Face The Truth

You'd have to be living on a cave in a galaxy far, far away to have missed Duncan Beiny, better known throughout the cosmos as DJ Yoda. Making his name mixing goofy samples with underground hip hop, he dropped the Jewbonics mixtape way back in 1998 but truly bounced on to the scene, like the Animaniacs bursting through the Warner Brothers logo, with 2001's How To Cut And Paste Mixtape Vol. 1. Since then he's toured the world, picked up a DMC Award (and latterly a place on the DMC DJ World Finals judging panel), scored regular writing spots with IDJ Magazine and Hip Hop Connection and shared a bill with Steve Martin and Chris Rock.

All this hard work hasn't affected his sense of humour or his work ethic, though. Yoda has a new album out this year, his second studio effort but somewhere in double figures if you count his prolific cuttin' and pastin'. Chop Suey is, “a level up in terms of production value and effort” says the London-based artist. “It's taken me a very long time to put this album together, but the good thing about that is I've ended up with something I'm very happy with. I've collaborated with a different vocalist on every track. I took a step back and tried to make the album represent my taste in music – I wanted it to sound like one of my DJ sets – in other words, steeped in hip hop, but much bigger than that in a way.” Anyone who's seen a DJ Yoda live set will know what he means.

In selecting collaborators, Yoda stuck with that signature mix of the whimsical, the credible and the incredible.

“I tried to think about the music I loved as a kid – hence Boy George, Kid Creole and Michael Winslow from Police Academy!” he laughs. “Then the hip hop I loved in the '90s, hence M.O.P. and Greg Nice, and then the up-and-coming artists who I respect now like Afrikan Boy, Action Bronson and Man Like Me.” 

A musical stew to anyone's taste. Yoda's mixtapes, albums and DJ sets have always had a healthy sense of fun and humour about them, but if you've read this far you'll have realised he's just as much a 'serious' artist, “a careful balance to strike. “I want my stuff to be fun and funny, but not just stupid!” You can check out what passes for his serious side in the video for new single Idiot, featuring Man Like Me. Depending on your take, it's a cautionary tale, or, “a comment on a certain kind of people acting a certain kind of way. If you watch the video I think that explains the kind of person better than I ever could.”

2012 is a bumper year for fans of the Beiny man. Not only is Chop Suey available this month, but Yoda will be crossing the tropics in December to wish Perth a Happy Christmas in person. When asked about what we can expect from his Breakfest set, the usually gregarious DJ plays his records close to his chest.

 “The music I play constantly evolves according to what I'm into,” he mulls. “I play a lot of trap and moombahton stuff now, but I go through phases of what I like”. Are there any tunes in the box guaranteed to get people on their feet? “That's a trade secret! As usual, expect the unexpected, although I can guarantee some stuff from my new album Chop Suey.”

DJ Yoda will be playing the following shows:

Wednesday 26 December - Breakfest 2012, Belvoir Ampitheatre, Upper Swan WA
Saturday 29 December - Tuesday 1 January - The Pyramid Rock Festival 2012, Phillip Island, Melbourne VIC
Friday 4 January - Bassic, Coniston Lane, Brisbane QLD