Meet Freddie Bale, AKA DJ Freddie XODOS, founder of Moody HiFi in Peckham. He tells POWDER how he went about creating one of the vibiest nights around.
At 23, Freddie Bale is fast becoming one of the most sought-after event organisers and DJs in South London.
Having played Milan Fashion Week, the Oxford-born DJ has an impressive CV that includes musician, producer, graphic designer, and promoter. Now living in East London and immersing himself in the creative scene with events such as Shifting Culture and Fortem International, we caught up with him to talk about his biggest event to date: the trail-blazing clubbing event, Moody HiFi.
Tell us about XODOS. What does that mean?
My DJ name is Freddie XODOS. That name came from when I was DJing at 16 and my DJ name was Exodus – like in the Bible. The joke was, ‘When I come on, everyone leaves,’ until I started releasing music on SoundCloud and it got a nice following.
What influenced your love of music?
My biggest influence was my granddad. He was always talking about blues and jazz. That was my first introduction to music, and as I got older, I started learning the guitar, drums, and piano. That’s when I got heavy into music. All my friends had their football, but I had my instruments. I mainly play jazz and funk jazz. Then I got into producing. I feel like a lot of my inspiration comes from this weird genre on SoundCloud of jazz infused with electronic stuff. Kind of like early Mura Masa, that type of vibe.
Is Moody HiFi your first project?
My first ever project was K-FUNKZ STUDIOS when I was 17, a garage-jungle night that I started with my two best friends. When I first started DJing, I realised the promoters were making all the money, so I said to my boys, ‘Let’s start an event.’ It went really well but it died after [the first COVID-19] lockdown. I have also worked on a few other events but Moody HiFi was my first solo project.
How did Moody HiFi come about and the vibe you were going for?
I moved to London the day we went into the second lockdown, so that was a bit of a kick in the teeth. During the first lockdown, everyone was shook and abiding by the rules by staying at home. The second lockdown, I feel, was more relaxed though there were obviously still people who lived with people at risk and had to stay at home. I was always DJing during that lockdown, so I built my network when I was meeting people at people’s houses. By the time the lockdown was eased, I had a circle of people who all liked the same music as me, liked to party and had good vibes.
The original idea of Moody HiFi was a radio show, for when you wake up after a heavy weekend or long week to a nice, chilled R&B and rap moment, SoundCloud edits, alternative Afrobeats and so on. I made up little logos and an album cover for this first idea but I never released it. After lockdown, I decided I wanted to start a new event, and I still liked the name and the branding and thought, ‘Let me use that.’ So, I have been growing it since then.
DJing lies in being able to read your crowd and catering to them.
DJ Freddie XODOS
How do you decide on the setlist?
The actual act of DJing is not that hard, mixing one song with another. I feel like the skill lies in being able to read your crowd and catering to them. I will never go into a set with a predetermined set to play, but with crates of music that are a similar vibe. I like mixing different vibes in the same crate to experiment with different things. I always start my set with a banger that everyone knows, so they can sing along and get everyone locked in. Once you have the crowd there, you can push in a certain direction and see if it’s working. If that works, keep following it and see where it goes.
How would you say you inspire loyalty with your audience?
One thing that I always do with events is make sure that I am on good terms with all the staff because one member of staff can ruin the whole night. There are a lot of events now that treat you as if you should be honoured to be there, the bouncers ‘G-checking’ everyone that comes through the door. The whole idea of Moody is to have a space where it’s not like a typical club, but like a party where everyone is there for enjoyment, to make friends and fuck around and get loose for the weekend without being judged. I feel like in London especially, there is a lot of that with a lot of clubs, where people show off and get drunk, but if anyone acts too crazy, everyone judges. I say: just be yourself, man, we’re all trying to have some fun.
Keeping it personal, I think, is a good thing. We hit capacity at one event and there were a lot of people who bought tickets and could not get in. I think the guest list QR code got leaked meaning that people who paid for tickets could not get in. At another event, the bouncer was not letting people in claiming that the venue was at full capacity, but he was straight up lying because it was empty inside. I pushed my set back to make sure that I was there, chatting with everyone that was outside. The least that I could do in both scenarios was go up to them and say, ‘Hey, this is my event. I’m sorry, and obviously, you’ll get a refund for not getting in’ and explain the situation. I have spoken to a few angry people but as soon as I have explained it, they are all bless about it.
Are you happy with how Moody HiFi has worked out?
Yeah, definitely. I never expected it to grow so quickly. In the first year, we did Milan Fashion Week twice – both of those shows sold out. One street party we had in Paris was so lit, within twenty minutes of starting, the whole road was locked off and people were climbing on cars and shit. That was lit. I have been getting recognition in the right places and speaking to certain people in the industry. It’s a nice feeling when I introduce myself to someone and they’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah, Moody HiFi, I see you.’