Into the Aether: Meet Chris Gill
It’s an overcast Tuesday afternoon in Fitzroy, yet the frequency on Gertrude St is buzzing as always: trams dinging as they pass, cafes and conversations spilling onto the footpaths, loud, colourful & meticulously-coordinated outfits, all casting votes in favour of Melbourne’s coolest street.
Near the intersection of Smith & Gertrude, a rainbow brick road guides us to the azure city where the Wizard of Funk awaits. It’s Northside Records, painted top to tail in bright blue. A jazzy flute solo spills from the doorway and we’re absorbed into the aether.
Floating above our heads upon entry is a Sherrin-shaped disco ball, sparkling onto walls papered with posters from twenty-odd years of in-store gigs. Crates of vinyl sit in the centre of the shop, a library of soul, funk, reggae, hip hop, ‘freaky thingz’ – you name it, Chris has it (if it’s worth having, that is).
Owner & founder Chris Gill is behind the counter chatting to customers, with his halo of hair, bright red tracksuit, community radio t-shirt and giant smile - a visual testament to his fun & funky nature. On foot, Chris is wearing Kumo Aether, a shoe inspired by the energy of sound itself. We sat down with Chris to talk all things music, community and 24 years of funky soul on Gertrude St.
Rollie: Our collection is inspired by vibes and energy. The Kumo Aether specifically is inspired by the energy of sound, the vibes you feel when you hear an amazing song for the first time, the energy you feel when the sound reverberates from the speakers, the energy you feel when the bass hits. Music is your life — what does the energy of sound mean to you?
“Sound vibrations are very important. They influence a lot of people in a lot of different ways: inspirational, sombre, morose, joyous. What will save humanity in this looming age of AI madness is that the live performance of music will be undeniably human forever. It's the little, tiny vibrations of air that we're all about. If it takes that to bring people together, then so be it, because it's worked in the past. It'll work in the future. Definitely.”
Rollie: We wanted to work with you because of the funky energy you emit — the people on Gertrude St, our store staff, your Instagram, our team, all pick up on your incredible energy. How would you describe yourself, who you are and why you do what you do?
“It's a tricky one. I'm really lucky and really privileged to be in this position — it's really hard to find paid work in the music industry, especially when you're talentless, just a dancer, really. But we all do have a role to play, and my role is to highlight and share stories about the music with people. I've got community radio too — I'm part of 3RRR, done a show on air every week for the last 17 years or something — another platform to share music with people. There's a lot of people who'd love to share music, but it's only certain people who get to have their thoughts shared. Very lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Twenty-four years now.”
Rollie: Music is such a powerful tool in transporting listeners to other dimensions — can you share a bit about when your love for music first hit? When did you know this was what you wanted to do?
“Billie Holiday, when I was about 12. I had this great English teacher, Dot Connors, who was kind of supportive of that outside the English interest — she'd let me use the lyrics I liked, talk about them. You're just so hungry on the journey for music as a kid. Going to see your first couple of live shows is always wonderful too — I went to the Painters and Dockers when I was little, the underage venues. I see Pauly Stewart now, he works just down the road — to have those connections, to see the work he does, it's quite interesting, really.”
Rollie: Northside Records is an institution on Gertrude — a place where all of your passions come together (radio hosting, dancing, music). What does it mean to you, to be able to do what you love every day?
“Yeah, I don't know — it's great. I think it's one of those things: just by being around for a while, having longevity in an industry is rare. When I started, it was like, well, what job am I going to do? I'm a DJ — what else can I do? So the shop, the radio show, the dancing, it's all kind of folded into the one thing. Once again — privileged to be involved.”
Rollie: How do you discover music — where do you go, who are some of your local faves, and what makes someone stand out as an incredible act?
“The best thing that stands out to me about an artist is the place they're coming from to make the music. The best artists are the ones driven by love of music, driven by a love of creating, intent on the craft — constantly trying to lift the bar. The Bamboos laid such a foundation in this town of excellent musicianship that all our young, funky players now are actually great at what they do — it's because of what went before. It does take more than just listening to the music, though. It's researching the artist, talking to them, talking to their friends, seeing them in their situation playing. You realise it in the way they present themselves, the words they use talking about their own music.”
Rollie: The store is beautifully curated — from the disco ball to the records, posters and bright blue walls. Everything feels super intentional. What does intention mean to you?
“It can be black dots, black notes on a page, but you want to see behind the notes — that they're singing with emotion, that they're singing with heart, that they're connecting to it. It's very related to the intention of the artist, and that intention is always hand in hand with the work itself. At the same time, your intention can be totally undone by the delivery — by who takes it, how people interpret it. Once you release something into the world, it's not actually yours anymore. It's everybody's, and everybody puts their own flip on it.”
Rollie: Fitzroy has changed enormously since you started here in 2002. What has Northside Records meant to the community, and what has the community meant to you? What energy do you feel like you create for the people around you?
“It's everything. When I had the video store before this, I knew where everyone lived, what their favourite movies were — I had a lot of secrets. But they trusted me, they knew I wasn't going to talk shit about them. It's a small suburb and a lot of music happens here — it's the epicentre of culture for Melbourne, very much so. That's why we like to have multi-aged crowds at events — it's less about being cliquey and more about just being into the music and how it makes you feel. When it's an honest form of music, it's appreciated by all.”
Rollie: What's your favourite way to experience music — at a live event, at home, or in the store?
“It's tough. Live in the store is up there — we've had Horatio Luna, Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron's keyboard player, playing in here. But if you've got a record you've been searching all your life for, the moment you're listening to it is celestial — you shut everything else out, it becomes the focus of everything. Music is so good at slowing time down, stopping it even. Live and recorded are totally different though — it's an eternal struggle.”
Rollie: Our campaign is called About The Energy. We've spoken about your energy, but whose energy inspires you?
“I see Pauly Stewart now, he works just down the road — he does so much work with youth and underprivileged people and no one ever sees that stuff. It's lovely to be able to party with people when it's time and then get to know them, see what motivates them. And then there's the new ones coming through — we've got a young flutist, Cassandra, she's 24, plays in a bunch of bands, doing her own stuff soon. It's lovely being on the path with an artist right at the start.”
Rollie: You're always reporting on the local funk — what's the funk report today?
“The funk report today's been funny — we've had a few Rockdogs in here off the back of their win on the weekend, still waving their beanies in my face (Chris plays for the Megahertz against the Rockdogs each year at the Reclink Community Cup). That's fine, makes it all the sweeter when we lift the cup next year. Otherwise, Cassandra's bringing it in. That's today's report.”