Unless you've been living under a rock, or simply don't have a taste for the finer things in life, you would have noticed the glorious resurrection of Finnish DJ, Darude's 1999 hit, Sandstorm. What some of you may not know, however, is the story, and the man, behind the entire movement. Hailing from Melbourne and self-classified as an interviewer, DJ, entertainer, writer and hypeman, Rei Barker is a man with a vision. Earlier in the year, driven by his undying passion for both Sandstorm and its creator, the "most influential and important musician alive", he created a Pozible campaign, requesting the good faith of the community to collectively fund the costs to bring the man, the myth, the legend, Darude, to Australia for the very first time.
Soon enough, the campaign went viral with articles popping up all over the internet appealing for donations. Despite the story gaining publicity and serious momentum, and Sandstorm even making it back into 18th place in the Australian charts, only $3,282 of the required $200,000 fee was raised. With the campaign's expiration date nigh, things were looking dire, with the possibility of gaining the necessary $196,718 looking almost impossible.
Then, just last Thursday, Rei's prayers were answered when it was announced that Future Music Festival would be bringing the man himself to Australian shores in 2015, alongside Drake, The Prodigy and Kiesza. We thought we'd have a chat with Rei on this momentous occasion to discuss the inspiration behind his successful campaign, his plans for the future and Toadie from Neighbours.
And yes, we were also deeply concerned about our 17% battery power. We can assure you, the phone has now been charged and life resumes as normal.
And, just for good measure:
Café Romantica is the debut album by Andras & Oscar, also known as the brilliant Melbourne-based producers, Andras Fox and Oscar Key Sung. Respected artists in their own rights, the twosome have been travelling the world since the launch of the album, promoting their solo projects. Now, upon their return to the mainland, both Andras and Oscar have been busy promoting their latest collaboration at the likes of Outsidein festival, Melbourne Music Week and Astral People's Summer Dance, as well as an Australia-wide Cafe Romantica tour. Suffering from a slight case of jetlag, Andras managed to set some time aside to chat to us about his overseas adventures, his experience with the Melbourne music scene and his blossoming bromance with Oscar Key Sung.
