Ask any punter in Perth who Micah is and chances are they were probably rockin’ out to one of his sets last weekend. Micah has earned himself the reputation of one of Perth's leading DJs, through his ability to get even the coldest of feet on the dance floor, his energy and enthusiasm behind the decks and through the burgeoning scene which has grown with him over the last decade.
Discovering a talent for a craft which he has come to live by, Micah embraced the DIY attitude of a young DJ fuelled by a burning desire to create and run events where he and his mates could showcase their talents, delivering to a party hungry niche in the market. The early 90's saw Micah putting on small dance parties wherever he could find enough space or a venue that was willing to have him. Micah’s can do attitude saw his parties grow, one such effort culminating in a 2000+ free annual event in the Pine forests north of Perth. From 1997 to the year 2000 these underground parties became the highlight for many a punter, until the authorities stepped in.
Out of the Pines and into clubland, Micah and his mates embarked on a different approach, banding together to create what became known as the Awarehouse Crew. This ensemble were responsible for the increasingly popular Autophon nights held at Ambar Niteclub, continuing for good on two years. Whilst running and DJing at these night, Micah gained invaluable knowledge in reading the crowd, learning how to get the dance floor crankin’; and worked on fine tuning his skills and dexterity behind the decks. A relationship built on a solid foundation with Ambar saw him become their number one resident DJ over the ensuing 7 years.
Micah’s popularity with punters has been complemented over the years by his many accolades received, taking out Top Breakbeat DJ in the Perth Dance Music awards for the last 5 years, as well as being voted Western Australia’s number one DJ in the 2007 INTHEMIX Top 50 awards.
Displaying a keen willingness to be an active participant in the community, Micah co-hosts the Beat Suite, a weekly night at the Velvet Lounge showcasing local talent, as well as hosting his own radio show, Monday Full Frequency alongside another WA local, Ben Mac, on RTR FM 92.1 (3-5pm www.rtrfm.com.au).
Micah’s unabashed enthusiasm, energy and skills behind the decks have seen him become a Perth festival regular playing pretty much every festival that comes through Perth each year. Including over the years: Earthstomp, Global Dance, Sunshine People NYD, Innercity, Good Vibrations, Summerdayze, Two Tribes, Breakfest, Major Break and Parklife. December saw Micah earn himself a highly sought after and well earned late afternoon spot on the seven time award winning Breakfest main stage, alongside the likes of Q-bert, Lee Coombs, Stanton Warriors and the Plump DJs. An opportunity that has breakbeat DJs the world over clambering for.
The last 3 years have seen Micah play across Australia and New Zealand and land in the UK playing at Fabric Nightclub @ The Plump DJs Headthrash night in Aug 08, Timbuk 2 in Bristol, The White House and Platform 12 at Canvas Nightclub London and at the legendary Supercharged night in Brighton in 07 & 08.
Not content with only gigging, Micah has turned to production in recent years, knocking out a remix for local producer Lokey-fu released on Q-stik records, and 2007 saw Micah deliver a massive dance floor sensation alongside Australian Nick Thayer. ‘Scrambler’, out on Passenger Recordings (August ’07) received much acclaim and even got licensed to Hit US TV show CSI NY . And most recently in 2008 remixing Journeyman & Barrcode's "No Exceptions" For Ho-Ju Records under the "Micah Black" moniker.
Discography
No Sleep – ITM Top 50 CD mixed by Nick Thayer
Scrambler – Micah and Nick Thayer (Passenger records)
No Exceptions – Journeyman & Barrcode – Micah Black Remix – (Ho-Ju Records)
Awards
2008
INTHEMIX Australian Top 50 DJ poll - 23
INTHEMIX West Australia DJ Poll - 1
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
2007
INTHEMIX Australian Top 50 DJ poll - 22
INTHEMIX West Australia DJ Poll - 1
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
Perth Dance Music Awards – 2nd Runner up - Outstanding Contribution to the dance music community
2006
INTHEMIX Australian Top 50 DJ poll - 24
INTHEMIX West Australia DJ Poll - 2
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
Perth Dance Music Awards – Runner up - Outstanding Contribution to the dance music community
2005
INTHEMIX Australian Top 50 DJ poll - 42
INTHEMIX West Australia DJ Poll - 4
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
2004
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
Winner of the Heineken DJ Competition (WA)
2003
Perth Dance Music Awards - 1 Breakbeat DJ
Winner of the Noise Festival DJ mix competition
guaranteed to fire up any room - any way you like it, micah puts his heart and soul into his music and always, always plays to the people that matter most.the people on the dance floor.
Praise for ‘Scrambler’ (Passenger)
Pete Bassbin (Bassbin Twins)
‘scrambler is full on peak time funk drama- coming on like a wall of sound with evil intentions....’
Adam Freeland
‘Scrambler is good- best ' breaks' track I’ve heard in a while, I’ll play it.
Splitloop (Supercharged)
'Likin this Nick Thayer and Micah tune - doing something different and doing it well too. Nice organic feel to it definitely my favourite...'
Quotes:
after seeing micah's set at ambar last night i thought something had to be said. it was off the map. one of the best sets i've heard in ages and that's with seeing almost every single breaks international on my wishlist in the past year. god we're lucky. sometimes i find myself getting just as excited to see micah on an evening's bill as i do the headliner.
ITM perth.
as 1am approached, if the time away had raised any doubts over who exactly may be Ambars favourite son, the man himself Micah stepped up to the decks and from the first track firmly re-established himself with the set of the night.
Review in ITM perth 21/1/06 Fuzzy vs Ambar party
Micah had the task of turning it over to the broken beat. Immediately, the crowd responded and the set to ensue was full of funked up broken beats with plenty of break downs and build ups within the breaks stylee. Micahs blatant ability to work with the crowd as well as incorporating his own flavour at the same time was on display and in full effect; its no wonder he was voted in the poll as number two in W.A. Micahs solid mixes and an arsenal of killer tracks saw the ITM party massive go nuts on the dance floor, or anywhere in the club for that matter!
Review in ITM perth 29/7/05 ITM Top 50 party
To finish off the night, local legends Micah and Lo Key Fu stepped up to the stage. Bringing with him his trademark sound of driving yet funky breaks, with ad-libbed bleeps and effects from Lo Key, Micah had the whole room to his attention. For the first time all night the pool tables were empty, as was much of the back half of the venue.
Review in ITM Perth 26/3/05 Slam on the breaks @ Swan basement
