Air Max ’97: ‘Production Dossier’ Mix

5 Minute Read

Music

A 100% original mixtape featuring nothing but Air Max ’97 material.

Australian producer and DJ Air Max ’97 is a powerhouse – when we invited him to deliver this mixtape we weren’t sure what to expect but an hour of exclusive original material wasn’t discussed.

The dynamic artist has risen to prominence over the past ten years, broadcasting a new school of experimental Bass and Electronics from Australia to the wider world with releases on the likes of Liminal Sounds and Timedance as well as via his own DECISIONS imprint.

More recently he has been working along a number of collaborators on a slightly more Hyper-Pop focussed sound but is in Bass music that he has his roots.

This mixtape features an eclectic array of Downtempo cuts, Trap inspired beats and deep moving basslines. It’s a wonderful insight into what looks set to be the next chapter for a hugely talented producer.

Listen below:

Please introduce yourself…

My name is Oliver and I make music and DJ as Air Max ‘97. I’m also one half of A2A with Aya, and one half of Loppy B with SCAM. Ordinarily I’m trying to make dancefloor bogglers but my current project is a mixtape of all pop and rap collaborations. This mix is 100% my own productions from the orbit of that project.

Who are you, where are you and what are you?

I’m a carbon based life form living on unceded Gadigal Land. My therapist recently said I am “true to the send”.

What does your music sound like? Can you draw what you think it sounds like for us (an image from the old internet is acceptable)?

Where was the mix recorded?

In my computer, I don’t own decks :’(

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

On your balcony in the afternoon sun.

What should we be wearing?

Something comfortable

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

FFKT 2022 was honestly pretty dreamy

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

Every track in the mix is my own production. It wouldn’t be fair to pick a favourite.

What’s your favourite recorded mix of all time?

Nguzunguzu – Perfect Lullaby

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

I was supposed to B2B with Metrist for Accidental Meetings & Shook in 2020 but it got cancelled because of COVID. I’d happily travel to the fork in time where that actually happened to see how that went.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

My first setup was a Xone:K2 controller with Traktor. Now it’s coercing a friend to use their CDJs.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

Both are important, but both are less important than the dank/unexpected bangers you arrive at in dialogue with the room throughout the session.

What were the first and last records you bought?

The first CD I bought with my own money was Backstreet Boys – Backstreet’s Back. My last bandcamp purchase was bino ballads by bambinodj.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

A lychee flavoured weed gummy.

If it was an animal what would it be?

A fruit bat munching a lychee.

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything?

The majority of my own discography, sorry about that.