‘This is what we’re meant to be doing’
‘I could really tell Kiwis hadn’t been out in a while,’ the DJ who headlined six summer music festivals despite MIQ and traffic light troubles tells Mikaela Wilkes.
DJ Wilkinson considers himself ‘‘very privileged’’ to have performed in New Zealand this summer.
The English drum and bass (DnB) DJ was on his 10th visit to New Zealand, headlining seven music festivals over the New Year’s Eve holiday period – all of which he did, bar Gisborne’s Rhythm and Vines, which was postponed until this Easter.
When Hidden Valley Festival shared an international lineup announcement, including Mark Wilkinson, to social media, some Kiwis took offence. Hotly contested MIQ spots for November and December last year had been taken in 67 minutes, as more than 26,000 New Zealanders abroad fought for just 3000 spots to return home.
‘‘Interesting that you guys can get six acts, plus all their support staff into the country, but thousands of New Zealanders still can’t get home? Priorities eh?!’’ one person wrote.
But Wilkinson says despite enduring Covid-19 obstacles, people still need music. ‘‘I didn’t even know whether I was going to go. We’re allowed visas because we’re helping the economy, but we still had to lobby the same way everyone else does for MIQ,’’ he said.
Across the three Golden Run festivals (Waihi, Blenheim, and Auckland) as well as Rhythm and Alps, Hidden Valley in Matakana and its sister festival Hidden Lakes in Christchurch, the 32-year-old played to about 50,000 Kiwis.
This is in addition to the May 2021 stadium tour he had just a few months earlier, which sold out faster than any other electronic act in New Zealand history.
Ido feel very privileged, and hopefully these circumstances will change soon.’ MARK WILKINSON
‘‘Doing the shows over the summer, I could really tell that people hadn’t been out in a while,’’ he said.
Hidden Valley director Reuben Rivers-Smith told Stuff in December that organisers of all the competing summer music festivals collaborated to secure MIQ spots, and to share the resulting lineup.
‘‘Ideally, none of it would be going on,’’ Wilkinson said. ‘‘You do feel bad when you hear people haven’t seen their family for so long. I do feel very privileged, and hopefully these circumstances will change soon.’’
Under the government’s border reopening plan, people with visas, musicians and sports stars will be able to skip MIQ from April 12.
The familiar sight of packed Kiwi crowds was balm to both returning performers and attendees, he said.
‘‘Seeing [the crowds] all together having an amazing time is what made us go, ‘this is what we’re meant to be doing’. We live in a stressful society. That’s where music comes in.’’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s easing of domestic restrictions means ‘‘there’s a sense over here that things are getting back to normal’’, Wilkinson said.
But, the New Zealand events sector remains on a knife’s edge. ‘‘I really hope they can weather another year, because if they don’t, what are the young people going to be doing for fun? How is everyone going to let off their steam?’’
A cohort of British DnB artists migrate south annually for the Kiwi summer, growing their symbiotic relationship with Kiwi fans and local artists that sees ‘‘some of the world’s best shows,’’ from the genre played here. ‘‘Aside from the UK, New Zealand is actually the biggest market for DnB in the world,’’ Wilkinson said.
The southwest of England has surfer-y towns, home to the kind of laid-back people who are into their drum and bass, Wilkinson said.
He draws a comparison to Queenstown, where often he visits mates to go mountainbiking.
‘‘You’ve got a huge surf scene too, and all the surfers are into DnB. You’re a very active bunch, do you know what I mean? That lends itself to the faster BPM (beats per minute) in more energetic dance music.’’
He goes so far as to say New Zealanders are bigger fans of
‘‘the b ...... child of dance music’’ than the English because: ‘‘The UK population is so much bigger, so in terms of the ratio, New Zealand’s got it in the bag.’’
Over the past decade, Wilkinson has taken a campervan throughout the country, and mentions a ‘‘mad’’ 13-hour drive from Milford Sound to Akaroa in one day.
‘‘I just love it. I’ve travelled a lot around the world, but you drive around New Zealand, and it’s like a movie.’’
His song Afterglow, which features Brit Award winner Becky Hill, is still a Kiwi music festival crowd-pleaser almost a decade after its 2013 release.
Does he ever get sick of playing it?
‘‘It’s a weird one, because when you make a song you’re very attached to it. You have this control over it. Once it’s released, it’s like your child that leaves homes and goes and does its own thing.
‘‘I feel attached to it, and when I play it, I feel the same energy that the crowd feels.
‘‘It’s about seeing the joy on peoples’ faces and sharing that moment.
‘‘So no, I don’t get sick of it.’’