Aaron Kowalik chats to an old friend, beer in one hand, the other in his pocket fumbling around with a silent mobile phone. He stands in a busy Velvet Lounge, a hip pub in an inner city suburb of Perth.

He is the reason the pub is busy, yet he fits into the crowd with no flare or want of attention. The people that surround him seem unaware they stand next to a current Australian champion and a recent representative at a World Championship.

Aaron, or as many would know him as DJ Selekt, is the current Australian DJ Mixing Championship (DMC) Champion and regarded as one of the premier DJ's in Australia.

As DMC Champion he is considered one of Australia's best turntablists and is ranked in the top eight of competition turntablists in the world.

He has two hours to kill before he headlines the night but is seemingly enjoying the down time, catching up with old friends and being ignored by people that are to cool to want to recognise him. He has returned to his hometown Perth to play a one off gig before heading back to Melbourne the very next day.

As a local DJ supply's a sombre crowd with sombre music, Selekt's presence begins to grow as more people recognise his face but few approach him to talk. Instead he is left to chat to obvious friends, catching up on gossip and the telling stories of his recent travels. As eleven o'clock approaches, the crowd begins to shift to another room, the Perth boy is about to show his skills.

As he hits the stage the crowd around the stage swells and as he begins many jaws begin to drop. Selekt is a world class DJ and turntablist, the audience could be nothing but amazed as he plays a quick tricks set and then settles down into simple mixing. But nothing about Selekt's abilities are simple, he just makes them look simple and does so with no real effort.

I sat down with Selekt just minutes after finishing his two-hour set; sweat covers his now trademark Ralph Lauren shirt and he sips on a yet another beer. He gives a few instructions to a man who seems to be acting as Selekt's roadie, however, the roadie turns out to be a proud father who just wants to help. As he finally relaxes and as the crowd begins to disperse the odd fan tries to build the courage to congratulate him but soon retort as they see the Dictaphone on the table.

Selekt, although now a native of Melbourne used to call Perth home and developed his skills while building a reputation as a DJ in the pubs and clubs of Western Australia.

However his musical background dates back further and encompasses more then just spinning records. As a student at Trinity College, Selekt enjoyed nothing else but music, "I got turntables when I was 18. But all through school I was playing an instrument, I played saxophone all through school and studied jazz. I usually got straight A's in music but had no real interest in the other subjects," he reveals.

He was a member of the Trinity College Youth Jazz Band, touring throughout Europe playing and listening to jazz music. While touring he discovered another form of musical expression. He reminisces, "I always wanted to battle, that's why I got in to DJing. I used to go to clubs with friends in Perth, clubs like D.C's and just get drunk and have fun. I went to England on a youth Jazz Band Tour and I bought a DMC Battle video and when I saw that I really did want to battle. So when I first started all I wanted to do was be a battle DJ."

And battle he did, after slowing building his name as a simple club DJ, Selekt began to develop his abilities as a turntablist and began to incorporate his scratching and juggling skills into a normal routine.

He gained residency at the former home of Perth Hip-hop, The Hyde Park Hotel where he was enabled to further enhance his growing reputation.

As a young DJ, Selekt could only learn form those that had gone before him, he did not have the option of learning through a DJ teacher so he gained knowledge through watching the inventors of turntablism on videos, "Yes I had influences, that's how you learn. I like to many DJ's I couldn't name them all. But a few like Babu, Total Eclipse, and Rod Swift. Even now I'm influenced by producers, I listen to DJ Crush and DJ Time's new album. I listen to albums and sort of think I could use that in my DJ routine. I just listen to stuff and I'm influenced by everyone."

In 1999, DJ Selekt won the Western Australian DMC's and although he did not win the nationals in that year he decided to relocate to Melbourne in order to enhance his growing pedigree.

In 2000 Selekt became the Victorian ITF Champion and consequently came second in the Australian Championship.

As his reputation began to grow further and as his abilities continued to enhance he teamed up with fellow DJ J-Red and together, as the Dirty Duo, they won the 2001 Australian DMC Teams Championship and later defended that championship in 2002, they plan to defend it again in 2003.

Although he had constant success it wasn't until 2002 that Selekt gained the overall success he was striving for and as the year ended he had become an integral part of Australian Hip-Hop and DJ culture.

He took the stage at the 2002 Australian DMC finals as an overwhelming favourite and so he should have been, it was his fourth straight appearance.

After winning the Australian title, he was invited to compete in the ultimate competition for DJ's, the DMC World's. He came a respectable eighth in a field of high class but young DJ's.

As he sips further on his beer he tells me about representing Australia at the World Championships. "It's cool that you get flown around the world and get drunk on the DMC bank account. It was cool, like it's semi pressure. Where your coming from playing in front of 2000 people to travelling twenty thousand kilometres and the next day having to battle in front of 4000 people and twenty cameras in London, it's a different league. But I like it, I'm glad that I represented Australia. I like the fact that there's weight on your shoulders to do a good routine. You really can't explain what it's like being there. It's just a cool, crazy rush".

He continues," When they announce you they put a flag up, the Australian flag. When they announced France there was huge support because they all travel over the channel. Then they'll say Australia and they'll be like two Australians in the crowd that'll shout. It's like the Olympics; it's cool to be representing Australia. I'm DJ Selekt from Australia. When you're just doing normal DJing you are just the individual, but in the DMC World's you are representing your country and it's good."

Although Australian representative Selekt achievements did not receive any mainstream support and his representation went quietly unnoticed by most Australians. Not surprisingly though considering turnatablism is not considered a valid form of musical expression but rather simply two record players and other people music.

However Selekt strongly disagrees, " I don't call it turntablism, I just call it straight DJing. You're playing with the turntables like a musical instrument. We can be a guitar player; you can play a record with a guitar solo. I can be a drummer; I can buy a record with kicks, snares and high hats close to each other and lay them like a drum pattern. It's definitely a musical instrument."

Watching Selekt on stage you gain an understanding that he really is playing a musical instrument although it is not considered one in the classical sense.

He has the ability to play a well-known song but change the way it sounds completely by mixing in other sounds and playing around with the records.

In the same sense that a guitarist loves to play guitar, Selekt loves to play around with his turntables and has high hope for the future of his trade. He says, " Turntablism will and hopefully become a main stream thing. I mean it takes just as much practice to get an A grade or A masters in piano as it does to become a competent turntablist. I hope it will be one day but it's a really new thing you know, so I'm quietly patient."

As people continued to flood out of the now empty pub I was curious as to how Selekt felt about the current standard of Australian Hip-Hop. Having just played to a healthy crowd and the ever increasing popularity of hip-hop and rap in main stream culture, Selekt could be considered to be at the top of the heap in terms of Australian acts and therefore on the verge of a huge wave.

"Australian hip-hop culture is really healthy and there's probably thirty plus groups with albums that are receiving rotation on Triple J and mainstream radio. It's really healthy. You ask me about hip-hop but I'm a DJ, I like all sorts of music. I like Jazz, Nu-Jazz, instrumental Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop even when I get really drunk I play electronic music. I think electronic Hip-Hop; I call it electronic cause you have to plug the soundboard into the power point, is really bubbling in Australia at the moment. Groups like the Avalanches, doing really well over seas. It's like '88, 1988 again in Australia for hip-hop culture and everyone's just going crazy, it's good."

Selekt's overall understanding of the lifestyle that he leads is refreshingly true, he does not simply DJ but rather he lives the art of DJing.

However you get the sense that in order to be successful in something where succuss is measured by the amount of gigs you have in a week, rather then the amount of money you can make from selling merchandise, you would have to live the life rather then just being there.

As Selekt turns his attention to finding another championship winning set, the only way in which he'll defend his championship, he says," I'll decide depending on whether I've got a good enough set. I don't want to go up there with a weak set, you know what I mean, People don't realise how much practice it takes for a competition it's stupid. Last year before the Australian Championship, two or three months before hand I was practising three hours a day, the same set for three hours straight, it's a lot of time."

However you get the feeling he loves the three hours a day for three months routine.

And as he turns his talents to producing his own music rather then playing other peoples, his own idea of succuss has yet to be achieved.

As we exit the pub, finally allowing security to lock the doors, Selekt slides back into the crowd outside, no-one bats an eyelid as he chats to a group of his closest friends. He discusses what clubs he could push onto as he gets into his fathers car.

He is far from his answer to where he will be in ten years time, " On some bling, bling, Rolex style, diamond earring, mobile phones. On a yacht maybe cruising around, making beats on a yacht, turntables on a yacht. Living the DJ lifestyle, good lifestyle, eat healthy, eat your vegies kids all that sort of stuff. Just travel, I love to travel. Playing gigs around the world and getting paid for it, all on the bank account of promoters in America, Europe, Asia, can't wait for it."

However although his history thus far is brief, he is seemingly in the right place at the right time to reach his own idea of success.

This article is used under permission by Chris Wheeldon © April 2003