Paul Abad is a DJ, producer, festival and events director and music,
arts and technology professional based out of Meanjin (Brisbane),
Australia.
A key figure in Australia’s vibrant techno, electronic music and
festival culture at large, Paul has been active out of his South-East
Queensland base for more than 25 years. In that time, he has built
his festival brand Earth Frequency from a small, 300-person tree-
planting doof to one of the country’s premiere conscious music,
arts and lifestyle festivals with a plethora of associated events
throughout the year; performed at countless festivals, clubs, parties
and warehouses alongside the world’s most influential artists; and
most importantly, helped build a vibrant and connected community
around everything he is involved with.
Paul’s musical experiment began in the radical melting pot of
Brisbane’s scene in the late nineties with the experimental sounds
of glitch, IDM, EBM, music concrete and industrial. Playing his first
DJ set in 1997, he quickly became involved in Queensland and
Northern NSW’s fast-growing underground party culture, promoting
a string of successful events before the birth of the now seminal
Earth Frequency in 2005.
It was during these early days that he first found the taste for deep
subby grooves, first inspired by digging through the back
catalogues of Chain Reaction, Rhythm and Sound and other dub
techno luminaries before unearthing the booming warehouse vibes
of Richie Hawtin, Surgeon, Chris Liebing and Ben Sims. It wasn’t
long before techno in all its forms was his main focus, with its
pulsing kicks and bass, complex polyrhythms and sculptable sonics
providing the perfect palate for Paul’s innovative approach to DJing.
After initially dabbling with a four-deck setup, Paul quickly
embraced technology with a DJ/live hybrid approach via Ableton
Live as early as 2004, allowing for more sophisticated and layered
storytelling alongside long, smooth transitions spliced with original
grooves, loops and effects. His current setup includes laptop with
Ableton, effects and drum machine, underpinned by the analogue
summing and creative possibilities of PLAYdifferently’s Model1
mixer.
The end result means Paul can effortlessly traverse through the
different tones and moods of techno with both sonic consistency
and ultimate flexibility, ensuring he has earned his place as one of
Australian techno’s most experienced and dynamic DJs and live
performers with his resume including premiere global festivals and
events Rainbow Serpent (Melbourne), PURE (Brisbane), Eclipse2012
(Cairns), Dragon Dreaming (Canberra), Elements (Sunshine Coast),
Freaks Of Nature (Germany) and many more.
Paul Abad is a DJ, producer, festival and events director and music,
arts and technology professional based out of Meanjin (Brisbane),
Australia.
A key figure in Australia’s vibrant techno, electronic music and
festival culture at large, Paul has been active out of his South-East
Queensland base for more than 25 years. In that time, he has built
his festival brand Earth Frequency from a small, 300-person tree-
planting doof to one of the country’s premiere conscious music,
arts and lifestyle festivals with a plethora of associated events
throughout the year; performed at countless festivals, clubs, parties
and warehouses alongside the world’s most influential artists; and
most importantly, helped build a vibrant and connected community
around everything he is involved with.
Paul’s musical experiment began in the radical melting pot of
Brisbane’s scene in the late nineties with the experimental sounds
of glitch, IDM, EBM, music concrete and industrial. Playing his first
DJ set in 1997, he quickly became involved in Queensland and
Northern NSW’s fast-growing underground party culture, promoting
a string of successful events before the birth of the now seminal
Earth Frequency in 2005.
It was during these early days that he first found the taste for deep
subby grooves, first inspired by digging through the back
catalogues of Chain Reaction, Rhythm and Sound and other dub
techno luminaries before unearthing the booming warehouse vibes
of Richie Hawtin, Surgeon, Chris Liebing and Ben Sims. It wasn’t
long before techno in all its forms was his main focus, with its
pulsing kicks and bass, complex polyrhythms and sculptable sonics
providing the perfect palate for Paul’s innovative approach to DJing.
After initially dabbling with a four-deck setup, Paul quickly
embraced technology with a DJ/live hybrid approach via Ableton
Live as early as 2004, allowing for more sophisticated and layered
storytelling alongside long, smooth transitions spliced with original
grooves, loops and effects. His current setup includes laptop with
Ableton, effects and drum machine, underpinned by the analogue
summing and creative possibilities of PLAYdifferently’s Model1
mixer.
The end result means Paul can effortlessly traverse through the
different tones and moods of techno with both sonic consistency
and ultimate flexibility, ensuring he has earned his place as one of
Australian techno’s most experienced and dynamic DJs and live
performers with his resume including premiere global festivals and
events Rainbow Serpent (Melbourne), PURE (Brisbane), Eclipse2012
(Cairns), Dragon Dreaming (Canberra), Elements (Sunshine Coast),
Freaks Of Nature (Germany) and many more.