DJ TOM Loud, aka Tom Lowndes , no longer cares for cool.
Very much a “music snob” in his 20s and teens, the 35-year-old father-of-two is singing a new tune.
Now he just wants to have fun.
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READ NOW“I’ve discovered how good pop music can be and just how lovely it is to play stuff people know rather than trying to find something no one knows, which is what a lot of DJs do,” Lowndes said.
“I used to be into heavy metal and then techno and was very purist about those worlds.
“I was anti-pop music – I didn’t get it – but now I appreciate just how great and rare a really good bit of pop music is. It’s one of the hardest things to do yet it sounds so effortless and I just love it.”
The Perth-born, Sydney-based DJ launched his Hot Dub Time Machine dance party in 2011 and is still in awe of its success.
Melding songs from the ’60s to today into an audiovisual rave, the show has toured Australia and the world.
It has sprouted two offshoots: Kid Dub for children, which launched at the 2017 Perth Fringe World Festival, and the Hot Dub Wine Machine, which will be in the Swan Valley in April.
“Just when I think it can’t get any bigger, it gets bigger,” Lowndes said.
“I play the songs and mix them together on my turntable and it’s music that people want to hear – music they really like and have an emotional affection towards.
“As a DJ, part of the DJ culture says that to do that is not cool, but I don’t give a s*** about not being cool – I just want to have fun.”
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Lowndes started DJing in 2001, playing mostly in his bedroom and with friends.
He said he was “flat broke” when Hot Dub launched.
“My other job was a sound mixer for TV shows: I did a lot of Channel 9 dramas including Underbelly and McLeod’s Daughters, and I was getting sick of that,” Lowndes said.
“If I had this level of success in my early 20s I would have barely survived it, but having my family makes me take it very seriously.”
The Hot Dub Wine Machine incorporates wine, gourmet food and a line-up of Australian artists, including Pnau and Miami Horror. THE ESSENTIALS
What: Hot Dub Wine Machine
Where: Houghton Winery
When: April 8
Tickets: www.hotdubwinemachine.com