The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Frazer Strickland.
All photos by Geoffery Matautia.
Frazer Strickland is a multi-disciplinary creative hailing from Mt Roskill, Tāmaki Makaurau. He is an ex-youth worker, DJ, content curator, event organiser and graphic designer who founded The Layers Platform – a unique and immersive music experience – in 2022. Layers brings together DJs, artists and other creatives by curating events, most recently The Country Club in January, which had DJs from 5pm till late. It is Frazer’s outlet to inspire and create community through music, clothing and creativity.
Tell me about you and your family.
I was born and raised in Mt Roskill, the second youngest of six. My mum is Niuean from Alofi North and my dad is Rarotongan and Niuean, from Aitutaki and Alofi South.
My parents made the move from the islands for the same reasons as most other Polynesian families – to seek better opportunities for their children. Well, truthfully, my dad was rebellious growing up and he got sent to New Zealand to work. That’s where he met my mum, so it all worked out [laughs].
What do you do day-to-day?
Currently, I’m in a career transition phase. For the last four years, I was a youth worker running programs in South Auckland high schools. My role was to work with students who were struggling with their attendance and school participation. That role was awesome, but it made me realise what I really wanted to pursue. I think that came about through running workshops and programs trying to get those students to identify what they wanted to do after school and helping them realise their potential. While doing that I had a bit of self-realisation that while I was teaching them to chase their dreams, I wasn’t chasing mine.
I loved that job but there were creative things I wanted to pursue. That’s all led me to where I am now as a DJ, content curator, event organiser and graphic designer.
I’m interested in your DJing career as I’ve seen you play at a few gigs around town. What got you interested in it?
As a youth worker I worked alongside a DJ named Larry Cook. It was just after the Covid pandemic began and we couldn’t do our in-school engagement. Larry brought his DJ decks into the office and taught me and two others how to use them during our breaks. I’ve always been into music but I didn’t see it being a viable career option. After high school, I just started working. I worked in retail for four years, and then I picked up the role as a youth worker. After we did those office jams I bought a controller off Facebook Marketplace and just started practicing at home. I caught the DJ bug pretty quickly!
Where was your first DJ gig?
My first official DJing gig outside of my bedroom was at my cousin’s 30th [laughs]. But, my first proper one was at Cassette Nine with DJ Pom. That was my first time outside of family birthdays. I like that feeling when you’re sharing a piece of yourself with people, and you can see how it affects them. It gives you a big rush. I love seeing people enjoy the music I am playing. I like being part of people’s memories.
Who are your musical influences?
I consider myself someone who enjoys a wide range of genres. I’m really into the Soulection music collective (Los Angeles), they’re a huge inspiration for me in how they use music as a tool to bring the community together and create an experience. Locally, I look to Bassment (DJ/producer Katana), what he’s created is so cool by bringing a diverse culture and a movement to the city. It’s buzzy because I get to share spaces with him now.
At the end of 2023 you started the Layers Platform. It’s more than just your stock standard gig. How would you describe it?
I was actively going to concerts straight out of high school and I always thought it sucked that we would have to wait for a big DJ to come to New Zealand to get a cool experience. I thought it would be great if we could put something on for our local DJs or aspiring DJs. We have so much talent that needs to be celebrated here. That’s how the idea for The Layers Platform came about. It actually started with merch. The whole meaning behind the name is layers of clothing with layers of meaning. The other aspect of it was the layers of mediums that we would work with. So we wanted to do merch, videography, creative direction, promo, all of that.
I remember seeing that amazing visual you did for your first event. It felt incredibly cinematic and polished. I hadn’t seen a local event promoted like that for a long time.
We wanted to create layers of creativity for each event. From the promo to the stage production to the lighting to the setup to the DJs that we chose – it’s a carefully designed experience. And I think that’s something that differentiates Layers from most other local gigs – the attention to detail. We wanted to push ourselves to try something different and new. If you want to showcase the talented local DJs on the lineup but all you’re doing is putting out a poster with their name on it, it’s kind of a disservice to what they provide. The whole idea behind the platform is to try and highlight them a little bit more.
Who is the Layers audience?
Layers is for music lovers. It’s for those who like diverse sounds, and those who are after an immersive experience where they can enjoy themselves.
Another aspect of the events is how they’re colour themes. Where did you get the idea to do that?
Honestly, I just thought it’d be cool and aesthetically pleasing. I enjoy seeing how people interpret the theme and how much effort they put in.
What’s your favourite colour?
It’s orange and green. I’ve always wanted to host the orange theme but I keep getting told that’s the hardest colour to do [laughs].
You say ‘we’ when talking about Layers – who else is helping you?
When I say we, it’s really my friends and family. I find it easier to communicate with them and say things straight up instead of walking on eggshells. When I started planning the first Layers event, I was telling my cousins about what I wanted to do. My cousin Corban, a filmmaker, immediately offered to help out with the visuals. Then my other cousin, Delaney, who was living in Auckland at the time, offered to help with the event setup. So it started with just us three. Since then, both my cousins have moved back to Australia I’m just kind of bouncing around friends. My partner has been a huge help as well as my siblings.
What have some responses been from the community that have affirmed or encouraged you on this journey?
One that touched me was someone who said how open and welcoming it was for them. They said how a lot of places always advertise that they are diverse or multi-cultured but it doesn’t feel that way when they’re in the space. They said it was the first time in a long time that they felt welcomed, safe, and themselves. We never want Layers to be a cliquey. It’s also reassuring when the DJs share that they enjoyed the space, and appreciate the amount of effort that’s gone into curating it. It always buzzes me out when well-known DJs share that Layers is one of their favourite events.
Our vision is to create a platform for DJs to express themselves freely and have a community of people who are receptive to the music and open to hearing different genres and different sounds. I think that’s what I’m proud of.
There’s a lot of attention to detail put into these events. I assume that comes at a cost. Are you self-funding Layers?
I am self-funding it. When I left youth work I got paid out and I just put all of that into my first event. Have I made any money? Probably not. It is tough to run and fund these events, but I enjoy it so much. I enjoy the challenge of testing my creativity and creating different experiences. The real reward is just seeing people enjoy the space and being able to enjoy themselves. We’ve created an audience of people who don’t usually go out, but they make the effort to come to Layers. I think it’s special being able to host an event that people make the effort to attend, because it’s a safe space, and it’s a place where they know they can enjoy themselves without the drama that comes with going out to town. But yeah, it is a challenge. Especially in these times, everything’s 10 times more expensive.
I could probably be more proactive in regards to looking for funding, but for now, we’re just trying to build the momentum and the following. Eventually, hopefully, we’ll get to a place where we start making money from it.
It’s a tough time for all the creative industries, but especially for live music and events. There are so many variables at play. Even amongst all that worry, what ambitions do you have for Layers over the coming year?
Something I’d love to try is to build Layers to be a moving body, where we can do pop-ups in different cities and still attract the community that we’ve created. I’m hoping to do an Australian show in Sydney, just because we have a lot of family there. Some of my cousins have flown over just to attend our Auckland events and what they always share is that they they miss being around home and being around other Pacific Islanders.
Last year was just a lot of growing pains because we were hosting every second month but it takes about a month to roll out all the videos. So we have a month of planning and shooting content, and then it’s like a month of rolling out the content and then the event. And so it’s always a bit full-on. But it was good learning. Knowing what we know now, I would love to just plan our time better.
If you could pick a few Dream DJs for a Layers lineup, who would they be?
I said earlier that collaborating with the Soulection collective would be an absolute dream come true. But even locally, I’d love to host Lady Shaka. What she’s done for the industry, and especially with Boiler Room in the Pacific Islands, it’s mad inspiring. Yeah, I’m manifesting those. But we always try to at least have one DJ who hasn’t had that much experience, so we can try and promote them to a bigger audience.
So, where can people find out about Layers and come along?
You can find us on Instagram @thelayersplatform. Right now, we’re planning for the next one, so we don’t have any dates set in stone, but we’ll have something in the next few months.
This is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.
