Don't forget to check out many of Paul's mixtapes mixtapes available for download here
This interview would not have been possible without the below people, so a HUGE thanks goes to:
Paul Holden
Benjamin Sullivan - Producer & Interviewer
Eamon McCarthy - Camera
Steven Chen - Camera
Gemma Davis - Production Assistant
Kieran Ramsay - Sound
Sebastian Quezada - Editor
www.vinyldjlessons.com.au/
Cafe De Lata
Playbill Venues and the Hordern Pavilion
Sydney Rave History admin crew
Paul Holden at Return of the Raver
Paul Holden in action
Field of Dreams 4 1996 - Paul Holden and lasers
RIP
30th March 2016, only a few months after recording this
interview.
It is with the greatest sadness today we learnt the Legendary Australian DJ &
Producer Paul Holden passed away.
Paul Holden, one of Australia’s all-time most successful,
versatile and popular D.J's. A veteran of the industry and one of the single biggest contributors to the
advancement of dance music and dance events in Australia. With the untouched reputation of being at the
top of the field through all his different musical phases during his 35 year career as a professional D.J.
Paul's main musical styles: HardHouse, NRG and Rave, having D.J.'d for so long he also specialised in
Old-Skool Anthems, HappyHard, as well as a mammoth collection of original house (Detroit, Chicago and New
York), hip house, electro, rap and club classics.
He has a uniquely identifiable sound - "Paul
Holden" - always uplifting, pumpy, melodic, infectious. One of the few remaining DJs with that special
ability to genuinely "read" a crowd and keep them happy and hungry for more. Paul exudes a seemingly
endless energy at his performances that pumped up the crowd like no other D.J. in Australia.
Paul
appeared at far too many club, events, raves and dance parties to mention but some of the more significant
gigs include: Sydney Mardi Gras and sleaze balls parties (25,000+ patrons), GateCrasher tours (18,000) and
Big Day Out 2002 (85,000) which featured such acts The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, New Order, etc. He worked
alongside such DJ's / acts as Tony De Vitt, Carl Cox, Nick Sentience, Grooverider, Chris C, Karim, the
Brainbashers, Sasha, Slipmatt, Laurent Garnier, Sash!, Lisa Lashes, Steve Thomas, the Tidy Boys,
R.R.Fierce, Ultrasonic, De La Soul, Marmion, Jungle Brothers, Moby, Paul Van Dyke, Fergie, Faithless, even
Bananarama & Dead or Alive and literally hundreds more top dance artists / D.J.'s since 1980 when he
started his profession. Paul was also an accomplished producer, songwriter and remixer. With successes
such as "it feels great (to deviate)" which went to no 3 on the U.K. HardHouse charts and his previous
release "honey buzz" was a club hit in Germany. It was included on the Massive European CD compilation
"Ravermeister volume 10" which sold in excess of 160,000 copies. His latest recordings include two remixes
for the new single by Australian pop star Sophie Monk for whom he did both a HardHouse mix and a
EuroTrance pop mix. He also completed four other tracks in 2014 for international labels shortly due for
release.
Sydney Rave History website curator Brenden Brain said Holden was one of the industry’s
“nice guys”, who often played free to raise money for charity. “It is a very surreal situation to think
that we won’t get to hear him mix again,” he said. “All I can say is I hope he is dancing in heaven.”
Simply put, Paul Holden, one of Australia’s finest HardHouse / NRG / Rave D.J's, a captivating
performer and one of the leaders in his field. At the forefront of the Australian club and party scene for
over three decades, a legacy that is likely to be untouched in Australian dance music history. We will
miss you Paul and will always remember you dancing behind the decks. RIP mate.
