Attendees of last year’s Golden Plains music festival may remember dancing their legs to useless nubbins to the strains of a DJ team known as “Opulent”. What you heard was the Opulent-endorsed twosome the Apollo Kids (Edo and Steezy), and as you can see, the crowd seemed to like them.

If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire: the O-Team. We managed to track down bearded operative Evet ‘Hannibal’ Lean for a briefing session about his crack commando unit.

Well, first things first: what is Opulent?

Opulent is a tours/events agency. We started life as a magazine but we moved to parties when we discovered we could drink for free if we were DJs.

Aha, that explains the URL of your website. Okay, tell us about the club nights you run in Melbourne.

We’ve run a monthly night, Favela Rock, for over four years. It grew out of the launch parties we had for the magazine, but really it was a way to hear the music we wanted to hear in clubs. People seemed to like it, so here we are four years later.

How would you describe the kinds of music you play? People say “B’more” in relation to you a fair bit – what the hell is that?

B’more – or Baltimore Club – is a style of dance music originating out of Baltimore in the US. It’s a stripped-back style that often uses repeated, chopped vocal loops and distinctive drum breaks, and borrows elements of early rave, Miami bass and hip-house. Head to YouTube and look up the names Rod Lee or DJ Technics to start off.

We play all kinds of music with a strong focus on regionally specific sounds – crunk from the southern states of the US, baile funk from Brazil, a bit of kuduro from Angola and grime and funky house from the UK. We then mix that in with party classics from all genres.

Amazing! Now to the personnel – how many people will be representing Opulent at Golden Plains? Who are they and what’s their DJing speciality?

Steezy and Edo in action at Golden Plains 2009.

There are four of us this year. It might seem excessive but trust us, we bring the party! We’ve got Steezy who’ll be kicking it off with more up-tempo club jams; I’ll be bringing in a bit of dancehall and UK funky house; Billionz is gonna slow it down with some classic party hip-hop; Edo is taking care of visuals, and he might just jump on at the end to play a few tracks to make you throw your hands in the air and/or hug your friends/randoms.

You’ve got a prime timeslot – clearly Aunty Meredith trusts you to get the party started. What makes you sure you’ll come through with the goods?

Probably because it’s we keep it focused on the dance floor. We try and play stuff that gets people dancing, not what we think might make us look cool. If you’re a DJ and people aren’t dancing, you’re more than likely doing it wrong. That doesn’t mean it has to be wall-to-wall classics that people have heard a million times; just make sure your fresh-off-the-blogs remix isn’t clearing the dance floor.

What are three surefire party-starter records?

Almost anything by Biggie. ‘Mr Postman (DJ Technics Remix)’ – a classic B’more club jam. And Yeah Yeah Yeahs, ‘Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)’.

Opulent DJs are just as famous for their mic-work as for their deck-work. Who does the best shoutouts?

We’re like the X-Men: we all have our own superpowers. Steezy is best at the let’s-get-wild-put-your-lighter-up-I-put-too-much-vodka-in-my-drink shoutouts, while Billionz’s shoutouts start the night off with that silky smooth vocal styling – was that Barry White or Billionz McMillions? So those two are a tie.

Who’s the funniest?

I’m not sure, but I do have a big red beard that has been known to make people laugh.

What’s the best thing an Opulent DJ has ever told the crowd?

The best thing heard during an Opulent set would’ve been the sound of Edo popping a champagne bottle as he drenched a hyped crowd at the Prince Bandroom with said champagne, much to the crowd’s delight.

Any other onstage antics you’re planning to entertain punters?

We’re quite a visual extravaganza, from glow-in-the-dark clothes to visuals of Pacman getting high, dancing hot dogs and toddler gangsters. It will be a plethora for the eye and ear.

Excellent, we love it when a plan comes together! Who else are you looking forward to seeing at Golden Plains this year?

On the DJ side of things, we’ve always really respected Optimo DJs, they’ve been trailblazers in the DJ world for years. And Gaslamp Killer’s sets are known for his great energy on stage. Then on the band front – Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, Antibalas and Dirty Projectors.

Opulent loves food – you review Melbourne restaurants in your newsletters and you’re always tweeting about your meals. So what’s the best food at Golden Plains, and why?

A new addition to the Food Court. It comes in the form of a giant ghetto blaster on wheels, better known as the Beatbox Kitchen. It’s here MC Raph Boogie cooks burgers that you’ll be banging on about to your buddies. Premium beef, stereo sauce, cos lettuce, tomato, and melted cheese. My mouth may be watering right now.

You have not had good luck with tents at past festivals – can you share the horror stories?

We have had no luck with tents, chairs or cars – from cars near overheating on the way to Falls to us breaking several chairs in the space of an hour to tents blowing over while we slept. Behind the scenes, Opulent Sound is more like National Lampoon’s Vacation. Of course this year we swear it will be different, but if you see a tent blow past your campsite please return it to the band camp, care of Opulent Sound.