Introducing AFF’s Official DJ // Filip Odzak

With Adelaide Fashion Festival (AFF) just around the corner, we’re gearing up in preparation for the fabulous fashion and glamour that is yet to come. And who better to interview ahead of time than the man who sums up fashion and glamour so eloquently in one: Filip Odzak.

Filip (or commonly known by his witty DJ name ‘Filip With an F’) has done extensive work for the Adelaide fashion industry over many years and being announced as AFF’s official DJ this year is just another notch on his trendy leather belt.

Mel got the chance to interview Filip during a collaborative styling session at The Myer Centre this past week, discussing everything from his gigs at this year’s Adelaide Fashion Festival to his music inspirations and sheer love for those cheesy old school 90’s beats.

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The man, the myth, the legend.

Hey Filip! To start off with, which shows will you be DJing at this AFF?

This year I’m DJing the Ready To Wear show, Sally Phillips, Liza Emanuele, Variety on King WilliamAlexis George introducing Lexi,  Australian Fashion Labels, Couture Culture, Jetty Road and The Parade Norwood.

Is there any show in particular you are looking forward to the most?

There is actually, I’m looking forward to a day in particular. Thursday is what I’m most excited about, especially Ready To Wear because it is quite different to all of the other events. It’s a sit down lunch with a two course meal, open bar and is such a big group show of Adelaide designers. Also for me, Ready To Wear is going to be one of the most fun soundtracks; it’s a bit poppy meets RnB meets old school, and it’s really quirky and fun. It’s held in a grungier setting while everything else in AFF is very clean and perfect channelling pure runway aesthetics. This one’s going to have a lot of personality.

I’m also so excited to see SIG The Label debut and everyone gets to finally see Simmone Standing‘s amazing collection that she debuted in New York for New York Fashion Week.

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Simmone Standing in NYFW. Image: @sharenaaa on Instagram.

How do you seek to match your music with the designers?

This year, I haven’t. The process of creating soundtracks was very different to what I usually do. With Sally Phillips, Liza Emanuele, Lexi and Fashion Bunker, Nicole Bonython-Hines has come in specifically to style these shows, style their collections and take them out of their comfort zones to give them a new look and a new aesthetic. Nicole will take them to a new standard as she’s an internationally renowned stylist. She will be giving them a whole different projection to the world and, with that of course, comes a different music style. So I’m not looking to suit my music with the designers, and I’ve not collaborated with designers on their music. This is a chance for us to put them on an international platform.

It’s a great opportunity to collaborate with someone like Nicole. She will say to me: “This is the way I’ve styled them, this is the way feel the collection’s going to be”, and then I’ll take all of this into account and say, “Right, let’s create a new sound for them as well.” Nicole has a wealth of music industry experience as she’s styled for a lot of artists including the likes of INXS and Kylie Minogue. She has a great pop culture mind and that’s something I love as well. Essentially what we have this year is what I’d call some interesting and distinct soundtracks.

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The ever-so-stylish Nicole Bonython-Hines. Image: http://www.thejoye.com/.

What genres or categories of music will you be using?

I particularly enjoy the soundtrack I’ve composed for Couture Culture because there are many throwbacks to the 90’s, some anthems, some just absolute golden club tracks. Think Tori Amos‘ ‘Professional Widow’, Massive Attack ‘Teardrops’ and Moby‘s ‘Porcelain’. I love those tracks. That’s, for me, childhood nostalgia. Sally Phillips is a whole different kettle of fish and I’m so intrigued to see what people think; it’s going to be so different! With a real tribal influence to the show, you are going to hear that translate through the sound.

Do you have any DJ’s or music producers that influence and inspire you? If not, how else do you gain inspiration and ideas for shows?

I’m more inspired by creating new sounds. With shows like Jetty Road and Norwood Parade, these are commercial shopping precincts so you go for a very commercial sound because you’re going for the every day Joe and Mary on the street. You’re looking to attract the people who listen to commercial radio, and you need to be aware of what entices them and captures their ear to drive them to the runway stage. For particular shows like the Lexi show, there’s a real old school rock influence. A lot of those older tracks were recorded quite differently to the quality of music we have today. So, to gel a lot of those tracks together, I’ve had to create music that bridges these songs; that has been the  longest run for me to work on.

I do like to create things. Jaimie Sortino’s ‘Woodland Lights‘ showcase was a good example of my creative side. I’ve found I have a huge remix library – I’ve have always been a remix kid and I’d often know the remix version before the original song. Jaimie’s was a real remix show but my favourite part was including a local artist in the soundtrack. Jack Littman, who is also a model with Finesse Models, has a song called ‘Made Of Stars’ which he released on Triple J Unearthed. I took all the song’s stems and  worked with my brother to recompose the song for Jaimie’s show, which became one of my favourites I’ve done in a long time. It produced a sensational sound and created one of the most epic, beautiful moments for that installation. Oh, and, I pulled some thunder and lightning effects from a Kylie Minogue song! You’d never know!

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Jaimie Sortino’s ‘Woodland Lights’ showcase.

Having a great music knowledge and familiarisation with popular culture has a lot to do with creating the right piece of music for the right show. Sometimes, you’ll have those silly fun shows, but other times you’ll connect with a really dark translation, and you’ll need to accommodate your music to suit those feelings. You’ll also need to understand the reasoning behind trends. For example, florals aren’t just florals this season without a reason: it’s translated from somewhere, it’s come from somewhere, it’s been watered down to fast fashion and here it is at Ready To Wear. You need to have an understanding of both sides to kind of get it right.

Thank you so much for such a informative and comprehensive interview, Filip. Do you have anything else left to add?

Well, I think Adelaide Fashion Festival is my favourite festival to date. I’m loving the team this year and I’m loving the collaborative spirit that everybody has. It’s amazing to be part of a journey with these designers when they’ve been given this opportunity to promote their talent to the world. Because, hey, they’re being promoted to the world with my soundtracks!

To see Filip live in action, tickets are still available for most of the Adelaide Fashion Festival shows. You can purchase them here.

Uncredited images: supplied

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