HMC By Day, Tuff Guy By Nite

Adelaide's DJ HMC (aka Carmelo "Cam" Bianchetti) is celebrated as the godfather of Australian techno. But he is mysterious and reclusive. Rumours perpetually circulate that this regular Berghain guest has moved to Berlin. Not so.

"I've always gone back and forth," Bianchetti says. "Especially the last five years, I've travelled a lot and spent a lot of time in London and Berlin and Amsterdam — because I love Amsterdam, it's a great place for music."

Bianchetti's bio isn't based on Spotify stats. He has a narrative and a myth. A disco kid, Bianchetti latched onto Chicago house, then Detroit techno, in the '80s. He started DJing professionally as HMC: House Master Cam. Bianchetti would put Adelaide on the dance music chart. In 1995, his track Phreakin' — on Dirty House Records, a subsidiary of the local Juice Records — became an international hit. Bianchetti was championed by the Detroit fraternity, plus DJ super-influencer Carl Cox.

"In the UK, for example, people sing along to the music that I'm playing — even my edits that I play."

Around the early 2000s Bianchetti pulled back amid talk of aviophobia and retirement. However, he's recently experienced a stunning rebirth. Bianchetti has focused on a modish nu-disco alter ego, Late Nite Tuff Guy, not only editing classics and producing originals, but also launching the Tuff Cut label. He impressed Greg Wilson, UK edits legend. In 2016 Bianchetti remixed New Order's People On The High Line for Mute - huge. Ironically, Bianchetti today has a larger online presence as Late Nite Tuff Guy than HMC. Disco-house has an ardent young audience in Europe. "In the UK, for example, people sing along to the music that I'm playing — even my edits that I play," Bianchetti enthuses.

Many assume Late Nite Tuff Guy is recent, but it originated in 1993 with a now-forgotten 12". "At the very beginning, for the first few years, a lot of people [said], 'Hey, who's this new guy on the scene, making these great edits and things like this?' It's pretty weird. But, once they did their research and got online and saw that I have a background, a DJing career that is 35 years long, and used to make techno and house music, they're putting two and two together." Yet, with a techno resurgence, Bianchetti is resuming HMC activity — something he welcomes. "Not that I don't love DJing as Late Nite Tuff Guy, it's a lot of fun, but I think I get to be more creative when I'm DJing as DJ HMC."

Bianchetti will play both HMC and Late Nite Tuff Guy sets at Victoria's new boutique Babylon Festival. Bianchetti remains a DJ's DJ, although he's dispensed with vinyl, favouring CDs. "I still haven't made my way to laptop and I'm not sure whether I will."

Bianchetti's mystique continues to serves him well, even in the social media age. But, then again, he follows his instincts over trends. "I've never been one that really is bothered by what happens around me, with what's in vogue or whatever. I've always just wanted to do what I wanna do and I think that is a big part of the success."