Anthony Pappa at the Kino a big night out in Cork this weekend
Anthony Pappa is a big attraction at the Kino in Cork this weekend.
As a DJ, Pappa brings 40 years of experience to the craft. And even if his is a name that might not be entirely familiar, Pappa built a reputation as a top international DJ through the late ’90s and well into the ’00s. Still now, Pappa has much to teach aspiring underground DJs, particularly in the areas of track selection, the ability to read a crowd, and mixing.
Compared to many dance music DJs starting out in the ’80s and ’90s, Pappa had the advantage of both a very early start and a curious musical mind. Sicilian born and Melbourne-raised, Pappa started DJing in earnest as a 13-year-old when he acquired his first mixer and two technics 1200s turntables in 1986. While his early musical loves were funk, disco and emerging popular electronic music styles, Pappa won Australia’s DMC DJ championship when he was 15. As DMC favours the hip-hop style, Pappa played a hip-hop set, even if it wasn’t his main love.
As well as being a drummer, Pappa studied music theory, which gave him a greater understanding of music. In a 2024 interview with Melbourne’s Balance Music website celebrating the 20th anniversary of his Balance 006 double mix CD, Pappa revealed that he learned to beat match by using a metronome he had for drum practice. As a child he even went as far as using the metronome against songs on the radio to finesse his ability to sync, equating the adjustment of a metronome’s tempo to a turntable’s pitch control. This is how he developed his renowned skill of harmonic mixing, thanks to his innate understanding of BPM, musical keys and chord progression.
By the age of 21, he was playing a lot of Australia’s top clubs. This put him into direct contact with his DJ heroes, who were some of the main movers in the British progressive house scene, Sasha, John Digweed and Dave Seaman. Seeing his future in the UK, Pappa entered a mixing competition held by Mixmag Magazine in 1994. He won, and his prize was playing a set at London superclub Ministry Of Sound, playing its main room alongside CJ Mackintosh and Tony Humphries from midnight till 2am.
From modest beginnings, Pappa worked his way up the ladder. Under the name Freefall, he had success in 1988 as the producer of the progressive trance classic “Skydive.” Pappa continues to make great tracks to this day, but his true metier is as a DJ. There is a period where he was responsible for a succession of mix CDs that showcase his skill, genius and versatility. Maybe you have one of those CDs in your collection. Or maybe, if you belong to the generation named Z, your cooler-than-you-ever-imagined parents do.
The Journey (Mixmag, 1998), Anthony Pappa and Rennie Pilgrem – Volume Two (Renaissance, 1999), Resolution (System Recordings, 2002), Balance 006 (EQ Recordings, 2004), the 2010 DJ Mag CD, and the pièce de resistance Nubreed Global Underground, (Boxed, 2000), which still sounds so pristine you’d be forgiven for thinking progressive house is still the future. Look ’em up. Each one is an education and a trip. Better still, catch him this Saturday at the Kino. 9pm-2.30am.
