Mabel has just taken flight and is ripping it up on the first leg of her EU tour with her salacious sounds of psychedelic bratty-bass renowned in the doofs and raves of Naarm.
First and foremost, can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix and is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
This mix stays pretty playful. Currently I am feeling quite inspired by tight percussion and groove. I like the way our bodies tend to naturally lock into certain rhythms on the dance floor. I like to imagine this mix being listened to in many situations but my favourite would be on the car ride to a doof or festival. In Australia, the road trips we take through the barron country to get to doofs are often very long but exciting. This is where most mixes get ran through I would say.
How has the first part of your EU tour been so far? Where have you most enjoyed playing so far and where are you most looking forward to?
In this moment I am two weeks in and am loving it even though touring has its ups and downs. I won’t lie, it’s already really hard to choose a favourite gig. My very first was in Prague with the Harmony Recs crew and Step Ball Chain which was a particularly special event to be involved in. Sadly it was the day after I landed in Europe after 21 hours of traveling so it was tricky being present but the people involved and the crowd have solidified themselves into my memory banks for life. I was also incredibly proud to be representing Step Ball Chain. It was also recently I closed in Paris for Hors-Sol which was one of the most high energy parties I have ever been a part of. It felt very surreal being able to play that one and make that many people dance. Coming up I have so many parties I’m excited for but I do have to say I feel particularly blessed that I get to play at Mala Junta’s sixth birthday on the 22nd of June.
Your release earlier this year on Step Ball Chain is slick and delicious, can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind this EP?
Thank you, the support on it has been completely unreal. To be a Step Ball Chain legacy this soon was not something I could’ve predicted but here we are. I think it would be silly not to say a lot of my inspiration for that release came from Roza Terenzi herself. She has solidified herself as an icon for a lot of young fem presenting producers and I’ve always looked up to her for her ability to encompass femininity into sound, or at least how I express femininity which is through toughness, finesse, and harnessed chaos. The songs in the EP I feel roughly embody these traits to the best of my ability.
“my favourite would be on the car ride to a doof or festival. In Australia, the road trips we take through the barron country to get to doofs are often very long but exciting. This is where most mixes get ran through I would say. ”
You’re also an amazing painter, how long have you been painting and why do you like painting dogs so much?
Thank you! I’m also happy the dog question has finally been asked. I’ve been painting my whole life and was pretty much convinced it was my life calling up until about 5 years ago. The dog fixation began when me and my partner adopted our dog Cooper in 2021. We brought him home the day before a snap lockdown where we were in isolation for a week out of the blue. It was a pretty strange week as my partner had work so I was alone with Cooper the whole time who was only 8 months old and completely untrained. I didn’t expect dog ownership to feel so similar to motherhood to be honest, and the absolute stress of getting to know an extremely cheeky animal whilst simultaneously attempting to train him made me spiral but also I became very attached to him all at the same time and realised how alike we were. This maternal and animalistic connection I have to Cooper fascinated me and he became the main subject of my art. I like the constant reminder that we are similar and how humans are also animals, especially when witnessing the primality of humans on a dance floor.
Last and not least, what’s next for Mabel?
Who knows……. The future always feels bright and I am constantly curious for what’s next. The rest of my tour is full of exciting shows and I have a few big announcements for Spring in Australia. In the immediate future another Doglandiya release is on the horizon which will be the second so far on the label. Keep an eye/ear out.
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