DJ Plead and rRoxymore have kicked off their tour of Australia and Japan, another milestone in their long-term creative partnership. On the final leg of their trip, the duo will perform back to back at Club 77 on Sunday 14 September; presenting curious sounds, experimental percussion and genre fluidity at its best. 

Neither DJ Plead nor rRoxymore are strangers to the club. DJ Plead is a long-time resident, stopping by to play his signature drum heavy selections in between jam-packed international tours. 

Together they also make music, releasing their EP Read Round City in 2024 amongst projects of their own, including rRoxymore’s most recent: Juggling Dualities, her account of ‘hope and healing,’ the space for pause in between busy, frenetic sound. If anything, duality feels like the most accurate way to describe the pair, constantly negating the boundaries of dance music, finding ways to soften and mould its edges, creating space for curiosity and an openness to the new.

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In what feels like a homecoming of sorts, we caught up with DJ Plead and rRoxymore in between shows, exchanging ideas about connection and calm. A synergy which runs deep within these two, a pull to centre which on and off the floor makes it feel as though they inhabit the same mind, with no one thought outrunning the other.

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Lilly: Working with one another since 2019, I think, shows an openness to collaboration not commonly seen in this very solo line of work. I've really enjoyed watching Jarred (DJ Plead) nurture T.Morimoto alongside this also. How has opening yourself up to a partnership enhanced your creative output / life generally?

rRoxymore: We’ve both had many studio collaborations in the past, but this one feels unique because we are also touring together quite a lot. This touring has fed back into our studio work and vice versa.

DJ Plead: Working in collaboration has helped me work with a more free mind-set. As opposed to stopping and constantly analysing what I’m doing, I find myself allowing this to happen naturally. I feel that in collaborations, the work flows more linearly.

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Lilly: Read Round City began in Hermonie's old home, Berlin - finishing up at Jarred's parents' place in Sydney. It's an expansive project working across so many influences and homes away from home. What role has place played in the production + storytelling elements of this record?

DJ Plead: Our work together very much relies on our internal world as opposed to the geographical location that we happen to be in.

rRoxymore (continues): We never really thought about having a ‘home’ as such. For us, the music itself could be considered our home.

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Lilly: You have a real synergy on stage; you look relaxed and in perfect harmony with one another. Most important of all, you look like you're having fun. Has this always been the case? Or has this cohesion come with time?

DJ Plead: First of all, I think we’re both externally pretty calm people and that translates to our stage presences, which happen to be pretty similar.

rRoxymore: Through the years of collaboration we’ve developed a lovely friendship that allows us to be comfortable around each other. We’re happy to hear this translates to our on-stage presence.

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