Spenda C is a bit of a legend around these parts. From his decade long residency at Chinese Laundry to his broad knowledge of all things hip-hop, the local selector has always been on the ball when it comes to making fire tunes.

With a new collab featuring Cult Shotta currently circulating and a tour underway, we thought we’d catch up with Spenda to chew the fat – and as it turns out, he has a lot in the works!

Stoney Roads: You’re from a musical family and grew up playing drums, with early inspirations from punk bands. Has this punk background in any way influenced your initial entry to electronic music production?

Spenda C: I tend to gravitate towards tracks that are a bit more raw in emotion and aren’t too over produced. I think those are some of the defining traits of punk music.

SR: How about with just DJing and performing? Is your love of punk influenced your high energy DJ sets?

SC: It’s not uncommon to see mosh pits and stage dives at one of my show and I’m ok with that!

SR: You have under your belt a 10 year residency at Sydney’s long-standing bass haven Chinese Laundry. Did your experience there over the years shape your sound and practices as an artist, and in which ways ?

SC: Having a weekly spot to play at, definitely helps you learn how to read a room and work records into your set, that aren’t necessarily the biggest bangers but keep the floor moving and interested.

SR: Deemed as ‘One of the hardest working DJs going around’ by none other than Nina Las Vegas, how do you keep yourself motivated to continue the hard work and inspired to produce music?

SC: As a DJ it’s important to stay on top of music trends, but I feel like a bit of a fraud if I just start playing a certain genre without giving it some context to what I’m doing. I’ll always try to have as many fresh edits, bootlegs & new songs ready for every new set, so it’s always something different.

SR: You and Cult Shotta collaborated on ‘Release’, which you’re touring now. What was your approach in making this track together?

SC: We did the standard internet collab thing and worked really well. I’m just so happy that we could turn those online sessions into a live show that we can tour around the country.

SR: You’ve collaborated with a lot of people in the past, such as Nemo, Hydraulix, Oski and more. What do you think makes a good collaboration? Have you ever had issues when in the studio working on a collab? Creative differences that may have ended the party?

SC: There are plenty of collabs that just don’t work out for whatever reason. It’s important to realise when something isn’t working and just move on.

SR: Who are some other Aussie artists you’d love to work with in the future? Who are some artists that will be taking 2017 by storm?

SC: I’d love to work with the Dune Rats! I think rap will continue to grow here with so much talent talent like: Erik Sanders, I AM D, Midas.Gold, Cult Shotta, Miss Blanks, Big Skeez, Dominic Rahmeel, Travy P, Sophie Grofy, Carmouflage Rose, Jesswar, Gallus just to name a few!

SR: You completed a national tour in 2016 with an almighty 26 stops, and about to embark on your next. How did you manage performing in so many cities – How do prepare for a tour? Particularly in terms of building your set?

SC: I like to keep the format pretty loose. Load up a couple of hundred songs to a UAB and just jam!

SR: As a long term DJ. you’ve seen a lot of music trends and genres come and go. What are predicting/already seeing in 2017?

SC: I feel like we are ready for another big shift really soon. I can’t quite put my finger on it just yet… maybe punk rap? lol I dunno.

SR: Finally, once you finish the tour, what’s next for Spenda C?

SC: I am are working on an album to drop towards the end of the year. Lots of special guests and a few surprises.

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You can catch Spenda on the back end of his Aus tour, with a performance at Brisbane’s The MET this Saturday. Peep the full tour date flyer below.