
There are few boxes left for TV ROCK to tick. Double ARIA Award winners, the duo, comprised of GQ DJ Of The Year Grant Smillie and Ivan Gough have been dominating the charts for the best part of a decade with their club anthems that always seem to have a knack for spreading far beyond the dancefloor.
Since being listed by IDJ and Mixmag in ‘08 as the ones to watch, the boys have churned out hit after hit – starting with their debut single Flaunt It (which holds the record for the longest time in ARIA history spent inside the top 10) and followed by no less than 13 number #1 positions on the ARIA Club Chart for their originals and remixes.
In addition to TV ROCK’s impressive production pedigree, they’ve remixed a who’s who of dance music, with re-rubs under their belt for the likes of Armand Van Helden, Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Paul Van Dyk, Groove Armada, Sander Kleinenberg, Axwell and many more.
The TV ROCKers regularly play the Australian, European, Asian and American circuit with highlights including playing to millions at the closing of the MTV Music Awards, providing the pre-game beats for the Australian Open Men’s Tennis Finals and featuring as the pre-game entertainment at the AFL Grand Final – Not to mention their regular stints in Ibiza & Miami playing alongside pals like the Swedish House Mafia.
And if that wasn’t enough, they also launched the highly successful Neon Records in late 2008 which is home to the likes of Wynter Gordon, Skrillex, Dirty South, Zoe Badwi, Adrian Lux & Denzal Park to name a small few.
Their 2008 single Been A Long Time was snapped up by Axwell for his ‘Axtone’ imprint and subsequently remixed by both Laidback Luke and Axwell himself. The record was championed by industry heavyweight Pete Tong on his BBC Radio 1 ‘Essential Selection’ program and back home, it rocketed to the #1 position on the ARIA Club Chart. Around this time the lads also enjoyed massive commercial success with The Others, a collaboration with The Dukes Of Windsor, which captured the hearts of festival-goers and radio listeners alike becoming one of THE hits of the summer. In the same year TV ROCK also dropped the ARIA Club Chart #2 record Happiness on which they collaborated with fellow Melbournian Luke Chable.
’09 was another monster year for the TV ROCK lads – With their record label now in full swing, they produced 3 hit singles for Melbourne-based singer Zoe Badwi - the first of which, Release Me, spent 7 weeks at #1 on the ARIA Club Chart and was nominated for an ARIA Award for BEST DANCE SINGLE OF 2009.
In the second half of the year, they dropped the massive In The Air – a co-production with Laidback Luke and vocalist Rudy. The record again caught the attention of Axwell who added his own remix to the release leading to its domination of the Beatport and ARIA Club Charts (where it spent 10 weeks at #1). Throughout Europe, Pete Tong and Judge Jules supported the tune heavily across their Radio 1 shows and it wasn’t long before stations like Kiss and Galaxy jumped on board. The video has already clocked up over an astonishing 10 million views on YouTube so it’s no surprise that the HUGE reactions in commercial clubland lead to the record being heralded as “The First Anthem” of the year.
In 2010 the boys unleashed three gems on clubland. Elevated, which featured the vocal talents of Tara McDonald, was an instant hit once again topping the ARIA Club Chart and being signed to some of the globes most prolific dance labels. Following this was the gritty I Am Techno - which Steve Angello was quick to sign to his acclaimed Size imprint and the leftfield killer Beatboxer – which was signed to Sidney Samson’s Sneakerz label.
Jump to 2011 and TV ROCK kicked off the year with the epic Dave Spoon collaboration FIVEg followed closely by their current single Diamonds In The Sky. For Diamonds, the pairing with vocalist Rudy and fellow Australian Hook N Sling proved to be the winning formula with the record soaring to #2 on the ARIA Club Chart where it cemented itself for no less than 10 weeks.
Add to this production credits on almost every track Zoe Badwi’s debut album (released in August) and a rumoured two more singles ready to drop before the end of the year and you wouldn’t be wrong in saying this is shaping up to be their biggest year yet!
Alternative content