DJ Bax is one of the most exciting and revolutionary DJs in Dunedin’s electronic scene. Known for the signature DONK sound and having a great ear for remixes (as well as being the guitarist for Leo Lilley), over the past year his influence has been unprecedented. He’s been involved with The Big Fresh Collective, scoring a number 1 spot on Radio One’s Top 11 chart and peaking at number 3 on the Student Radio Network with his song ‘FREAK’. Critic Te Ārohi parked up at Carousel with Bax to chat about his rise to fame.
DJ Bax started DJing in his first year of uni. “Everybody is being a DJ doing drum and bass when they come to Dunedin, so that’s how I started out,” says Bax. He had learnt guitar from the age of five, but then moved into electronic music during high school – specifically the DONK genre. “My mum is a group fitness instructor for Les Mills, so the songs I grew up listening to were ‘Everytime We Touch’ by Cascada [...] I then found a genre called SoundClown which just had the stupidest mixes and when you speed them up it becomes DONK and that’s my thing.”
Some of Bax’s best mashups include ‘Super Freak’, mixing in the Rick James song with ‘SkeeYee’ by Sexyy Red; and ‘Gucci Flip Flops’ which mixes the Bhad Bhabie song with ‘Careless Whisper’ by George Michael. “I don’t really go looking for the songs, I just hear a random song from like 2004 and go, ‘Oh I remember that song!’ and those are the best ones to use,” he says.
Bax met The Big Fresh Collective in 2020 when a friend brought them down for a gig. “I heard that the guy who runs it is the funniest guy and I look up to those guys like CARU and DONK DOBBO [...] if you’re in New Zealand electronic music you can’t not look up to those guys,” says Bax. He sent them some songs including ‘FREAK’ (the DONK remix of ‘Freaks’ by Timmy Trumpet and Savage). On the song reaching the Top 11, he says, “It was insane seeing that because I used to make indie beats for my mates and the goal was the Top 11. I wish my 17-year-old self could see that right now.” Diversifying the type of music Bax makes is important to him: “DnB used to be super underground, then George FM got their hands on it and it’s all the play but, for me, if a tune’s a tune, it’s a tune.”
DJ Bax has ADHD, which he says is “the entire reason” he does what he does. His sped up mixes of songs helps scratch an itch for most neurodivergent people who listen to EDM. He also credits TikTok and the use of sped up songs for helping his career. “DONK is a genre for people with ADHD. I get messages from people saying your music scratches my brain and I’m like, ‘Yes!’ Most songs I listen to I’m like, ‘Oh speed it up.’ I think it’s really cool that I am attracting that crowd of my own people and playing shows for them.”
You can follow DJ Bax @djb4x on Instagram to see what shows he has coming up, as well as SoundCloud and Bandcamp to listen to his mixes.