INTERVIEW: Rod Little & Steve Halpin, The Plot Festival
We caught up with The Plot's event organisers Rod Little and Steve Halpin in the lead up to the festival's debut this weekend!
This Saturday will see the debut of THE PLOT - an exciting music festival created by the guys at Cattleyard Promotions; the same crew who bring you Groovin The Moo each year.
Hitting both Sydney's Big Top at Luna Park and Melbourne's Ding Dong Lounge and Palace Theatre, the festival will house sets from an abundance of huge Aussie names including Alison Wonderland, Elizabeth Rose, Wave Racer and Yolanda Be Cool; not to mention French artist DJ Snake and our very own bros Indian Summer and Purple Sneakers DJs!
What sets this niche festival apart from most live music events is the fact that is also has an incredibly strong online presence to not only the general public, but also a private cyber area for ticket holders to create a profile, share music and chat with fellow Plot-goers.
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Completely drawn by The Plot's entire concept, we caught up with the festival's organisers Rod Little and Steve Halpin for a quick chat right before kick off!
How did the idea of The Plot first come up?
The idea behind The Plot initially came from seeing how our GTM online community connected with each other through various online channels and the energy of the Moolin Rouge. We liked the idea of everyone having the opportunity to engage as a community and then getting together for a party. It’s a new and different way to think about an event, the response so far has been pretty positive and we will let it take its own shape and see where it goes.
The Plot is a two fold experience - There is The Plot (event) and The Plot (online). When you buy your ticket to the show you can choose to join The Plot, which is an online community that provides the audience and artists the opportunity to engage with each other as a community from the time they decide to buy a ticket until the show.
It’s all about acknowledging our audience, trying to create an event that is driven equally by the audience, the artists and coming together for one big end of year party.
We are really looking forward to the show and The Plot community getting together for the first time.
Sydney’s Big Top at Luna Park is an interesting and exciting choice of venue for a festival. What made the team decide on this particular place?
The Big Top is an iconic site with spectacular harbour views. Everyone knows the location, it’s easy to get to, and just felt like a great location for the first Plot party. The layout of the Big Top suited the intimate three-performance space concept we have for the show. It should be a lot of fun.
Is there an act on the line up you’ve never seen before that you’re really looking forward to checking out?
I have seen quite few the acts over the last couple of years. I'm keen to see how the show feels with them all together on one bill. It should be a lot of fun and the first of many Plots.
For the people who haven’t heard the music of France's DJ Snake, can you please tell us a little about him?
Well I guess he is probably most well known for his tracks - Bird Machine & Turn Down For What. He is also a highly in demand producer who is part of the Mad Decent crew (instant street cred) and is currently working on a collaboration with Diplo which will no doubt be a worldwide smash! A little bit of trivia, he is a Grammy nominated producer and actually produced Lady Gaga's latest single Applause. He is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the EDM world and should get the crowd rather sweaty
A music festival with a ticket price of under $50 is almost unheard of these days but you managed to achieve it with a really solid line up, made up of 99% local acts. Are you strong believers in quality over quantity?
Definitely quality, but there is so much quality music in Australia that we can have both quality AND quantity.
Have you attended many Australian electronic music festivals as a punter? Which has been your favourite?
I have attended a few over the last couple of years...here and overseas. There is no particular favourite, they share many things in common, but each one seems to have something special that makes them unique. I really enjoyed Subsonic, which is held at Riverwood Downs, near Dungog. It had a great feel to it, fantastic location, river, good music and wonderful crowd. I think I will be heading back there in 2014.
I’ve noticed you’ve taken a similar approach with your line up to the early days of We Love Sounds, by including a good mixture of live/DJ sets from emerging Australian artists. What I really liked about that festival (in Sydney) was the fact that the stages were situated so close together, meaning more music and less walking. Is this what you’re aiming at implementing for The Plot?
We wanted to make the first edition of the Plot as simple as possible, so yes stages will be close together and less walking means more energy for dancing.
Do you plan on future line ups for The Plot containing a gradual increase in international artists, similar to the way Groovin’ The Moo was built up?
The focus is going to primarily be on showcasing Australian electronic/dance music.
Do you have any dream headliners?
Personally I would love LCD Soundsystem and Prince - this answer doesn't have to be nested within reality does it?
Ready to lose The Plot this weekend? We sure are! Tickets to both Sydney and Melbourne are still available HERE.
Words by Tony Kingston & Hannah Galvin.
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