l also booked some time off to give myself a well deserved holiday from the very busy year that I had just had.

You spend plenty of your time DJ’ing in Europe. What is the scene like in Europe compared to the UK, US and Australia for example?

The scene in Europe is great and the party’s and club’s are excellent but not all countries are the same. Some of my favourite places to play in Europe are Budapest, Greece, Turkey, Holland, Romania and Spain. The scene in some of these countries that l play at is really exciting. The clubbers are really into the music for the right reasons and they haven’t been spoilt like the clubbers in the UK, who are a little tired and bored of the whole scene. I also like the different culture's that you get from so many different countries in Europe.

Are there any new Pappa and Gilbey tracks coming out soon, or perhaps any other productions with other artists?

Yes there is a new Pappa and Gilbey single ready to come out but we still need to give it a name. It’s untitled at the moment.

Anthony Pappa

The advancement of technology has meant many new avenues for DJ’s. Do you notice that you are now receiving a lot more promo’s in CDR form these days? What are your thoughts on CDR decks?
Yes I’m definitely getting a lot of CDR’s sent or given to me as promo’s. I think some of the new CD player’s are brilliant and I don’t mind playing some CD’s in my set if it’s a good track that I’ve got and it’s not been pressed on vinyl yet.

We have seen many changes in the last 18 months in the progressive sound. At the moment it seems to have returned to a more melodic side of things after being very dark for quite some time. What is your whole take on this? And what producers seem to be performing best at the moment for your current tastes?
I think that it’s a good thing because some of the progressive records we’re becoming very dull and boring. It kind of went up it’s own arse a bit and lost the plot and now your hearing better record’s with a lot more thought and musical content put into them. Some producer’s that I’m into at the moment are Rui Da Silva, Peace Division, Lexicon Avenue, Main Element and King Britt.

What producers or DJ’s have been influential to you over the years?
My main DJ influences would have to be Sasha, John Digweed and Dave Seaman.

In the little spare time that you have, what musical styles do you listen to?
I always like to check out some Hip Hop or Drum n’ Bass but most of the time l will listen to Ambient or chill out CD’s depending on what mood I’m in at the time.