Anonymous Break

Ben McAvoy, or Ben Mac as he's been branded, is a man that has just about seen and done it all when it comes to the Perth's club and dance music scene. The Perth born, Dutch raised DJ has played at basically every EDM venue in town over nearly a 15-year period. Put simply, if you've found yourself on a dance floor in any of Perth's premier electro venues over the last ten years, you've probably boogied to this man's configurations. McAvoy comes from the old school of electro, a time long before the days when house music was fashionable, and reserved exclusively for the pretentious trendy kids. This self-taught vinyl mastermind gained most of his underground techno exposure back in Holland, where McAvoy says, “it was really either that or Euro-trash commercial stuff”. This was a time when electro was in its golden age; with styles like breaks, D&B and jungle all exploding on to the scene. 

McAvoy moved back to Perth in '98 and soon after started booking sets all over town. He didn't find his true calling however, until a few years later, when he got his first gig at Ambar. “There was just so much passion behind that club. Nowhere else in Perth could I completely relax and just do exactly what I wanted to do. Other house clubs were always just very conformist and tried to control what I was playing,” he says. It appears to have been love at first sight, a mutual affinity that saw McAvoy remain a weekly resident at the dance mecca since 2001 – starring in legendary nights like Japan 4, BAA, Habitat and Bootleg to name but a few. On top of his work at Ambar and sporadic appearances at other clubs, McAvoy also spent eight years co-presenting RTR's Full Frequency show. His official list of achievements include Best House DJ in the Perth Dance Music Awards 2007 and 2008, as well as being ranked sixth Best WA DJ by the In The Mix Top 50 DJ Poll 2007. 

McAvoy decided to put down the headphones in January this year to focus on the next chapter of his life as a father and residential youth worker. He's also balancing a social science degree majoring in youth work.

Although house might be what McAvoy is most recognised and credited for, there's another style he holds particularly dear to his heart: break-beat. It's odd to think it was only ten years ago break-beat was the be-all-and-end-all of electro club music. These days, it seems punters desire a more predictable, 4/4 sequence. Break-beat is often misinterpreted by a more house and post-dub preoccupied 21^st century audience as an antique and backward genre from an almost forgotten age. That said, there is definitely still a niche demand for breaks, as demonstrated by the recent Break-A-Holics Anonymous reunion night held at Ambar. “BAA [Break-A-Holics Anonymous] was conceptualised by Ambar around 2005; it was really cooking around that time. It's been asleep for a little while but we just did a comeback night a few months ago, which was insanely cool… the fire is back!” McAvoy enthuses. BAA is a three-man DJ team comprising local heads Micah, Fdel and McAvoy, who is no stranger when it comes to the genre; he's appeared on the bill with a number of the Finger Lickin' Records heavyweights including Krafty Kuts and Plump DJs (the latter being one of his biggest influences). 

“That's the cool thing about it; to get all those people that never go out anymore because they're allergic to dubstep and things like that, to get a breakaholics night and they come back, and it's like, 'FUCK YEAH!' Such a cool atmosphere,” says McAvoy. To make things even more seductive for lovers of the old school breaks scene, the forthcoming BAA reappearance will be a strictly vinyl affair. “Most of my career has been on vinyl, so I'm definitely more comfortable with it, it's more of what I'm about. It's kind of a nostalgia show for all those people that were around at that time,” he concludes. 

Ben Mac will be playing the following dates:

Friday 10 May - Ambar, Perth WA