Image via Georgia Jane Griffiths / Lost Paradise //
The multi-talented DJ has been making waves as of late, most notably playing Lost Paradise and opening for Peggy Gou…
Picture this: You’ve just gotten back from playing at Lost Paradise, and you’re about to open up for Peggy Gou at a sold out Ivy Sydney. It’s a dream for any young DJ, but for Wollongong DJ and photographer POG (real name Eden Pogonovski), it’s how he started his 2023. It came hot on the heels of a busy 2022 that saw the young talent make waves (no pun intended) for his high-energy sets throughout Sydney and ethereal ocean photos. To top things off, he’s also been throwing parties as a member of Cove Sound System, with the Wollongong collective being responsible for some of the biggest dance events in the South Coast of late.
Consequently, POG’s rise in the Sydney scene has been meteoric, with the young talent becoming a regular fixture at events around the city. He’s a man of the moment to say the least, and we figured we’d catch up with him amongst his hectic schedule to get the deets on his many hustles. Check it below, along with a recently recorded mix from the man himself for good measure.
Tell us about yourself and your skills?
I’m from Wollongong and I started DJing in around 2018. I’ve lived around the Wollongong area for my whole life apart from a two-year stint in London with my family when I was 15 to 17. While I was there I developed my photography skills. I wasn’t 18, so I didn’t get to go out and check out all the clubs and everything they’ve got going on over there, but a lot of my friends over there were into the electronic music scene.
When I got home, I got into DJing and bought some decks that I shared with my mate, Braden. From there, we started doing house parties and then I gradually got into the Wollongong clubs. Then it just snowballed from there.
How did you get into shooting in the ocean?.
I’ve been shooting in the water since 2014. I grew up on the coast, so there are always plenty of good surfers around. All of my mates surf as well.
I was about 14 when I first started. I started with a GoPro as most people do. And then evolved to a DSLR. But then found out that the DSLR I had wasn’t compatible with any water housings, so I ended up buying a secondhand camera and housing from one of the local photographers here.
At the moment, I’ve been getting a few gigs with DJing, which is great, so it’s photography that’s been slowing down. I’d say soon, it’ll switch around. Summer’s not really the best time for waves. But it’s when everyone is partying, which is good.
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Those two creative avenues are quite different…
They’re definitely really different. One is waking up early to go and shoot, and the other is staying out late to party. It’s hard to balance the both of them, which is why I see myself focusing on one more than the other normally. It’s just hard to do both of them at the same time with 100% effort.
You come up to Sydney quite a lot for shows. What’s it like going back and forth between the Gong and the city so regularly?
It can be rough, especially when events finish early in the morning. Unfortunately, the last train home is at around midnight, so either you leave early or you wait for the 5am train home. Or you can Uber home, which is normally the way to go. It works out alright if you’re splitting between other people. But yeah, it can be rough [laughs].
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What’s the Wollongong dance scene like at the moment? How has it changed throughout the years?
It’s definitely growing. I started going out in 2019 to some of the local clubs around home. And to see the progression from then to where it is now is pretty cool. There’s a decent club in Wollongong called HeyDay and it’s consistently getting great artists. We play there a bit… You’ve also got the Parkside crew who’ve been doing events in Wollongong for ages now. They’re one of the go-to parties down here in the Gong.
Do you have a favourite set or gig you’ve ever played?
Peggy Gou at Ivy was pretty special. I’d just come home from playing at Lost Paradise. And then to get a message that you’re going to be supporting Peggy Gou is pretty amazing. I knew it was going to be pretty packed, but when I got up there, I was super nervous, I didn’t really know what to play. It was a tricky gig to plan for, just because when I’ve seen her in the past, it’s been more housey. But all the stuff that I’ve been seeing her play on her stories lately is a lot more on the heavier side.
So I was trying to figure out what to play before, I didn’t want to go too hard, but at the same time, people were there to party. The DJ before me, Madami (real name Micah Jey), set it up really well and I had a few songs that, if people weren’t dancing, that I knew I could play that would get them going. But the whole gig was a pretty serial experience.
I also played Lost Paradise which was cool. I was meant to play the year it got cancelled due to the fires. I had won their DJ comp and was gutted when it didn’t go ahead. This year was pretty special. Playing my first festival into supporting Peggy a week after, can’t complain at all.
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You’ve also been throwing parties as part of Cove Sound System. How did that come together?
There are five of us in it. We started off throwing little parties around the area. from there, it just started. We had a monthly party in one of the other clubs in Wollongong and we got a pretty big hand from one of the local promoters who wanted us to run our own club night. And when we got a taste and figured out how to do it, we started throwing our own bigger parties. We have sort of been caught up with our own things and covid didn’t help so we haven’t really done one in a while, but our third birthday is coming up soon.We’re in planning at the moment for something like that.
What’s the ultimate goal that you try to achieve with a Cove party?
We have a really good crew around home that we can always count on to come to the parties. They bring a really good vibe and energy. We also try to get artists that we would want to go and see. We’ve had Adi Toohey. Gratts, Evie, Doc Jay and we’ve hosted Merph, Kornèl Kovacs and Saoirse as part of a monthly club party in Wollongong. Yeah, we’re really trying to give Wollongong a taste of good electronic music.
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Do you have any dream artists you’d want to open for or go back to back with?
Dream B2B would be with one of my favourite artists, Roza Terenzi. I’ve seen her a couple times. She’s definitely one of my faves. And HAAi’s set at Lost Paradise was crazy. She’d be amazing to go B2B with.
There are a bunch of other DJs that have been killing it at the moment like Sam Alfred, Lex, CRUSH3d, Tangela, something like that’d be pretty fun.
And on the flip side of that, are there any dream photographers that you’d like to shoot with?
There are a lot of good photographers around the area. With my job, I’m pretty lucky in that I get to meet a lot of them and service their gear. One of my favourites is Corey Wilson, who’s based in the States. To shoot alongside him would be pretty crazy. But yeah, apart from that, yeah, I have a lot of good mates around my area that constantly inspiring me with their work. So yeah, it’s pretty good to have them on the other end of a phone call and talk about what they’ve been doing and stuff like that.
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Lastly, and what else is on your radar for 2023?
I’ve been really lucky with the Finely Tuned crew and how they keep booking me for their events,But I’d love to branch out and also play some different parties as well. So yeah, that’s a goal for sure. Then I need to get back into the photography side as well, which is a bit slow at the moment. And with Cove, we’re just going to try and keep throwing great parties. But yeah, definitely looking to ramp that up and go on more surf trips overseas, and just experience new places.
Be sure to keep up POG on Instagram to stay up to date on all of his latest DJ gigs. You can also see some more of his surf photography here.
