Alice Austin
Music Journalist | Photographer
Alice Austin is a freelance writer from London and the first of many more music journalists to feature on Quarantune. The Berlin-based creator has written for a plethora of publications including Mixmag, Beatportal, Huck, Dummy and Electronic Beats to name a few. Amongst the vast amount of material she has produced, some highlights include an assignment to cover NEOPOP in Portugal, going on tour with Charlotte de Witte to write the cover for October’s issue of Mixmag last year, interviewing Jeff Mills during lockdown and ‘basically any time an editor tells me I’m doing a good job.’
Alice specialises in Scene Reports which allow her to travel to different countries or regions and write features about the specific scene of selected destination she visits. Hanoi, Marseille, Bali and Brussels have appeared on her agenda and no matter where Alice finds herself, she aims to ‘always try and tell a story with my features, keep them free from judgement, and explore politics through the lens of music’.
Scene Reports cover a wide range of cultures which lie on the periphery of mainstream dance music media. Anything from racism in Germany through the eyes of the country’s hip hop community to an insight into Australia’s First Nations peoples in the form of an up-and-coming rap star has been reported via to Alice. One of her most significant assignments also includes a reflection on the Balkans war from the Serbian club community and the team behind EXIT festival, all in all making Alice’s repertoire an unpredictable and essential source of reading.
Outside of her delegated written work, Alice runs the ‘No Filter’ zine. As the name suggests, it’s a collection of ‘Anti-BS Non-Fiction’ essays from writers all over the world. The zine touches on themes of sobriety in club culture, being part of a cult in Northern Europe, living alongside eccentric Berliners and the best food in Cambodia but that’s just the beginning of the rabbit hole. Musings are submitted here - just follow the guidelines.
From reading Alice’s articles, it’s clear that she pours time and energy into each of her commissions. But when one loves their job, it’s easy to go full-pelt into the task at hand, and for Alice, her work brings so much joy that she feels she ‘could burst’ at times. Travelling, meeting new people, listening to good music, understanding new cultures and then writing about the experience is unsurprisingly a dream come true for Alice. With flexibility and freedom from the constraints of an office, it sounds ideal for anyone who likes to explore every corner of music and work in a non-conventional environment.
There have been multiple milestones and surreal moments along the way for Alice but a weekend in Belfast tips through the surfaces of her memories, and she describes it all in more detail below…
Photo: Alice Austin
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
In September 2019 I went to Belfast for ten days to write about their club scene for Mixmag. I’d just watched Derry Girls and read a book about the Troubles called Say Nothing and felt an overwhelming urge to learn more about Northern Ireland. That’s the good thing about this job. If I’m curious, I can go find out about it.
I already had a contact in the Belfast club scene. His name’s Andy Moore and we met on my first ever assignment in Portugal. He runs a night called Plain Sailing and he put me in touch with a bunch of people who would help me form the feature.
I’ve never been so warmly welcomed anywhere in my whole life. Andy introduced me to everyone. I was instantly part of the Belfast crew. I met some of their parents and walked their dogs and watched the football and went to pubs and club nights. Every single interview was fantastic. The word count on my article was limited but I could’ve written pages about that trip.
This photo is of Ryan Macfarlane AKA Bic AKA Optmst (left) and Ross Machala AKA Spireview (right). I took this picture while hanging out in Bic’s studio in Vault Artist Studios, a renovated college building in East Belfast that’s home to over 100 multidisciplinary artists. The building sits in a marked protestant neighbourhood. Union Jacks are draped like bunting throughout the streets, and that yellow crane you see in the background belongs to the ship yards of the Titanic Quarter which is currently under mass development.
Bic does a lot of stuff. He DJs, he runs his label Born Sleepy, he produces, he manages artists and he heads up a community radio platform called Ayeland.
Ross produces beautiful ambient garage tracks and is one of the most promising and talented producers I’ve ever come across.
This photo really sums up my experiences in Belfast. The DIY energy, development, growth, warmth, community, friendship. From an outside perspective the city is still full of tension. Union Jacks still mark the protestant neighbourhoods, and street names in the Catholic neighbourhoods are written in Irish. Hundreds of Peace Walls run throughout the city to keep the neighbourhoods apart and they lock shut at 7pm to limit violence during the night. Many people live their whole lives never crossing into the other’s territory, even if they live just streets away.
Instead of taking on the inherited trauma of the Troubles, the dance music community in Belfast have committed their lives to creating this exciting, energetic, inclusive, world-class scene that transcends politics. Not only is their scene one of the most vibrant and exciting on the planet, but they’re also inherently modest. I’m not sure Bic and Ross are aware of how talented they are and how awesome their work is and how much it boosts and inspires the people in their community. But I definitely see it, and I’d like the rest of the world to see it too.
You can read the feature I wrote about Belfast here.
How have you been over the last couple of months?
Very up and down, but I’m feeling positive. Lockdown gave me the time and space to step back and re-evaluate the direction I want my career to go and how I want my life to look. In that time I decided to quit alcohol which feels like a positive decision. I’ve been reading and educating myself on important topics and feel grateful for the amazing times I’ve had and have no doubt more will follow.
What has the adjustment to life back in Berlin been like for you after spending time in Australia recently?
I spent lockdown in Australia, but I am from the UK. I was travelling South East Asia when the pandemic hit so I hopped on a plane to Sydney and spent lockdown with my brother and his housemates in their place by the beach. I know, I’m the jammiest person in the world.
I’ve been back in Berlin for two weeks now. It’s definitely more quiet than usual. Clubs and parties have been eliminated from our lives for the time being, but everyone’s just chilling in parks and outside cafes instead. I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and stand-up paddle boarding on the lakes. It’s all pretty wholesome, tbh. But I’m still new to sobriety, so the less temptation the better!
Has your motivation to write been affected since the pandemic began?
Just before lockdown I had a dream assignment planned with Red Bull. I was going to fly to Jakarta and shadow an all-female thrash metal band, but it got cancelled the day before. I was gutted. I felt like that was such a huge opportunity and I’d worked really hard to get it. Then Mixmag went on hiatus which was stressful because a lot of my work comes from them. As a reaction I pitched like crazy to several different magazines and ended up getting some good assignments. I think my reaction to stress is to work really really hard - so I actually did more work during lockdown than I would usually. But now that’s kind of calmed down, I’m chilling out a bit and coming to terms with the fact I have my whole life to do this job and no one is going to care if I don’t write for Mixmag for a while. I don’t need to drive myself crazy.
Over on your ‘No Filter’ platform, there is a variety of personal accounts and essays by writers from all walks of life. Has there been one particular submission that has resonated with you lately?
No Filter is my creative outlet, I can write about whatever I like on there. There was a big influx of submissions during lockdown as people had time on their hands which was amazing. I guess the piece that has resonated a lot with other people lately has been my series about sobriety in electronic music. I interviewed my friend and DJ/Producer Hrdvsion about his straight-edge journey. He is very open, honest and articulate, and his words seemed to impact a lot of people. Ben UFO was even discussing the article on Twitter which felt pretty big. I think the electronic music community are thirsty for authenticity. A lot of music writing is very PR- led. Often the artist PRs read and edit the articles before they are published. It’s not a criticism - there is so little money in journalism the editors need to do what they can to keep the machine whirring. But No Filter is totally off that grid, so we have the freedom to write whatever we want. I think people really appreciate that.
Regarding your relationship with music, have you fallen out of love with certain genres or rekindled a connection to older sounds and artists?
This is such a good question. My relationship with music hasn’t changed. I know some artists were only able to listen to ambient for the entirety of lockdown. I’m still bouncing off the walls listening to garage and electro. What has changed is how I view the club world and that is a direct result of the BLM movement. It’s made me re-evaluate my position as a music journalist and the stories I tell through that medium. There’s no denying that in many ways electronic music media has failed its BIPOC roots, and that’s led me to think very hard about the direction I want to go with my writing and how I can support and amplify the individuals and scenes who have been wrongly overlooked in the past.
I'm in the process of offsetting my bullshit emissions, so to speak, by offering mentorship to young BIPOC kids interested in music journalism. Nothing is confirmed yet but the wheels are in motion and here I am publicly holding myself accountable.
What has been a constant source of comfort for you throughout this time?
A few things kept me sane during lockdown in Sydney. I did about an hour of creative writing most days which was a big achievement. I started cycling (I could only manage 2 bike rides a week because Sydney is hilly as fuck). And I got really into photography. I did a 30 day photo challenge which gave me a reason to leave the house every day. I’d bike or walk around the eastern suburbs taking tons of snaps. I love it so much I plan to incorporate photography into my professional portfolio (although I need to get a lot better first)!
But the best thing to come from lockdown was getting to spend time with my big brother. He’s two years older than me, he’s lived in Sydney for two years and we never would have had this time if it wasn’t for Covid. I swear he must be the most irritating brother on planet earth. He gets me in headlocks and gives me noogies and is so messy it borders on creative. Every morning without fail he’d drop a bit of honey on the floor, so I’d start most of my days walking through his fucking honey globs. He was so obnoxious during a game of Monopoly that I physically ran away so he chased me round the house, marched me back to the table and made me sell all my property so he could “win properly.” It was infuriating. But then there were times when I’d laugh so much soup would come out my nose, so it balanced itself out. I’ll always be grateful for that time together.
Alice’s latest article on Beatportal featuring Giorgia Angiuli is available to read here. Follow her below: