RISK (he/him) is one of the hottest techno/hardgrove DJs to pop out of Dunedin this year. Already, RISK (real name Angus) has been stacking up on an impressive resume, regularly playing at Carousel, U-Bar and snagging a Radio 1 Live to Air boiler room style set. Critic Te Ārohi caught up with RISK to talk about influences, as well as past and upcoming gigs.
RISK has been around music his whole life, especially electronic music when growing up. “I remember listening to The Prodigy [...] watching the ‘Firestarter’ music video,” he says. He also grew up listening to Future Sounds of London and more of that early British techno. “Also, a lot of movies I watched like ‘Trainspotting’ had a lot of techno such as Underworld and Primal Scream,” he says. His other electronic influences include Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Ben Sims, Funk Assault and KETTAMA.
RISK began DJing in Christchurch in his final year of high school. “Obviously there’s a huge DnB scene there and in Dunedin. In my halls, everyone was doing it and I didn’t want to originally – I was just going to be a punter – and then when I found out how to do it I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun as fuck,” he says. The name ‘RISK’ was pinched from his uncle, who’s also a DJ. “I never met him, but he’s a DJ in Barcelona and his name is DJ Risk. I found him on Facebook and I thought that was cool and took his name,” he says.
He started off like many DJs, playing a lot of flat parties – until he got a gig at Carousel in February. Now he has a regular slot there, often playing most Fridays. One of his favourite shows was at the venue with another local musician, DJ Bax, where they went back to back on the decks. “That was the biggest crowd I have played in front of for sure,” he says. “DJ Bax was playing new music and the crowd was really responsive to that and the techno sound that I was playing.” He notes that a good DJ plays to the event: “If it is 9pm on a Thursday night, I’m not going to play the heavy stuff. You got to match the vibe.”
RISK has an upcoming gig through Subcurrent New Zealand in Queenstown where he’ll be playing with many other DJs in varying EDM genres. “I’ll be providing 145+ drums and old hard house classics. The show has been running for like 21 years and bringing in local DJs for it, it’s so sick.” He will also start making his own tunes soon. “I’ll start by doing edits then move on to making my own stuff,” he says.
You can follow RISK on Instagram @riskrees for upcoming gigs.