This young veteran knows that DJing isn't just about playing the right records at the right time. It's about connecting the emotion and passion of the track and conveying it to the dance floor. It's a theory Bartas lives by and is obvious he is 'connected to the people' as he continues his rapid rise up Melbourne's DJing ranks to become one of the city's most in-demand house jocks.
Bartas' love of music started at an early age. His father was a keen musician and had his son immersed in everything from The Eagles, to AC/DC, Van Halen and Guns 'n' Roses as a youngster. Adam's tastes would eventually turn from rock to dance, with the likes of The Chemical Brothers and filtered French house heroes Daft Punk dominating his stereo.
Adam got his first taste of the vinyl-stroking world in 2002 as a 19-year-old, from the encouragement of good friend and fellow DJ Dean Paps, who had a gig one night at Mark's Place in Carlton. Paps insistence that Adam should come along and play some tunes with him was the entire budding dance enthusiast needed to become hooked on the craft. Adam would quickly develop a taste for performing, with his obvious talent and drive leading to DJing opportunities popping up all across town.
After playing a set one night at Two Floors Up, he was approached by management to take over the position of booking DJs for the club. Since then, not only has Two Floors Up developed a reputation in the Melbourne clubbing scene as a venue of choice, but it is increasingly becoming known for the music that is played there (referred to as 'TFU Music'). Since then not surprisingly, gigs have continued to flow in.
Today, with 5 years professional DJing experience under his belt, Bartas has refined his sound, drawing on a love of old skool sonics to throw in cheeky crowd-pleasing acapellas over the best in chunky house and electro. Flick through his record box and you'll find the likes of Lines Loves, Switch and Eyerer & Chopstick at the front of the pack.
Bartas' DJing schedule is just as packed as his record box, with his rapidly growing fan base counting down the days till the weekend in anticipation of his sets at TFU (Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning recovery), Boutique, The Saint, The Cushion Lounge, Alumbra, Playskool, 161, Room, Motel and Revolver. Dance giants Future Entertainment have also called on Bartas' talents to join the main room line-up of their new club night Famous, set for imminent launch at QBH. You can also find Adam playing guest spots at Revolver, as well as heading up the Dirty Dozen parties, No Vacancy, No Organisation, Rendezvous, One Night Stand and Overboard. Bartas also regularly jumps behind the wheels of steal with fellow local whiz Miles Junior, with many scribes labelling the dynamic duo to be one of the best DJ teams in Melbourne.
His impressive skills have also seen him accompany ARIA Award winner Seany B on both interstate and overseas shows. This alliance has seen Bartas support & work alongside Seany B at the nations premiere hot spots including Sounds on Sunday, Dragonfly (Sydney), G.P.O (Brisbane),Platinum (Gold Coast), Berlin Lounge (Gold Coast), YU (Sydney), The Bedroom (Gold Coast) and New Zealand's massive 6000 person festival 'Our House'. Back home, Bartas can be found at famous playing alongside mark knight, Spencer parker, roger Sanchez, tocadisco, princess superstar, sharem jey and Coburn. Adam has also joined electro heavyweights Tiefschwarz and house dons Sandy Rivera and DJ Sneak on the main stage of 'We Love Sounds' at the Metro earlier this year. Support slots alongside the likes of Soul Central, Knee Deep, M.A.N.D.Y, Martin Solveig, Paul Farris and Jamie Lewis have also further proven his reputation as a big-match performer. Summer 06-007 saw Bartas play Godskitchen festival supporting acts as Sasha, John Digweed and Princess Superstar, SUMMERDAYZE '06, 07', KISS MY GRASS '07' FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL '07' PARKLIFE '07'' supporting acts as Bob Sinclair, Switch and Tom Neville.
Away from the decks, Bartas is currently honing his production skills with Dean Paps (Orkestrated), with their remixes and funk-ridden re-edits getting bodies grinding all around town. His production of 'fergalicious' is proving to be a slammin dance floor favourite for the crowds!
Adam polled at number 7 nationally in this year’s In The Mix Top 50 Awards.
