Force Majeure is set to celebrate a milestone this Friday with their first birthday! This eclectic night is run by two local award winning DJ’s – Philly Blunt and Mono Lisa. Together they have presented a string of diverse and dynamic nights featuring established Australian artists as well as local DJ’s. Liz Sheehan caught up with Phil and Lisa as they prepared to get into birthday party mode…

Philly Blunt and Mono Lisa have been heavily involved in the Perth dance music scene, both holding residency at the iconic Ambar nightclub. After a long period of entertaining the masses with their kick ass Break sets, they saw an opportunity to take things one step further and start their own night that would push the limits with harder sounds.

“We wanted to put on a night which focused on the harder edged sounds in dance music. We mainly play Breaks and House but have also put on Drum n Bass and Dubstep DJ’s as well. We wanted the genres to be a bit fluid, but the sounds to be tough.”

Not restricting Force Majeure to one genre is something the Phil and Lisa set out to do from the beginning. They wanted to feature a broader range of styles, recognising that people are a lot more open to this concept rather than being “genre snobs”. With the nights getting bigger and better each time, this idea as proven to be a winner with the Perth crowds.

“We did choose to put on different styles of music, with the theme being the stronger, tougher end of those styles. Punters these days are so much more open to different genres of music. I don’t see why we shouldn’t smash them all into one night, as long as there is a common thread though out.”

Force Majeure originally started off as local night and quickly progressed to featuring interstate acts such as The Impossibles and Bitrok who have drawn massive crowds and added to the amazing reputation Force already carried.

“We've been lucky enough to have contacts over east. We made contact with a few of the crews over there that we've been interested in bringing out. All of the guys have been really cool and everyone seems to want to come play in Perth, especially at Ambar – the reputation across the country is phenomenal.”

Reaching the first birthday milestone is a massive achievement for the Force Majeure pair. They are featuring their first international artist, D*Funk, which is a long way to come from the local nights they started only 12 months ago.

“It’s been a massive year for us and Force has gone from strength to strength. We started as a local night last year and have since put on a range of huge names from across the country. For the 1st birthday party we have our first international guest, alongside the Loops of Fury who are set to tear the place apart.”

To go from strength to strength with Force featuring from locals, to interstate to international acts in such a short time is an awesome achievement. Phil and Lisa are not content to let things rest there, with “Force Majeure Radio” added to the brand during the year.

“We've started Force Majeure Radio”, which airs every Wednesday night from 9-11pm on www.nsbradio.co.uk. This has gathered us support from all corners of the globe and is pushing the name out there further. As for the future, there’s talk of a label getting going under the Force moniker as well as some other cool things which we can't comment on yet.”

With more and more in the pipeline for the Force Majeure team, their first birthday celebration is one not to be missed. What a perfect way to celebrate with their first international act and many more gifts in store!

“We are coming back bigger and better next year. With a tour, label and more stuff in the works. Keep your ears to the street!”

Catch Philly Blunt and Mono Lisa for Force Majeure at Ambar, Friday 13th November, featuring D*Funk and Loops of Fury!

Photography by James Gifford