Recently celebrating Outcross Records 7th Birthday, head chef Miguel Campbell is in the best form he’s ever been. We spoke to the OG house icon about how his label is going, his thoughts on the Australian dance music and his upcoming Australian tour for the Listen Out parties.

In between restructuring the sound of his label and enjoying recent growing success, Miguel was extremely humble and positive about the direction his music is heading;

It’s really cool now to just be at the stage where the label is at, especially looking at where its come from; initially it was just a platform to share music with about 10-20 people.

The passion that radiated off Miguel in setting up and growing his label is also reflected in his attitude to his music; boy was he keen about putting it all into action in the coming months on his global tour. With the legacy that is continually being shaped from his years of involvement in the industry, we asked what he thought of the Australian dance music scene:

Yeah mate I’m really excited to see the country and play some great music to some great people. I personally have always been a big fan of Cut Copy and Vanshe and now you’ve got the lads from Flight Facilities and other guys doing what I’d consider to be ‘Summer Time’ music, and I guess the Aussies have always been more open and accepting of my music because of this vibe. So yeah, Australian dance music to me keeps the vibe rolling.

Miguel then went on to tell us how unique the close-nit crew for Listen Out will be – having some tight relationships already established with a lot of the lineup we should be looking forward to seeing them express those good vibes through the music.

I’ve got a few mates on the tour with me so really looking forward to it. Laura Jones is one of my colleagues, of course there’s Duke Dumont and the guys from Classixxx who’s music I really admire. Also the guys from Flight Facilities, it’s gonna be nice to rekindle some relationships there for sure and just have a good time – hopefully that comes through in the music we play y’know. It’s gonna be one of those gigs that I’ll be there from the beginning til the end.

On the more serious side of things, with the recent music headlines reporting on the deaths at music festivals around the world; what were Miguel’s views on the differing attitudes to drugs and alcohol in different countries? Like other artists, he stressed the ideas of education and exposure.

Every country you go to there’s some sort of alcohol use or drug use. Sometimes it’ll be a VIP club and people will spend thousands on Vodka and champagne, or you have the warehouse raves where it’s a lot more ‘in your face’ and blatant y’know? I’ve actually been to places in the UK and France where they have people there who test the pills for you or whatever substance it may be, which I think is a really cool idea. Rather than getting into trouble for having these things people are actually helping you stay safe. All in all it’s a dangerous game, and people need to know what they’re doing before they just recklessly let go and put themselves in a dangerous situation.

A final message (To the fans)

I’m now a better DJ than I’ve ever been. My fans have made it easier, mainly because they come to see me do what I do and people are happy with that.

Tickets to Listen Out are still on sale, don’t miss out. Dates below!

Listen Out Dates
Saturday, 28th September Sydney, Centennial Park, 2pm-10pm
Sunday, 29th September Perth, Ozone Reserve, 2pm-10pm
Saturday, 5th October Melbourne, Observatory Precinct, Royal Botanic Gardens, 2pm-10pm
Sunday, 6th October Brisbane, Cultural Forecourt, Southbank, 2pm-10pm