A Decade on the Mic: Emelyne's Journey with The Blend
Written by Emelyne Khor as interviewed by Bevin Campbell
Bevin Campbell: What is your earliest memory of music? Emelyne Khor: When I was a kid, I used to listen to the radio and record music and my voice onto tapes and pretend I was on the radio. I loved reading out the weather too! I'm unsure where those tapes went though…
BC: When did your deeper journey and connection with music begin, was it from the very beginning, that earliest memory, or later? EK: When the internet arrived in high school I would stay up late every night while chatting to people on MSN and would download a mixture of music from the '90s/2000s, including house, trance, euro dance, pop but mainly RnB, hip hop and rap. I started to burn all this music onto CDs, and would make favourite lists every week in my school diary. The CDs were called: Em's RnB, hip hop & rap mixtape vol. 1 etc. This was when I knew I n e e d e d to learn to weave the music together so there was no space in-between, but I was too nervous for a long time until I got pushed into it in 2016. I was quite into the late night digging for about 11 years before I started to DJ then realised it was a bit unsustainable. I was quite intense with collecting street press and club flyers and was always reading about new music and events going on.
BC: How did you first connect with PBS and what inspired you to start volunteering with the station? EK: My sister and I used to volunteer for every music festival we could, and I would help with promo for clubs and festivals. I wanted to immerse myself in anything music related so we started volunteering for PBS' Radio Festival in 2010. I was lucky to then have the opportunity to intern with Courtney Clarke (CC:DISCO!) who, at the time, was working as the sponsorship manager. In 2012 / was at an Uncomfortable Beats gig at Bar Open and saw you, Bevin, and mentioned I was a fan of the show and if you ever wanted any help I would love to get involved. From then started to help with promotion, socials, organising guests for the show, gig guide etc.
BC: You have been very open about your mental health challenges, especially when it comes to anxiety. How did you navigate the transition of volunteer to announcer, and especially from bedroom DJ to club DJ (a very public facing endeavour)? EK: In 2015 you went overseas and asked me to cover the shows while you were away. Getting thrown in the deep end was definitely helpful, otherwise I may have never mentioned it was something I would like to do. I honestlystill feel nervous and that I don't really know what I'm doing, but the feeling slowly fades a bit as the years go on and you learn to get a feel for your own style and become comfortable with it, but it took me a really long time. You suggested I should listen back to the shows which is what I did for years and that has helped me realise I didn't sound as bad as I thought, and the music was actually amazing. It also helped me notice things I could change for future shows. Things seem worse in the moment but it's never that bad and early on I realised it's fine to make mistakes as it literally happens every show! I used to mainly play records or off iTunes, but you pushed me to mix on air, so I literally just learned to mix on CDJs live as l've always b e e n too scared and never m a d e the time to practice at home. The transition to DJing in real life was and has been very confronting as I prefer to not be seen. It's taken hundreds of gigs and experiences for me to overcome the anxiety but recently I feel I've turned a Deep down I know I love it, so I continue to be consistent and show up which I feel has helped. If I'm ever having a tired or anxious Monday, once I start broadcasting it always takes that away and fills me with joy even amongst the nerves! The doubt is always there but I'm learning to trust myself and lower all the voices.
BC: Bass music has become huge over the time the program has been running, how did bass music first find you, did you ever think it would grow to this extent and are you still as passionate about the genre and movement as you were in those early days? EK: Through watching music videos and keeping up to date with music being released through community radio like KIX FM (earliest community radio memory listening to UKG in early 2000s), street press and event flyers. Possibly even watching Ali G In Da House? It was a surprise that it has grown to this extent, but it's been really amazing to see more people getting around it. I'm just as passionate now as / was, but have had phases of burn out and time where I have needed space from personal listening, but going to shows and trying to convince people to go to shows has never really stopped.
BC: What's coming up on the horizon that you are excited about with the show and otherwise? EK: Firstly, a big thanks to you, Bevin! Congrats on 22 years of The Blend this year! I feel extremely grateful to have the opportunity to be on air and showcase the music we do. I'm excited to be able to continue to shine a light on new and underrepresented sounds, especially local. There's so much talent in this city. I'm looking forward to going to Boorloo/Perth for the exploratory music festival Audible Edge where I'll be playing on May 3. The next weekend, my good friend Charms from Manchester is putting on her first event in Naarm at Section 8 on May 8, under her event and mix series Galdem Rejoice where she celebrates women in sound system culture. On May 9, I'll play at Lucid at Solace. There's also going to be a really special, small doof happening May 15-17 in VIC where I'll be playing with Seance for the first time. And for the rest of the year I'll hopefully be able to make more time to record some mixes, put on a few parties and continue with my health journey.
Emelyne Khor and Bevin Campbell present The Blend alongside Beatski every Monday night from 10pm-midnight on PBS
