Baron Von Trax is part of the Australian new wave, but what makes him unique is the joy and emotion he brings to harder dance sounds. His tracks are always luminous and uplifting, rich in melody and packed with inescapable emotion that swells the heart while his drums get the pulse rising. 

In this interview, the Melbourne man admits he wants his music to be accessible and credits his classical piano background as one of the key tools in his production arsenal. He also speaks on what first turned him onto eurodance and where his sound is going next while serving up a gloriously bright, sunny mix that transitions smoothly through every facet of his sound. 

Where are you sat right now, what has your day involved so far and what's next on the agenda?

I’m back in Zurich after a splendid day hiking in the alps with my friend. Later, I’m taking the night train to Amsterdam for my gig at Bondgenoten Festival tomorrow, which I’m very excited about

You have a background in classical piano. Do you draw on that when making your own tunes? Is it useful or do you prefer to break the formal rules you've learned?

My background in classical piano and music theory is probably the most useful asset I have in my productions, being able to create chords and progressions and decide how they fit into my trax is super important to me to make sure that I can get the right emotions flowing

Your sound blends UK, US and Australian styles - when and how did you first start connecting with the global scenes? Was it radio or an older sibling or a scene you were part of before you started DJing and making music?

I used to run a park rave collective in Melbourne called Agadah back in 2022-2023 and It was around that time that I started to hear the DJ Heartstring ‘Seductive Edits’ as well as Narciss’s tracks on the RAW VA’s and I think those are what really inspired me to try my own hand at making music properly. I loved that eurodanceysound of raw emotion mixed with the faster bpm’s

There is a lightness of mood to your music - it's hard but not as dark as many peers. Is that a reflection of you as a person? Are you a cheery character?

Accessibility has always been a core part of the ‘Baron Von Trax’ project, I never wanted my productions and mixes to stray too far into the dark territory. I love adding feelings to all my productions and I find that a bit too hard with more techno and groove genres

Tell us about your mix, the aim you had with it, and what you wanted it to say.

The mix starts very housey and builds in bpm. Featuring a lot of new tracks from myself and some good friends of mine, I wanted this to be a clubby set with some more bangers towards the end of it for those wanting a boogie or if using during workouts 

What gear did you use, is that important to you in any way, whether in the booth or studio?

This mix was recorded on standard CDJ setup but sometimes I make mixes entirely in Ableton if I’m on the move

What are you working on for the rest of the year?

I’ve got a release called Believe In Me which I’m so excited to share soon! And then after that I’m working on some more hard disco-coded tracks which I always love to sample so stay tuned!