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THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE
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FOR MORE UP TO DATE NEWS GO TO BEAT.COM.AU
UPCOMING
MARCH
ONTOUR NEW ORDER [UK] Thursday March 1, Festival Hall STEVE BUG [GER] Friday March 2, Brown Alley LEE BURRIDGE [UK], DAMIAN LAZARUS [GER], ART DEPARTMENT [CAN] + MORE Friday March 2, The Bottom End DIESELBOY [USA] Friday March 2, Brown Alley LADI6 [NZ] Friday March 2, The Prince Bandroom DJ KRUSH [JPN] Saturday March 3, The Espy AC SLATER [USA] Saturday March 3, Brown Alley BONOBO [UK] Monday March 5, Corner Hotel Thursday March 8, Corner Hotel DJ /RUPTURE [USA] Thursday March 8, Mercat Basement RONNIE [USA], DJ FINGAZ [USA] Friday March 9, CQ THE RAPTURE [USA], AZARI & III [CAN] Tuesday March 6, The Forum APHEX TWIN [USA] Tuesday March 6, Palace Theatre DIE ANTWOORD [RSA] Wednesday March 7, Prince Bandroom JESSIE J [UK], PROFESSOR GREEN [UK] Wednesday March 7, Festival Hall FATBOY SLIM [UK] Wednesday March 7, The Palace TINIE TEMPAH [UK], CHASE & STATUS [UK], ZANE LOWE [UK] Thursday March 8, Festival Hall MAD PROFESSOR [USA] Friday March 9, The Espy IAN POOLEY [GER] Friday March 9, OneSixOne ARIL BRIKHA [SWE] Friday March 9, Brown Alley MAITREYA: LIQUID SOUL [SWI], ACE VENTURA [ISR], ELECTRIC UNIVERSE [GER] + MORE Friday March 9 – 12, Carlsbrook ROOTS MANUVA [UK] Saturday March 10, Prince Bandroom GOLDEN PLAINS: CHIC [USA], ROOTS MANUVA [UK] + MORE Saturday March 10 – 12, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL: SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA [SWE], FATBOY SLIM [UK], PAUL VAN DYK [GER] Sunday March 11, Flemington Racecourse ICICLE [UK], SPECTRASOUL [UK], KRYPTIC MINDS [UK] + MORE Sunday March 11, Billboard JAMES LAVELLE [UK] Monday March 12, The Espy DJ QUIK [USA] Friday March 16, Prince Bandroom APHRODITE [UK] Friday March 16, Brown Alley SIDETRACKED: FLO RIDA [USA], GRANDMASTER FLASH [USA], ART VS. SCIENCE [AUS] + MORE Saturday March 17 – 18, Formula One Grand Prix CANYONS [AUS] Thursday March 22, The Toff LUKE ABBOTT [UK], FAIRMONT [CAN], AVUS [UK] Friday March 23, Brown Alley PROSUMER [GER] Friday March 23, Mercat Basement NICK CURLY [GER] Sunday March 25, Revolver BEN UFO [UK] Friday March 27, Revolver PERSEUS [USA] Thursday March 29, OneSixOne YELAWOLF [USA] Friday March 30, Prince Bandroom HEADMAN [GER] Saturday March 31, The Liberty Social EFDEMIN [GER] Saturday March 31, TBA RICK WILHITE [USA] Thursday April 5, Mercat Basement COSMIC GATE [GER] Thursday April 5, Festival Hall PEDRO [USA] Friday April 6, The Espy THE FREESTYLERS [UK] Friday April 6, Boat Party TBA STACEY PULLEN [USA], M.A.N.D.Y. [GER], CLIVE HENRY [UK] + MORE Friday April 6, Billboard MOODYMANN [USA], MARTIN BUTTRICH, [USA] TINI [GER], ROMAN FLUGEL [GER] Sunday April 8, Brown Alley JACQUES GREENE [CAN], MACHINEDRUM [USA] + MR. DIBIASE [USA] Sunday April 8, TBA DERRICK MAY [USA] Tuesday April 24, TBA DMX [USA] Friday April 27, Trak CREAMFIELDS: DAVID GUETTA [USA], ABOVE & BEYOND [UK] + MORE Saturday April 28, Melbourne Showgrounds GROOVIN’ THE MOO: DIGITALISM [GER], SHAPESHIFTER [NZ] + MORE Saturday May 5, Prince of Wales Showgrounds, Bendigo
REAL TALK Did you know that there is a body of water in space that is 100,000 times larger than the sun? Seriously. That’s fucking huge. And it’s just floating around up there, doing nothing. Get a job you lazy fucking space puddle. Do you think there might be space sharks? Or space sea cucumbers? Someone get NASA onto the case - we’re through the looking glass here people. Tyson Wray
Three Strikes: Relocated!
Last drinks at Chapel St Strike! Sad, but true – the venue has spent ten years in the southside’s most happening precinct at the top of its game, revolutionising the old bowling date night with pumping tunes, large-format video screens and some of the suburb’s best cocktail – guaranteeing it as the hottest spot to head to for everything from date nights, corporate functions, buck’s parties, hen’s nights, birthday parties, celebrities and Saturday night dance-offs. But all good things must, tragically, come to an end eventually, as Strike Prahran has just announced. It’s not all bad news, however, it’s a mere change of lanes as they’ve just announced a move to the cosmopolitan surrounds of the Melbourne CBD, set to take over Melbourne Central very soon.
Freestylers: Rock The Boat
Funkoars: Quick On The Draw
Making a triumphant return to the Australian hip hop scene with the release of last year’s LP The Quickening to much praise, the chaotic collective that make up Adelaide’s The Funkoars proceeded to tear through the country with a string of dates that left many a hangover in their age. Not bad for a group that refers to themselves as “the dreg of society… the funnel in which all morals and conscience are drained into the river Styx.” Bit selfdeprecating, especially considering they’re still hard at work and ready to unleash yet another single upon unsuspecting Australians – this time, channelling the spirit of Law & Order’s Vincent D’Onofrio and bringing him along for the ride. I don’t know what that could possibly mean, either – but Law And Order: SVU has endured for many a season, and so will The Funkoars, we bet. The Funkoars play The Espy on Tuesday April 24.
Get ready for a serious ‘90s flashback – guess who’s coming to town? Notorious for a history of collaborative efforts with Australia’s own Pendulum including on their breakout debut Hold Your Colour, a shared background in dance music with recent visitors the Plump DJs, and one of the ‘90s most omnipresent party-starting tunes Push Up. Yep, the Freestylers are back and all business. Bonding when they met in ‘96 over a mutual adoration of electro, hip hop and breakbeats, the two have never been afraid of shunning the pretentiousness of the dance music industry in favour of taking their freestyler ethic to its logical conclusion. No sample is too sacred (though Noel Gallagher would disagree) in their mission to craft the kinds of proper party fodder that are a challenge to pigeonhole and equally as impossible to not dance to, and the mission is landing here in Australia very soon. The Freestylers play the Darkbeat Boat Party on Friday April 6.
Aphrodite: Twisted Audio Aphrodisiac
Looks like an urban takeover is approaching, with the announcement that drum and bass and jungle stalwart Aphrodite is heading down to take out the headline slot of the next Twisted Audio party. Beginning his love affair with dance music all the way back in the Summer of Love in concurrence with the launch of his highly successful acid house club named Aphrodite, the name has stuck with him since. If you’ve danced to drum and bass in the mid-‘90s, odds are you’ve jammed to some of his productions, being the mastermind behind some of the most infectious, dancefloor-destroying tunes of the decade – weaving hip hop and raga samples together with his trademark deep basslines and cut-up breaks. Working with the likes of DJs Micky Finn and Claudio Giussani, it was through these chance meetings that seminal label Urban Shakedown was born. Looks like the shakedown’s heading to a club near you soon – Aphrodite plays Brown Alley on Friday March 16.
Darkbeat: Erupting Vulcano
Has it really been nine years since Darkbeat first hit Melbourne’s clubbing scene? Jesus. It certainly doesn’t feel like it. In fact, the collective behind the perpetuallypumping parties has managed to keep their nights out as irreverent and energetic as ever, with a list of previous guests including everybody from Kevin Saunderson, Satoshi Tomiie, Nick Warren, Hybrid, John Tejada, Afrojack, Anthony Pappa, and – we could keep you here for days rattling off names, but by now we’re fairly certain we have you convinced about Darkbeat’s integral place in Melbourne’s constantly-evolving clubbing scene. Happy ninth birthday, boys and girls – and the swag of presents they’re bringing over for us include Ibiza’s infamous Circoloco parties, headlined by Space and DC10 residents Tania Vulcano and Clive Henry, alongside Detroit techno kingpin Stacey Pullen and Berlin house fiends M.A.N.D.Y. – it’s a birthday well worth celebrating! Join Darkbeat at Billboard on Friday April 6
Out Of Focus: Zooming In
Out of Focus summarises what the collective are about rather accurately: not concerned with the status quo of electronic music, the group aim to discover the wealth of quality dance music that dwells on the periphery of the industry’s consciousness. Their intent is admirable and their first night out in Melbourne is shaping up to be one of the more focused, quality nights out you’ll have this year, coinciding with Berlin-based Efdemin’s Australian debut, his reputation for bringing out some of the most provocative, danceable cuts of deep house and techno is not one to be overlooked, alongside his own production fodder, with tracks on labels including Cocoon, Dial and Naif. Adeptly supported by the likes of Claire Morgan, Bryce Lawrence, Louis McCoy, Wael Najm, Glyn Hill and Toby Mackisack, Out of Focus launches at a venue yet to be announced on Saturday March 31.
RESPONSIBLE: Managing Editor: Ronnit Sternfein ronnit@beat.com.au Editor: Tyson Wray tyson@beat.com.au Sub-editor: Nick Taras Listings: club/promoter submissions clubguide@beat.com.au - now online at beat.com.au - it’s free! Production: Pat O’Neill art@beat.com.au Typesetting: Gill Tucker Cover Design: Pat O’Neill Advertising Senior Sales: ronnit@beat.com.au (03) 8414 9710 Taryn Stenvei taryn@beat.com.au Fashion and Beverages: Tamara Perenic tamara@furstmedia.com.au Ph: 03 8414 9732 Deadlines: Editorial Friday 2PM – absolutely NO exceptions. Club photos Monday 9AM (email only clubpics@ beat.com.au). Advertising artwork Monday 12PM. Photographers: Callum Linsell Contributors: Rezo Kezerashvili, Miki McLay, Shane Scott, Simon Traspier, Brian Rotide, The Knowledge, Ellen Devenney, Dan Watt, Aaron Ralston, Birdie, Liam Pieper, Simon Hampson, Chad-Michael Michaelson, Mikolai, Reuben Adams, David Edgley. Publisher: Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond 3121 Ph 03 9428 3600 www.beat.com.au
EDITORIALDEADLINE - 2PM FRIDAYS NO EXCEPTIONS
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UP TO DATE
Supafest: Getting Bigger
Supafest have announced more heavyweight acts to join one of the best urban lineups ever assembled to tour Australia. Joining gamechanger/namechanger P. Diddy, Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland and rappers Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, Ice Cube and Trey Songz will be R&B superstar Chris Brown, hip hop legend Missy Elliott, old school favourites Naughty By Nature as well as rapper Big Sean. Supafest visits Melbourne on Saturday April 21.
Liberation: At Prince
Blurring the lines that run between hip hop, soul and beats culture, New Zealand’s Ladi6 is rapidly approaching the forefront of the international music scene. Having recently released lead single off her second album The Liberation Of, produced with Germany’s Sepalot over two months and impacting on radio stations across the country this month, Ladi6’s characteristic sultry voice, razor sharp wit and dynamic live show have seen her perform across Europe over the summer, including dates at Glastonbury and The Big Chill, and scored her the Taite Music Prize, two Pacific Music Awards gongs and pick up five nominations at the 2011 NZ Music Awards. Impressive, right? We’re glad she’s making a return to Australia for a couple of very special shows – Melburnians can catch her at the Prince Bandroom on Friday March 2.
X: Gon’ Make You Lose Your Mind
Divine master of the unknown, the multi-platinum award winning Earl Simmons – better known through his stage name DMX – has emerged as one of hardcore rap’s reigning kings. Toeing the line between the sacred and the profane, Simmons’ narratives present a compelling account of both spiritual anguish and everyday life, Simmons has contributed an untold number of chart-topping singles and no less than six wildly successful full-length albums and there is little doubt that upcoming release Undisputed will be similarly successful upon its release in a matter of months, featuring the likes of Busta Rhymes, Tyrese, Jennifer Hudson, and production from Deezle, and Swizz Beatz. Last sighted in 2006, DMX’s return will be a triumphant one. DMX plays Trak on Friday April 27.
Ben UFO: Revolver 51
One of the founders of Hessle Audio in the company of fellow DJs Ramadanman and Pangaea, Ben UFO is a curiosity in the current landscape of bass music, having managed to make a name for himself purely on the strength of his DJing, without branching over into the world of production. Listening to Ben UFO’s mixes is often an experience that defines the term eclectic – his instalment on the Rinse FM mix series managing to traverse the grounds of clattering two-step and garage, murky bass, classic house and dubstep and beyond in the blink of an eye. No wonder, then, that his regular spot on Rinse FM pull thousands of listeners, his mixes are in hot demand by everybody from XLR8R, the Boiler Room, and RBMA Academy. Australia’s turn, next – get ready for a bonesplintering session of dark and deep sounds at Revolver on Friday April 27.
FREE SHIT Future Music Festival With a lineup featuring The Rapture, Fatboy Slim, New Order, The Wombats, Paul van Dyk, Skrillex, Aphex Twin and fucking loads more, Future Music Festival is looking out of this world. Whether you like dancing or standing still, this is one party you don’t want to miss. It’s on at Flemington Racecourse on Sunday March 11 (long weekend bitchessssss) and we have a double pass to give away thanks to those rad dudes at Smirnoff who are presenting the DFA stage.
Boats, Rhymes And Life Boats, Rhymes and Life has the honour of being Melbourne’s first ever block party on a cruise ship. Surely that sells itself, right? After gathering the finest in Australian hip hop and beats talent, the Victoria Star is ready to set sail with the likes of headliner Mantra along with his mates Bam Bam and DJ Wasabi, Melbourne’s own block rocking Nick Thayer and a slew of other names including DJ Flagrant, Psyde Projects, DJ Perplex, M.A.F.I.A, DJ Prequel, Claymore 74 and Zack Rampage. Aaaaaaw yeahhhh. Boats, Rhymes and Life sets sail from Dock Nine, Central Pier on Saturday March 3, and we have a double pass to give away. Hit up beat.com.au/freeshit to win.
THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE
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GRANDMASTER FLASH MIX: MASH AND FLASH Hip hop thanks you Grandmaster Flash. Without you there would be nothing. Maybe, just maybe, someone else may have cut up the wax, but never like you did. “I guess you could call it self-taught,” Grandmaster laughs, “but I think it was more than what I saw DJs doing, I looked at it and felt it was not correct.” Flash talks like a boxer moves: dance, dance, jab, jab, punch. There is a rhythm, a flow, conversational rapping – pop, pow, BANG! “From that point on is where I took my teenage hood and just locked myself up in my room for three or four years. Then one day I came up with a science. I didn’t realise at the time but it was a science that has now become a standard for people to follow, which is pretty cool.” Before, flash people played records. After, they played with records. Backspin technique (“quick-mix theory”) aka beat juggling, punch phrasing (“clock theory”) and scratching were all invented by Grandmaster Flash. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, together with the Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash released such seminal rap songs as The Message, White Lines (Don’t Do It) and Apache. New York was the birthplace of rap, hip hop, DJing and all that flows from them. And these guys, kids really, started it all. “For me I think I was hopping that it would grow outside of New York City, that was probably my biggest hope,” he says of those early days in the ‘80s. “Once it grew outside of New York City into neighbouring East Coast cities, I was really hoping that the world would catch onto this. That’s what I was hoping but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that me putting my fingertip on to the vinyl and moving it and manipulating it in the motions that I did, never in my wildest dreams did I think that that would become the way that DJs play music.” In 1981 he released his own single, The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel: a live seven-minute solo showcase of turntable skills mixing Blondie’s Rapture, Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo
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Band’s Apache (a song that they would make their own), Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust, Chic’s Good Times, and their own song Freedom. It was the first documented appearance of record scratching on a record. Just listening to it explains Girl Talk’s entire career. “If you think about it, I was out of my time back then,” Flash says of his early days inventing the skills of DJing. “So science is what I was first, before I was a DJ I was a scientist.” The Message was released a year later but its lyrics are just as fresh today, it could be chanted in Greece, Libya, the Occupy protests or last year’s London riots. “Don’t push me ‘cause I’m close to the edge/I’m trying not to lose my head/It’s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin’ under.” The problem is Flash won’t talk about it, their seminal song, their breakout, because he and his band imploded over songwriting credits. So, instead, he is passive-aggressive about who did what. “First of all you’re talking about The Message, that’s a rap – I’m not a rapper, I’m a DJ, so my rappers were the ones who you need to ask about that,” like he wasn’t living through those times too and strangely disowning credit. But then the kicker, dance, dance, jab, punch, it was all him. “That’s my rappers on the record,” he says of the groundbreaking track of urban decay. “We all designed the record but on that track, that’s what they are saying and I don’t wanna make a claim about what it is they were thinking when they performed those rhymes; I was just the overseer of the whole project, the leader and the foundation of the group, that’s the part that I played. As far as The Message is concerned, you would have to go into the minds of my rappers. I don’t want to be a rapper, I’m proud to be a DJ and I’m proud to do what I have done and what I am doing.” You might think it’s a shame they hate each other to still snipe in interviews but it isn’t. The upshot is we are spared the embarrassment and indignity of seeing The Message in a car commercial, like the Sugar Hill Gang and Rapper’s Delight. I have seen all
COVER STORY
“If you think about it, I was out of my time back then ... so science is what I was first, before I was a DJ I was a scientist.” the rock and rollers of the ‘60s and ‘70s grow old and I’m not ready to see the rappers of my youth going grey on stage, ‘cause let me tell you, Young MC got old but Easy-E will never age, and now neither will The Message. Grandmaster Flash the DJ, however, he’s still rocking. Back in Australia to play the F1 Grand Prix – he was just out for New Year’s, seems like he is become like Depeche Mode or Michael Franti in the late ‘90s, always in Oz; do they have fans elsewhere? The gigs, on the Saturday and Sunday of the race, are called Sidetracked and feature a pretty tidy little lineup: Art Vs. Science, Grant Smillie, Bombs Away, Flo Rida, The Potbelleez, The Stafford Brothers and Timmy Trumpet. Flash rocks an old school DJ set: The Sugarhill Gang, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Michael Jackson, House of Pain, KRS-1 and so on. Old school records for old school dancing…but not exclusively, thankfully. “I don’t think I can just sit there and listen to music,” he confesses. “I can enjoy a song but I think my habits, my habits are, ‘How can we put this in the set to please others?’ That is where I am at when listening to new music. A lot of times when I listen to a great DJ play, I am listening to how he is pleasing people. And I’m saying ‘Ooohhh, yes!’ I have a lot or respect say for A-Trax and Armin Van Helden’s track Barbra Streisand for example. I love cutting that up and dropping it in a set, but it’s considered an electro house record, but I like it. Diplo with Major Lazer, songs like that I’m feeling ‘em, I’m cool with that.” These days Flash listens to DJs like Armin Van Helden, Crookers, Boys Noise, Felix Da Housecat, Tiesto and David Guetta. “Almost every day,” he says. “What’s important to me is, the few nights that I have off, that I’m not working, I’ll go into a club and just shake hands with latest, greatest DJ, I love to come and sit with DJs who are doing music that’s new to me. But it’s not ‘new’; it’s a regurgitation. Like Armin Van Helden, Boys Noise, these guys enable me to learn new things just by listening to them that I might not know, so it’s great for me.”
He is comfortable with his place in history, revelling in it, name-dropping, more like the grandfather of hip hop now, rather than the Grandmaster, listing off those couldn’t have existed without his work. “They all say it,” he laughs, “from Snoop, Jay-Z, to Eminem, I get it all the time, these people they say thank you for your groundbreaking science, to do what you have done so we could all survive. Busta Rhymes, they all say it. So I am having a wonderful, wonderful time with life, musically speaking. I come from an era when a lot of people weren’t even born. So it is the ultimate pleasure to be able to please people, I’m having a ball.” As for moving with the times, it ain’t not thang. “I used to carry 10 to 15 boxes of records and that takes a lot of man power,” he says of the pre digital age. “Now I am travelling with 30 or 40 thousand songs, which allows me to continue to be the international servant that I really am. I think that every time I go on stage I’m inventing. Depending on the audience, they make me do things and I make them do things and then we become connected as one. I’m just into pleasing people, that’s just what I do. So every time I play there is always something that amazes me and I think, ‘Wow, okay’ but that comes from the energy of the audience that makes me go to that next place, the next level technically speaking. If I could put my show into one word, I would like to say, Joy. It’s just me on the turntables, Grandmaster Flash, I’m coming out and I’m just gonna do what I do – pleasing them people with the turntables, as I have been doing all these years.” Jack Franklin Grandmaster Flash [USA] is playing Sidetracked Music Festival alongside Art Vs. Science, [AUS] The Potbelleez [AUS], Grant Smillie [AUS] and more which takes place on Saturday March 17 and Sunday March 18 at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
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WEDNESDAY29TH COQ ROQ Rocking Wednesdays at Lucky Coq are rotating DJs Lady Noir, Agent 86, Kiti, Mr Thom, Joybot and guests giving you nothing but the best new wave, punk, brit pop, bong rap and hair metal. Coq Roq takes place every Wednesday from 8pm with free pool downstairs from 9pm as well as drink specials. Roq out! Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
MISS LIBERTINE WEDNESDAYS Summer is here and the crew at Miss Libertine have gone mad and are throwing a crazy season long sale. $12 jugs of Boags, $22 jugs of Cocktails all night long and what has got the whole of Melbourne talking 2 4 1 Basic Spirits from 7pm till 10pm. Yes that is right you heard correctly. And don’t forget we will still be bringing you your favourite Miss Libertine pizzas for $5. With fun party tunes cranking out all night long, with everything from funk, soul, hip hop, R&B and everything in-between. Miss Libertine, 34 Franklin St, Melbourne CBD
SOUL ARMY With more flavour than a chocolate pizza, the Wednesday Soul Army throws down raw, uncut funk next to smooth soul grooves and rare blue jams. Bring that special lady because when the boys lay down the love it could be the difference between ‘we’re just friends’ to ‘let’s get it on’. PBS stalwarts Vince Peach and Miss Goldie accompany Prequel and Black Diamond Kicks weekly. Free. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
WEDNESDAYS AT CO. Don’t miss Melbourne’s biggest mid-week party night Wednesdays @ Co.! Featuring Premier DJ Petar Tolich and Scotty E spinning all your favourite 90’s to current party anthems! Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
THURSDAY1ST BIMBO THURSDAYS Tigerfunk brings with him his full band of travelling gypsies, hipsters and middle class executives, all of whom are prepared to deliver the most excitement you can have this side of the weekend. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
DUBSTEP THURSDAYS It’s Dubstep, it’s Eurotrash, it’s new, it’s the vibe, it’s Thursdays, it’s weekly and it’s free. So get down to Eurotrash and get your wobble on. Eurotrash Bar, 18 Corrs Lane, Off Chinatown, Melbourne CBD
FREE RANGE FUNK Funk up your Thursday nights with Free Range Funk at the Windsor favourite Lucky Coq. Grab a couch early and enjoy one (or more) of their famous $4 pizzas from 7-11pm. Meanwhile DJs Who, Agent 86, Lewis CanCut and special guests tempt you into the night with their eclectic bag of treats. Setting the mood early is delightful jazz, deep soul, and funk. Later it’s fruity disco, choice house, and hipster dance drops. Free entry every Thursday. Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
MISS LIBERTINE THURSDAYS Summer is here and the crew at Miss Libertine have gone mad and are throwing a crazy season long sale. $12 jugs of Boags, $22 jugs of Cocktails all night long and what has got the whole of Melbourne talking 2 4 1 Basic Spirits from 7pm till 10pm. Yes that is right you heard correctly. And don’t forget we will still be bringing you your favourite Miss Libertine pizzas for $5. With fun party tunes cranking out all night long, with everything from funk, soul, disco, house, hip hop, R&B and everything in-between. You know that the only place to be on a Thursday night is Miss Libertine. Miss Libertine, 34 Franklin St, Melbourne CBD
PAPPARAZZI Paparazzi Fridays present DJ’s Nikkos, Joe Sofo & Kitty Kat bringing you the biggest anthems & club classics all night long. Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
RADIONICA Indie, new wave electro and post punk. Join Fromage Disco, James Carstensen and some very special guests for Radionica at Workshop. Mixing up crowd favourites with unheard rarities this is a night that promises an awesome party for the more discerning listener. Workshop, Lvl 1, 413-417 Elizabeth St (Cnr A’Beckett St), Melbourne
tracks and not worry about dance floor action - instead they enjoy a nice drink, pull the BPMs back and get down to some not-so-serious DJing. And so Anytime lives on. Hiphop, reggae, pop, house, snap, lo-fi, hi-fi, underground, overground - Anytime is a mess of music and people. Workshop, Lvl 1, 413-417 Elizabeth St (Cnr A’Beckett St), Melbourne
game reviews and Balkanese dances on YouTube. But that’s nothing like what you can expect to find within the confines of Bimbo on a Saturday night. Developing thick and heavy but altogether groovy, enjoy an eclectic mix of fairy floss funk, doom disco and monk movement minimal every week. Free. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
CQ FRIDAYS
N-TICE
The weekend starts here! Get on down for after work drinks from 5pm with DJs Marcus Knight, Mark Pellegrini, Nick Van Wilder & DJ Anferny getting your weekend started right. 5pm til 3am. CQ, 113 Queen St, Melbourne
An erotic play party for open-minded individuals. A night of sophisticated, intelligent erotic play and sensual freedom for open minded or curious couples, polygamous relationships of all sexualities (single male-form by appointment only). Deep sexy beats and progressive house by DJ Kat and Jon Montes. Abode, 374 St Kilda Road, St Kilda
DNA FRIDAYS DNA (Developing New Artistry) brings you genetically modified musical molecules specifically developed to entertain and enhance Melbourne’s dance scene. Every Friday we showcase the next crop of promising DJ/ producers handpicked by Lab22’ s mastermind technician Genetix! Doors open 10pm, $5 basics til midnight and $5 DNA shots all night. First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
FREEDOM PASS Start your weekend with freedom! The Freedom Pass gives you the choice of 5 huge rooms of entertainment and 4 different styles of music. Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
MEZZANINE & PLAYHOUSE Mezzanine gives you the freedom to enjoy the alternativesophisticated-opulence any way you like it. Journey into the realms of the PlayHouse rooms indulging in our intimate dungeon and play areas where you’ll be free to explore the many facets of your lifestyle in privacy. Share in the unique mix of dirty electro fusion by Lady J. Abode, 374 St Kilda Road, St Kilda
PANORAMA Start your weekend on a good note with Panorama Fridays at Lucky Coq. DJs Matt Rad, Mr George, Tom Meagher and Phato A Mano transform the upstairs area into one hell of a house party with Hip Hop, Funk, R&B, Disco and House. Meanwhile, downstairs gives you a secluded wind down atmosphere with cult films as background visuals and quality cocktails to sip on. Let the new coqtail list wash away a crappy week! Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
DJ Grandmaster Vicious playing the best ‘80s and ‘90s pop, hip hop, new wave classics and cheese plus dance floor anthems from then to now. One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, FitzroyBD Club, 12 McKillop St, Melbourne CBD
STAR SATURDAYS Star Saturdays - smashing it every Saturday! Phil Ross, Scotty Erdos, DJ Ontime, LC, Nick James, Dane Gains, Ryan Hamill, Deja, Phil Isa, Nixon, Azza M, Scotty Nix, DJ Ryza, C Dubb, Alex-J, G-Funk, Dylisco, Achos, Az, Shaggz and guests. Star Bar, 160 Clarendon St, South Melbourne
TEMPERANCE SATURDAYS DJ Marcus Knight & DJ Xander James drop sexy house, dance and drum and bass all night from 8pm. Free entry. Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra
TEXTILE Saturdays at Lucky Coq tick all the boxes so start your night early and stay til close! Famous $4 pizzas from 7-9pm (that’s dinner sorted) then from 9pm spread over two levels with DJs playing hip hop, funk, disco, house and electro. Rotating guests on both levels keep the tunes fresh. Free entry. Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
SUNDAY4TH The perfect Sunday soundtrack with DJs Askew, Peter Baker, Booshank, Paz, Miss Butt, Junji, Disco Harry and guests. They will be laying down disco, afro beat and deep house til 3am. For lovers of good music - South Side Hustle. Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
ANYTIME
SUNDAE SHAKE
Joe Seven and Georgia Dust come to play at a little bar they often call home. Somewhere where they can forget about playing the latest white label drum and bass or breaks
Our Signature serve. Each and every Sunday we play host to a self professed vinyl junkie caught between the golden years & boogie wonderland. A mouthful? Perhaps. Phato Amano perfectly sets the mood for an audio-adventure that redefines the dance floor weekly. Our Sunday aficionados Agent 86 and Tigerfunk stir up a full cream shake to the flavour of your liking. Forget everything you thought you knew about losing yourself to the grooves. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
SATURDAY3RD AC SLATER AC Slater has understood the appeal of having thousands of people letting loose to your sounds since the tender age of 14. A favourite of Australians in particular, he’s heading down again soon Brown Alley, Cnr King & Lonsdale St, Melbourne
BLU Where the sexy and sophisticated come together and let their bodies move to the sounds and vibrations of deep dirty electro beats and progressive house by Jon Montes and Syme Tollens. Abode, 374 St Kilda Road, St Kilda
ENVY It’s lucky dip time at Co. where there is always a new experience for you! This month you can visit our tarot reader to find out what your future (or night) holds, or stop by for a temporary tattoo! With DJs Finlo White and Dean T bringing the party to Co. with all your favourite club classics and anthems. Plus Marcus Knight playing old skool R&B in the side room. Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
EUROTRASH HOUSE PARTY Put your hands in the air with some of Melbourne’s best party DJs, including 1928, Supreme, Tranter and more. Eurotrash Bar, 18 Corrs Lane, Off Chinatown, Melbourne CBD
FIRST FLOOR SATURDAYS It’s house, electro, dub, anthems, disco and funk with guest DJs Genetix, Zanna and Oohee rocking til the break of day. Doors open 10pm with $5 basics til midnight! First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
GLITCH THIS Breaks, dubstep, hip hop and drum and bass had a mass orgy and the illegitimate offspring of that is glitch hop and its tapping electro’s booty. If you want to make sense of that statement you need to Glitch This! As part of its worldwide takeover attempt there is now a new glitch night coming to Melbourne. With selectors ShiKung, Nam Riz One, J-Silver and live controller Beatnick come journey on the glitch space ship into the nether regions of the future. Workshop, Lvl 1, 413-417 Elizabeth St (Cnr A’Beckett St), Melbourne
Doors open at 9.30pm // Outdoor smoking terrace open on Level 3 from 11.00pm –6.00am // For functions and guest list enquiries contact 03 9292 5750 or email fusion@crownmelbourne.com.au // To enhance the safety and welfare of all patrons, Crown enforces the following conditions of entry: Entry is prohibited after 2.00am // Dress standards apply // Customers must be 18 years or over and submit their driver’s licence or other photo identification to be scanned upon entry // Customers entering prior to 2.00am will receive a stamp which permits re-entry to the venue after 2.00am at Crown’s discretion // Management reserves all rights // Crown practises responsible serving of alcohol // Personal information collected by Crown will be handled in accordance with Crown’s Privacy Policy.
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HED KANDI
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DJ CKass will take you on a musical journey to the retro sounds of the 70s and 80s, followed by Top 40s. One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy
SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE RETRO SEXUAL
FRIDAY2ND
SATURDAYS AT ONE TWENTY BAR
ESSENTIALS
This month brings us the Hedkandi classics to Fusion. Featuring Cadell, and Nat Conway, Peiro, Phil Ross and Tate Strauss. Plus Fusion resident’s DJ Jay-J and Johnny M mix up your favourite sexy R&B hits in the mezzanine. Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
HOT STEP Google Hot Step and you’ll get a bunch of Vietnamese
MONDAY5TH IBIMBO Have you always wanted to be a DJ but been cruelly cursed with tone deafness and a general inability to version excursion? Well Bimbo Deluxe saves the day once again.. All you need is an iPhone and you’re set. Just download the free ‘remote’ application from the app store, log into the Bimbo DJ wireless network and you choose which song plays next. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
TUESDAY6TH APHEX TWIN Not seen on Australian shores since 2004, his long awaited reappearance is highly anticipated and his live show needs to be seen to be believed. With limited performances at only the world’s top festivals this is a once in a lifetime chance to see his live show in all its glory. Palace Theatre, 20-30 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD
BIMBO TUESDAYS Bimbo Tuesday’s have long been the discerning DJs midweek breath of fresh air. An opportunity to indulge in, and to each parade their individual takes on music. A night where by the weird and wonderful is not frowned upon but rather celebrated. Resident selectors Matt Radovich, Andras Fox and Henry Who draw from a colorful array of sounds that warm your midweek blues. From 8pm, free. Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy
COSMIC PIZZA NHJ and friends host every Tuesday night upstairs at Lucky Coq. Playing uneasy listening, freaked out bass jams, romantic comedy disco, tropi-jazz, soundtracks and shit you won’t hear on the other nights. Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor
“Crosstown traffic, All you do is slow me down,
And I got better things on the other side of town” - Jimi Hendrix, 1969
THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE
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JUAN MACLEAN FUTURE: LOOKIN’ JUANDERFUL “Hello John, how are you?” I try to begin my interview sounding informed, flying past stage names and aiming for instant familiarity. “It’s Juan, if that’s ok. Everyone calls me Juan, maybe only my mother ever calls me John, so let’s go with Juan,” replies DFA heavyweight Juan Maclean down the line from his studio in New York City. The metamorphosis from John to Juan has been a slow and steady progression for Maclean, beginning in the mid ‘90s with his tenure in the moderately successful Sub Pop-signed punk/funk band Six Finger Satellite. During this period he was introduced to a young New York sound tech named James Murphy who built and maintained a gargantuan touring PA rig for the band, lovingly nicknamed ‘Death From Above’. Fast-forward to early 2001 and Maclean is working as an English teacher and has ‘left the industry’, but retains a strong friendship with Murphy who is in the process of re-inventing himself as label manager and in-house record producer for his own fledgling record label – also named Death From Above. On Murphy’s urging, Maclean returns to music, beginning to produce tracks, B-sides and remixes for Murphy’s DFA label compilations under the moniker ‘The Juan Maclean’ with other unheard of acts like The Rapture and LCD Sound System. The rest is history: The Rapture & LCD Sound System explode, returning disco-inspired indie-electro to dance floors across the globe, the label DFA becomes synonymous with a new wave of ‘NYC cool’ and Maclean’s star rises as one of the labels most ubiquitous producers. His 2005 album, Less Than Human, produced dance hit Give Me Every Little Thing while his follow up 2009 album The Future Will Come – written in conjunction with other DFA luminary Nancy Wang – brought new wave flavoured cross-over single One Day. Maclean’s first foray to our shores was in 2008 when he toured
here with The Juan Maclean band (featuring another couple of DFA unknowns set to explode, Nick and Alex of Holy Ghost!) in support of Cut Copy. At the time I was working at a small record store that Maclean visited to perform an impromptu DJ set during his tour. I remember conversing with a bemused Maclean about his experience with Australian crowds on that tour – he was surprised that a band considered relatively niche and ‘hip’ in America was flocked in their home country by a crowd that can only be described as consisting of “99.9% florescent clad teenage girls”. When pressed on whether his expectations of an Australian dance music audience have changed since then, Maclean was diplomatic in his response. “Well, I do remember that conversation! But I’ve been back to Australia a couple of times since then on different tours and festivals and I’ve found the crowds to be more varied since that first Cut Copy tour – and always very receptive. I think especially with the bigger festivals if you have enough people who love music in the one space, you’re always going to find a great group of people that are into your thing, your scene if you know what I mean.” It’s hard to talk about the DFA ‘scene’ without addressing the recent Madison Square Garden sell-out final shows for LCD Soundsystem. I asked Juan what impact that show had on him and his musical family at large. “You know, it’s a weird thing, because it wasn’t just that one show. That Madison Square show was at the end of like four or five consecutive smaller shows – it was like a week long celebration that was both exhilarating and exhausting. It’s hard to put on a finger what’s changed after that. I mean DFA has always been more of a collective, people moving between projects and working together and nothing about that has really changed. But at the same time, the LCD band was at the centre of that. So I mean
HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR SANGUINE: NEW YORKER Hercules and Love Affair are so New York. The group that swells from five members to ten plays dance floor orientated music that while being tagged by the mainstream music media as ‘nu-disco’ is far from that one-dimensional. The band’s founding member, DJ and producer Andy Butler, explains in broad terms what the band sounds like. “My generic answer is that I make rhythmic pop-oriented music which is all a bunch of descriptors and I don’t really pay much value to that.” As he talks, a tired sense of irony drips from the sanguine New Yorker’s mouth. Butler is sitting beside a pool at a hotel is San Francisco drinking a martini as he talks to 100% ahead of his band’s Future Music Festival appearance. He now admits that disco music was a huge part of his life for over ten years. “Disco was something I was fanatical for since I was 17 when I started collecting disco records.” However, anyone who has listened to Hercules and Love Affair’s second album, Blue Songs, would know that the group’s sound has gone into many more tones from big beat to minimal. Butler discusses how the shift happened: “When I was 29 I had a lot of disco records and I was like, ‘I want to do something else’ so I started revisiting a lot of my records from the early ‘90s and I fell in love with house and techno. So you can here a lot of that on the current productions we’re working
on.” The first single of Blue Songs, which came out early last year, is the big beat-esque My House. Sonically the song sounds as if it’s straight from the ‘90s, so it is appropriate that the film clip that accompanies it is shot in a style reminiscent of the ‘90s club scene. “The band and myself was pretty much entirely involved in the making of the clip. The idea came from that I was talking about music in Detroit and a TV program called The New Dance Show that was unique to Detroit. It is just this really amazing dance based TV show that has really cool techno and house music played and really cool kids dancing to it. It was getting talked about a lot because some YouTube clips had surfaced. “So basically we asked a bunch of friends to come down to this rundown ‘70s club and we pulled tons and tons of wardrobe in, we had something like $150,000 worth of wardrobe there. The shoes alone were $20,000 worth.” Butler now let’s on that Massive Attack were a huge influence on the changing sound of Hercules and Love Affair. “They were huge inspiration to me. In the formation of the band, Massive Attack were a definite sort of model for me. Growing up I loved that it was always changing faces and always changing personalities. For example on
James is still around, still doing things and everyone is still working together on music and that’s still the same – but there is definitely a big part that was the band, that’s not missing, but it’s changed you know?” Maclean’s next album is one of those projects that the DFA team has moved on with. “Yeah, I’m currently in the studio now working on material for my next album. I’m working with Nancy on this record again and most of the other guys from the band and the label are floating in and out. I’ve built this great new modular that I’m using on it – all wooden panels, black front – the real old classic deal”. And will we be seeing the band again? “Yeah, the band is something I pull together after the record is done. Once I’ve written the record, I’ll see who’s available to play and we’ll pull it together to tour”. Maclean is next on our shores sans band to DJ with Murphy at Future Music Festival. The record store I originally met Maclean the span of one record you got to hear a lot of different perspectives which was interesting and I liked the idea of presenting different identities and perspectives.” This idea of using different vocal styles to communicate a different perspective was a definitive aspect of Hercules and Love Affair’s 2008 debut album and one of the most memorable perspectives were the vocals of Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons). “Antony [and I] were totally close buds. I was 22 when I met him through a group of friends and then I heard his music, his first record, his blue record that came out [selftitled, 2000]. I saw him and I was like, ‘Your voice makes me think of the Cocteau Twins and I really love it’ and he was like, ‘Oh you really love the Cocteau Twins. As well I love this, this and this’. So we started hanging out and listening to music together all the time. We were hanging out a lot so eventually I brought him some songs that I had written, I brought him Blind first up and I was originally singing on it and he was like, ‘You sound good’ and I was like, ‘No, you sound better!’ I insisted that he sang on it and he did and that was the beginning and we went to write five or six tracks together over the course of four years.” Butler closes out the interview by explaining what their live show will be like at Future Music Festival. “It’s going to be exciting actually, it is going to be very new because we have a lot of new artists involved. I mean we have new material that we will be playing which will herald the first EP that comes out in I would say May or June. And then our second EP shortly there after and then our third EP all in quick succession this year.” He know talks about some of the ‘exciting artists’ that will be performing as part of the new live show. “This new live show will be great because I am working with fun people like John Grant and a really talented singer from Paris called Krystle Warren that I will be recording with soon. So it’s a really good group of talented people from London, Paris and New York.”
in has since expired – a common trend in modern music retail – so I feel obliged to press Maclean on whether it has become difficult to continually updated his vinyl only DJ sets. “You know what, it’s not so bad. I do a lot of my shopping online or when I’m in the UK I drop into Phonica. They’ve really got a great range and it’s up to date so I don’t find it hard at all. But it depends where you are, it’s very regional, good record stores. I mean in NYC, there’s nothing. You’d think it was booming with all the labels, but there really isn’t a good shop to go to”. Matthew Cowley Juan Maclean plays the Future Music Festival alongside The Rapture [USA], The Wombats [UK], Tinie Tempah [UK], Paul van Dyk [GER] and many more at Flemington Racecourse on Sunday March 11.
Dan Watt Hercules and Love Affair [USA] play Future Music Festival alongside Fatboy Slim [USA], Paul van Dyk [GER], Aphex Twin [UK] and more at Flemington Racecourse on Sunday March 11.
KRYPTIC MINDS SICKLY KRYPTIC: BASS JUMPERS Having spent years kicking about on labels including Metalheadz, Frequency and Monitor, the duo that make up Kryptic Minds are no strangers to the forefront of dance music’s perpetuallyevolving scenes and trends. Formed over ten years ago upon the release of Si’s underground anthem The Truth, the duo steadily got to work together, enjoying a number of years at the top of the drum and bass game. Yet unlike many whose relevance eventually comes to be no more after too many years in the business, Brett Bigden’s and Simon Shreeve’s output remains as boundary-pushing and original as ever. Demonstrating the importance of never getting too comfortable, with the release of their first full-length album One Of Us on Loefah DMZ’s label Swamp 81 – a surprising and entirely pleasing excursion into the realms of deep dubstep with a keen understanding of the tension that lies beneath its surfaces. It seems surprising that so many of drum and bass’ earlier figures seem to be abandoning the breakneck tempo for more traditional genres – evident in the slew of recent releases from producers including the likes of dBridge, ASC and plenty of others, who’ve all recently found themselves enamoured by the realm of possibility presented by techno, garage and beyond – and when I get on the phone to one half of the duo, Brett Bigden, it seems that Kryptic Minds are yet another act to join in on this expansion of ideas. “The whole bass music thing is more open now than it ever was, and drum and bass is just one form of that music,” Bigden points out. “I think people in general are quite creative and if you stick to one thing, one tempo, it can be very limiting, very restricting. And some of the people who’ve been doing this for a long time, I think it’s easy to get not bored of the music, because it’s not that kind of music, but it gets a bit stale, and this bass music thing is
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a breath of fresh air.” Asked what drove them to become interested in the half-step rumblings of bass music that they’re now so well-known for, Bigden explains it was a natural progression for them. “I think, as much as anything else, it began with age,” he says. “We both got older, which meant that the music we were making at the time (which was drum and bass) seemed so quick. We were going into the studio one day and listening to the tunes we were making – not knowing about dubstep at all initially, we just started experimenting with drum and bass at 140BPM. We slowed down what we were doing and found there was a lot more room for different noises, effects – the whole groove has a completely different feel. We discovered this music called dubstep, which was the same sort of tempo nod we branched off it, straight into that sound. Drum and bass is very drum-oriented with its fills and everything else; dubstep doesn’t have that, it’s a lot more minimal. Initially it was a bit of a shock when we had to leave the fills out and lose the breaks,” we laugh, before he continues, “but no – it’s been good, we really enjoy it.” Kryptic Minds’ approach to bass music is heavily steeped in a less-is-more ideology – while others emphasise the heavy basslines and the pounding drums that characterise the output of many of their contemporaries, the endless, blacked-out spaces of albums such as One Of Us and Can’t Sleep are an exercise in minimalism. Sparse and tension-riddled, the duo demonstrate a keen understanding of the power of the paredback combined with the ambient noises of cities after midnight. “I’ve always been a geek when it comes to the technical side of production,” he muses. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning about equipment, learning about sounds, reading books and things so yeah, I do believe strongly in focusing on what you put into FEATURES
the songs in terms of sound. I’m a strong believer in this idea that you create this sound, it’s your sound – do you know what I mean? What you put in is what you get out, definitely.” The duo are no stranger to the business side of the music industry, either, having ran a number of record labels together, including the currently-thriving Osiris Music, home to their more recent releases as well as an excellent selection of the up-and-coming. Always defiant and unwilling to be restricted by the confines of genre tags, their intent in establishing this most recent imprint echoes the sentiments expressed in their rationalisation of dubstep’s place in the music scene at present. “This is our fourth record label over the years – we’ve been doing this for about 15, 16 years now, so we’ve had a few of them,” he explains. “But they’ve always seemed to be pigeonholed. That’s what we didn’t like about when we had Defcon, which was a secondary kind of thing; it got very put in a corner, which we felt gutted by. Because as far as we were concerned, we just did our thing, and for people to just then label it as one style of music and one kind of sound was a bit of a shame.” The releases to Osiris’ name so far are impressive, spanning a wide spectrum of tempos and moods. Asked about where
they envision taking Osiris over the next few years for both themselves and the artists they house, he’s optimistic. “Osiris is us taking it in a more open direction – we could put out our own tunes, because we’ve always felt very strongly about how we feel about our music and we wanted to put out music that was unrestricted. We could put out what we wanted to put out when we wanted to, which is important because it means you can keep being creative because you don’t have to fit into somebody else’s agenda or sound. Osiris was put in place so we could release all of this dubstep, and other styles of music as well. We did a few drum and bass releases in the beginning, and it was always to remain open in regards to putting out other electronic pieces, or maybe even a rock piece if we wanted to. The idea was to have a music label – rather than a dubstep or genre-specific label.” Miki McLay Kryptic Minds [UK] play Bass Jump 2012: The Outlook Festival Launch Party alongside Ulterior Motive [UK], Spectrasoul [UK], The Upbeats [NZ] and more at Docklands (boat cruise) and Billboard (club show) on Sunday March 11.
BBA PRESENTS BASS JUMP 2012 THE OUTLOOK FESTIVAL LAUNCH PARTY
SUNDAY 11TH MARCH LABOUR DAY WEEKEND ICICLE UK / KRYPTIC MINDS UK ULTERIOR MOTIVE UK / SPECTRASOUL UK THE UPBEATS NZ / ORGANIKISMNESS NZ CRUSHINGTON LIVE NZ / SOULWARE DJ SET NZ OPTIMUS GRYME NZ / SAFIRE AUS BOAT CRUISE FROM THE DOCKLANDS + CLUB SHOW @ BILLBOARD NIGHTCLUB BOAT & CLUB TICKETS
CLUB TICKETS ONLY
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EARLY BIRD - SOLD OUT 2ND ROUND - $75 + B/FEE FINAL RELEASE - $90 + B/FEE
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DUBFIRE DISHING OUT: FUTURE DUB Ali Shirazinia is a name that is written in EDM folklore. Initially as a part of the supergroup Deep Dish with partner in crime Sharam Tayebi – but now as a bona fide solo superstar – the Dubfire name is now associated with deep, meaningful production talent as well as a superb ability to read a crowd from behind the mixer. From the beginning, Deep Dish always did their own thing – as Shirazinia describes, they were about bridging the gap between house and techno. “We loved what was going on in Chicago and New York in the early days and in many ways it has come full circle. Within the evolution of music, it was always about reintroducing things to an entirely new generation. It’s what we did then and it’s what I’m doing now. But now, technology is allowing us to transform what we were doing before. Everybody pretty much has access to new technology. But on the flip side, the market is super saturated with a lot of mediocre stuff – not even bad stuff – just ok stuff, so it’s hard to maintain a level head about how you judge a track. Trying to stay in touch with all of it has definitely gotten harder over the years.” Regardless, the Deep Dish legacy remains alive – and the guys are still friends and often talk about doing something again – but not for that sake of it. “We have to do it for the right reasons. We need to make sure that we can recreate that creative cycle again. We reached our pinnacle in 2005 so if we do something again, we do it with the right intentions and importantly, we need to have something musically relevant to say to one another and more importantly to our fans.” So needless to say, as a solo artist, the man has been keeping rather busy. “I’ve been playing a lot of gigs – a ton actually –
and it kind of screeched to a halt on January 5 when I had my last gig in Playa Del Carmen. And rather than go on holiday like a lot of us typically do, I just decided that I had so many ideas I’d been saving for the moment [when] the gigging would stop, so I could sit down and just flesh out some ideas and try to make some tracks without any distractions. So I’ve been in the studio literally every single day and I’ve come up with some really great music. And since, I haven’t really come up for air!” Indeed more recently, he has moved into a smoother if not darker form of music that is unmistakably techno. “I’m really driven by the music that I’m hearing in the clubs,” he says. “Playing alongside a group of DJs – guys you’ve heard or haven’t heard before –really just taking it all in and processing it somehow and then having it inspire and influence me in the studio; music still inspires my scope and vision.” And now whenever a release bears his name – or any number of his aliases or collaborations – rest assured it will have the unmistakable depth and honesty attached to all of his music. And recently, while his recent studio time has seen him up his output, he is in no hurry; rather, he is happily plodding along and working on a game plan focused on simple brainstorming. “I’ve finished up a lot of tracks that seem promising. Eventually, I want to do an album as well, but there has to be a concept around it. The problem is, the idea of a traditional album I think doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t want to come out and release an album of singles that I could have released individually or sporadically throughout the year, you know? So I have to find a good enough concept – so I think for now, the tracks will come out during the year
but individually.” Impressively, he remains his staunchest critic, admitting he feels pressure from all around: “I would be lying if I said that this day and age you could rest on your laurels and stuff. You have to be ten steps ahead all the time. All of that goes away when it’s you in front of your computer and when you’re fleshing something out, that is first and foremost important to you before you give it to the rest of the world who will judge you. So the pressure seeps into that creative process but you have to please yourself at the end of the day and that creates double the pressure – especially for me.” Finally, he spits a few words on his pent up excitement about his series of forthcoming festival dates. “I don’t really know the vibe to expect because the festivals are pretty diverse
or my favourite songs, all have taken like five minutes to make. It seriously just fell into place. Like, it was so easy that at one point I started freaking out when I finished it, going, ‘Shit, what if I’ve subconsciously ripped this song off someone, have I heard this somewhere before?’ The answer is no, but it was still weird.” According to the rapper, releasing under ‘Mickey Fortune’ rather than Oh Snap!! has become priority lately, as have collaborations with other artists – including a track titled Diplo Hates You with Dani Deahl most recently. And no, Fortune’s not starting some kind of beef with the DJ/producer – in fact, Diplo loves it. “Dani is a pretty big artist in the US and she emailed me and asked me if I’d be interested in contributing to a song she was working on,” Fortune recalls. “She’s like, ‘Okay, can you just say, “Diplo hates you” a few times and then can you rap a little bit about it and stuff’. So I tried it and she was blown away, she was like, ‘No! That’s awesome! Let’s keep going!’ … So the whole thing got out of control, pretty soon we were going, ‘Diplo hates your shoes’ – [because] Kanye West makes his shoes for him – and ‘Diplo hates your clothes’, and on and on… And Diplo is totally supporting it! He heard it and he thought it was hilarious and amazing, so he decided that he was going to be in the video too. He plays an executivetype who’s just hating on everyone and everything.” Other collabs have included Brisbane’s own producer/DJ, Danny T, with whom Fortune released the single Whine Ya Waistline last year. “Danny and I have done stuff together in the past and it’s always interesting working with him because we’re literally making music from two separate parts of the world. I love the music he sends me to rap to, it’s a situation where I always find I can
come up with something really fast and his stuff really fits with style. I also did a song with Kissy Sell Out from BBC1, which was amazing because Kissy is so widely followed and he’s always breaking new music so I’ve always looked up to him. The funniest experience has been trying to do a song with Lil Jon because he is just such an iconic identity. It’s actually really hard to work with someone like him because he’s so good that he makes you feel self-conscious. I’m sure he’s not aware of his effect, but I was just obsessing to myself like, ‘Oh man, what’s he gonna think of my rap’. Because, you know, I like to rap on a song where I will be the best rapper on it!” As Fortune himself confesses, he ain’t exactly rockin’ the typical rapper image either. Nevertheless, as Oh Snap!! he’s developed legions of fans around the world, including Europe, where he is off to this year as well.
but I do know that I’m in great company with the lineup, which looks totally amazing. I think our stage is going to rock and techno has really had a great couple of years so any opportunity to come back to Australia! The fans there are so appreciative for us coming out there and playing our brand of crazy, wacky music, it’s a real honour to do it all again!” RK Dubfire plays Future Music Festival alongside Fatboy Slim [USA], The Wombats [UK], Skrillex [USA], Paul van Dyk [GER] and many more on Sunday March 11 at the Flemington Racecourse.
OH SNAP!! SNAP: MARYLAND RAP Mickey Fortune has never had so much sleep as in the past couple of weeks ever since leaving Baltimore, Maryland and getting on the plane for Australia. He slept for two days straight throughout his flight over and has been doing pretty much more of the same since arriving on our soil. That’s okay though, as the rapper points out, because spending most of his time unconscious has just given him more energy during the waking hours. “Oh, it’s been horrible!” he laughs. “I feel so lazy, I don’t know if it’s just jetlag or what…The shows have been great, though! From the get-go, the shows have been crazy, it kicked off in Adelaide first. There’s been lots of good energy, everybody’s been having a good time and, in-between, I’ve just been getting even more sleep. I’m just sleepy, I guess. Total rockstar, I know. I’m actually coming back to Australia in November, or maybe December, I was in Australia last year too. I love it there but I’m not one of those people who will just say that to you to blow smoke. It’s one of my favourite places to play because Australia was really receptive to my music from the start – it was the first place I went to internationally as Oh Snap! so I guess it opened a lot of doors for me.” This time around, Fortune has returned to us on the back of his new single, Mr Ouzo, a Greek-inspired track that the rapper claims literally manifested itself within less than five minutes. Fortune simply started singing the hook and the rest of the song pretty much wrote itself in the most natural way. “The title came about because I stumbled upon these funny, really out-there Greek accordion sounds on the synths,” he explains. “Then I just started singing and I found the hook to it. I just kept going, just making the entire thing up as I went, and the song just wrote itself. I find that the most memorable songs,
“I’ve been rapping for probably about ten years now,” he states. “Years ago I was managed by DMX and his people but back then I was more of a gangsta rapper. Yeah, that’s right, gangsta rapper. I know how that sounds because – look at me! – I’m the exact opposite of all things gangsta! I was doing electronic stuff for years, I’ve always been a raver and I was always going to parties but then I started doing some live rapping during my DJ sets and just really mixing it up. I guess I’m kind of all over the place, that’s why you get electro, dubstep, hip hop and just a huge mashup in my DJ sets.” Birdie Oh Snap!!’s [AUS] latest single Mr Ouzo is out now through Central Station Records.
ØRJAN NILSEN NORWEGIAN: ENTRANCING The onset of technology has changed the way artists represent nowadays. The baby-faced Ørjan Nilsen is testament to that. Not yet 20, his releases on Intuition, Enhanced and Armada Recordings have established him as a force to be reckoned with in the progressive trance scene. Hailing from Norway, Nilsen is primed for his schedule of festival dates around the country – and equally, is ready to deliver exclusive performances that are sure to open a new chapter in the fan book for the youngster. In his native Norway, the guy is well known for his ability to get the crowd fired up, with his take on chunky albeit always groovy trance that takes its influence from techno and house. There are all sort of exciting things happening in his world, least of which being the support the industry heavyweights like Armin, Above & Beyond and Ferry Corsten have lent him in supporting his tracks. And likewise, his music videos on YouTube number views in the hundreds of thousands. Yet despite all of this seemingly swift success, the current pinup boy of Norwegian trance remains balanced and down to Earth, explaining he is merely doing what he always wanted to do. “I was always into music,” chimes Nilsen. “I came from a musical family – my father and brother were drummers, I have been playing music since I was a kid and it has always been in my life. And for me, electronic music was great because I could do everything myself from drums and bass and it ended up being the way I decided to go, because I got great feedback from the DJs I was working and playing with, so basically, I decided to really pursue it.” And like most of his compatriots, it was the melodic and uplifting nature of trance that inspired and motivated him.
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“When I was about 13 years old, friends of mine came back from Sweden and trance was pretty big everywhere. I loved the trance sound because the music was all about making you smile. There was nothing unapproachable about it – everything about it appealed to me so that’s why I have chosen trance.” This isn’t to say through, that Nilsen is a slave to the rhythm. He enjoys music from all genres and likewise finds inspiration for his productions from activities as diverse as sitting at home, to his travels, to merely looking up at the sky. “It needs to touch me in a special way. I know it sounds interesting, but I can look through a door and be inspired to make a melody. When you love making music you don’t need much inspiration to be honest. For me, inspiration has never been a difficulty.” Indeed, remaining open minded has afforded him the luxury to explore different and unique sounds as well as ensure he doesn’t get tainted with one brush. “I have always been into many different genres. I love house and techno and as a DJ you always try to play a variety of stuff without being too particular about a sound that you are aligned to. I think today as well, with the amount of music out there, the number of bedroom DJs who are able to produce music – and do it really well – there is a real alignment of sound in this respect. “Genres are closing in on one another – more and more, styles are borrowing elements from each other and this will keep going because it is what the fans want. It also makes the music much more interesting and it keeps it interesting for the artists who aren’t always just making one style of music.” FEATURES
In the studio, Nilsen has completed two new EPs, which he hopes will be released in the European spring. He also completed a track with Armin, which debuted on his radio show – another highlight. “I’m also working on a few tracks and bits and pieces, but with the amount of touring I’m doing it can be difficult to make music but of course whenever I have the time, I enjoy working in the studio to create new material.” Finally, he shares a few words on the forthcoming tour and in the process, tries to contain his excitement – albeit rather poorly. “I am really excited about coming down to Australia. I have loaded my USB sticks with a lot of fresh music as well
as a few exclusives and new tracks that people haven’t heard before. It’s a huge festival and I can’t wait to see how people are going to react to the music that I want to be playing!” I’m sure the feeling is mutual. RK Ørjan Nilsen [NOR] plays Future Music Festival alongside The Rapture [USA], New Order [UK], Fatboy Slim [UK] and many more at Flemington Racecourse on Sunday March 11.
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LAST DRINKS AT STRIKE CHAPEL STREET, PRAHRAN MARCH 2 & 3 DJS | $5 BASICS | $8 COCKTAILS | $10 BOWLING Strike Chapel Street has been an institution south of the Yarra for 10 years. Unfortunately (due to circumstances out of our control) we have to close our doors from this weekend (but we are ‘changing lanes’ to Strike Melbourne Central from April 18 – with Laser Skirmish!). Over the years we have seen nude bowling, all night lock-ins, epic promo nights such as Hong Kong Cracker (involving sumo wrestling suits and plenty of sake), Bogan Bingo, Surf n Turf (mechanical surfing machine), and our very famous gay friendly Bump n Bowl Sundays. So come and say goodbye with us, minus the “wrecking ball’…
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early drink specials. Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra
Dee, Jay Sin and weekly guests playing RnB & Ol’Skool sounds strictly for the urban elite. Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne
COMPRESSION SESSION Reggae at E55 every Wednesday night. Resident selectors play strictly vinyl. Free entry. 8pm. E55, 55 Elizabeth St, Melbourne CBD
HOODRAPZ All things hip hop! The party keeps getting bigger every fortnight. Guests at Hoodrapz 6 Include, Romy Dee, Ben Jammin, Secondhand, Mz Rizk and more. Hosted by MC Apologize. Workshop, Lvl 1, 413-417 Elizabeth St (Cnr A’Beckett St), Melbourne
THURSDAY1ST RHYTHM-AL-ISM Start the weekend early with Fusion’s Resident DJs. Music for your funkin’ soul. Special guests every week! Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
FRIDAY2ND FAKTORY This is it. Faktory Fridays are open for business at Melbourne’s home of R&B, Khokolat Bar. Where else? Damion De Silva, Ken Walker, Durmy, K Dee, Simon Sez, Yaths and Jacqui Dusk spinning all night long. Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne
LIKE FRIDAYS Like Fridays at La Di Da serves up R&B and electro house across two rooms giving you a fun filled end to your week. DJs Dinesh, Dir-X, Sef, NYD, Shaun D, Shaggz, Broz and more. La Di Da, 577 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
SWEET NOTHING FRIDAYS DJ Marcus Knight and DJ Xander James spin hip hop, R&B and house tunes all night from 8pm. Free entry and
ROOTS MANUVA LADI6 Crown Ruler and Niche Productions presents Ladi 6 with special guests. Prince Bandroom, Cnr Acland St, 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
SOUL STRUTT
SATURDAY3RD BOATS, RHYMES AND LIFE Boats, Rhymes and Life has the honour of being Melbourne’s first ever block party on a cruise ship. Surely that sells itself, right? Given that we have to fill up this paragraph, we might as well tell you a little more about what’s going down. After gathering the finest in Australian hip-hop and beats talent, the Victoria Star is ready to set sail with the likes of headliner Mantra along with his mates Bam Bam and DJ Wasabi, Melbourne’s own block rockin’ Nick Thayer and a slew of other names including DJ Flagrant, Psyde Projects, DJ Perplex, M.A.F.I.A, DJ Prequel, Claymore 74 and Zack Rampage. Aaaaaaw yeahhhh. Victoria Star, Dock Nine, Central Pier
KHOKOLAT KOATED All new experience, same great location with a fresh koat of Khokolat. Restless Entertainment reloads your favourite Saturday night party. Damion De Silva, K
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DIAFRIX & JOELISTICS Two of Australia’s most eclectic hip hop acts join forces on this Running To Shine national tour. Saturday March 17, Corner Hotel, 57 Swan St, Richmond
else altogether. Mantra continues: “So yeah, the Tribe Called Quest theme comes back to Clayton – the man holding the whole thing down – he has put on a lot of boat parties before, but this time he has done it from the angle of showcasing a certain type of music, and he then decided to apply the hip hop slant to it. Recently, he put on a funk soul party, which was incredible. So we’re really looking forward to getting the hip hop community represented with this one. There is no great meaning behind the whole thing, other than to get the whole crew out there to have a great time and represent.” The boat will feature two floors, with Mantra headlining the upper deck with partners in crime DJ Wasabi and Bam Bam. “He’s a good friend of mine and basically acts as my hype man when I do my shows,” explains Mantra. “So basically, I’ll be doing a banging hip hop show as well as stuff from my two albums. Also, we want to do some exclusive stuff – doing a party on a boat gives you the chance to do something unique so we want to do something a bit left of centre if you know what I mean?” No less, expect to hear material from the two solo albums he has dropped over the last two years. “A fair chunk of the
material we’re performing at the moment is based around the album I finished in September last year. We’ve had a pretty busy period touring between the albums and now I’m pulling myself out of that a little and kind of focusing a little on writing.” That said though, all it took was a left field call around doing something a little bit different and Mantra was sold. “It’s not everyday you get called to headline a gig on a boat! But when the call came to headline this gig – we said, ‘Yeah!’ It’s not something we’ve done before. I don’t think there is too much more to say about it than that – the show will be more about having fun. It’s about raising awareness of local music so we leapt at the opportunity and of course, we’re really looking forward to the party.” So that takes care of the top deck. But just to make sure you have options – and you will – the lower deck will feature DJ/producer extraordinaire Nick Thayer headlining. A bona-fide superstar, he needs little in the way of introduction having worked with some pretty big industry names like A-Skills and DJ Yoda, as well as releasing on some important labels like Bomb Strikes, Insane Bangers, Southern Fried and Hot Cakes. The final word then, is this. If you’re up for a relaxing sunset party cruising Melbourne’s waterways – or a raucous dose of hip hop, a few ales with some mates and the chance to get down – then this is the gig that will cover all the bases. From chief party rockers, to turntablists, to hype men, to fat beats and a killer lineup featuring everything that is so good about local hip hop right now, you’d be hard pressed to pass this up as a fine way to spend a Saturday evening. Oh and if that isn’t enough there is also an after party
SOULCITY: BOATS, RHYMES & LIFE We’ve all heard of boat parties before – but this one is a little bit special. Themed around hip hop, Soulcity Productions have put their effort into delivering a fresh and unique experience, with something for every taste. To that end, and in the spirit of Beats, Rhymes & Life – one of the great Tribe Called Quest albums to grace the shelves of the hip hop section in the music store – Soulcity presents their own take on the boat party concept featuring the crop of local hip hop talent, including Mantra, Nick Thayer, Flagrant, Psyde Projects, Perplex, M.A.F.I.A, DJ Prequel, Claymore 74 and Zack Rampage. Today though, Mantra is representing the crew with all the goss on the gig. “It’s a pretty exciting concept,” he chimes. “Now don’t quote me on this [sorry buddy] – but I think the boat is called the Victoria Star and it leaves from the Docklands and goes out onto Port Philip Bay and we kind of see some coast and some water – which is nice! There will be 300 or so people on board and it’s going to be much more than the boat coasting up and down the Yarra I hope.” Indeed, a decent hip hop gig in any setting is a gift from God but on a boat – it has the potential to be something
UPCOMING
and each song sort of has its own feel and its own style.” Although appearing himself on a few of the tracks on the album, Robertson is under no illusions that his main talent lies in ability as a producer. Even from an early age, it’s clear that making beats rather than spitting over them has always been the goal. “The first memory I’ve got of hearing a hip hop record was when I was at a mate’s house, my neighbour, and he’d just bought Tougher Than Leather by Run DMC. He played the opening track Run’s House and I was just totally bugged out! Sitting there listening to it in his bedroom, I think I listened to the whole tape back to front! After about an hour or something he came back in and was like, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Ah, just listening.’ I think I was about eight or nine years old.” It’s not just the music that holds appeal for Robertson, who looks to consume anything linked to the ‘way of life’ of hip hop that was talked about so much during the genre’s golden years. “All the elements of hip hop have really interested me,” he says. “I’ve always been involved with people who are part of the artistic side of it, whether it’s writing, graffiti or rap or DJing and making beats. It’s kind of always been around me and in the last kind of seven years or something I just stuck to it and thought, ‘Yeah this is what’s always been here and this is what’s always pushed my buttons so I’m going
MANTRA
URBAN
HERMITUDE They’ve just completed a sold out East Coast tour, so it’s timely to announce the HyperParadise Tour in March 2012. They’ll be heading around the country with labelmates and triple j Next Crop artists Sietta, whose buzz has grown with each week since the release of their debut album The Seventh Passenger. Friday March 23, Prince Bandroom, Cnr Acland St, 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
SUPAFEST
to make a hip hop record’.” Pushing buttons is certainly an apt expression given Robertson’s choice of tools. For those that don’t know, Akai’s MPC (Music Production Centre) is an electronic musical instrument, similar to a drum machine but with the ability for enhanced sampling, storage, interfacing and sound manipulation. Incredibly versatile, the kit has revolutionised the way producers execute their trade. “It makes me able to perform the beats that I love man,” Robertson says of the machine he first started using back in 2004. “I’ve never really taken to the turntables anymore than just being able to mix a few beats and pull off some basic scratches, but being a guitar player and also playing some keys, I can sample them, I can sample the records and, for me, being able to knock out beats live and have them sound the way they do coming out the MPC, having that with me – it definitely took my performance to another stage. I love it. For me it’s still the piece of equipment that, if you’re going to write beats, I think whether you use it or not, you should at least have one in your studio.” Those keen to check out Robertson’s ability on the MPC will be able to catch him live over the next few months on tour around the country with rappers Diafrix and Joelistics. Hitting most of the major touch points in the country, this tour as well as his own planned for later in the year will no doubt increase his exposure and help with the promotion of the album. However, for Robertson, success for Love Drive Commission isn’t all about sales. “I’m not too fussed about he whole commercial side of things,’ he admits. “Money’s not a big deal to me, especially not with music, it never really has been. I’m all about working with contemporaries and the people I really admire, and if this album gets my name into people’s heads and they enjoy it and I can hook up with other like-minded heads and make some good music on their albums, or my albums or wherever it’s at,
MISSION: FOR THE LOVE DRIVE COMMISSION Brisbane-based hip hop beat maker Calski takes an allinclusive approach to his music, seeing collaboration, teamwork and the power of many as the best way to get things done. “There’s nothing better than the synergy of people working together,” says the man born Callum Robertson. “It sounds totally corny but that’s pretty much where it’s at. You can’t do everything by yourself. I think it’s good to explore that, but working with people is far better because all the ideas that they have, they can bring to you and you can do the same to them and it’s just a better world. ”This modus operandi is certainly evident in his new album Love Drive Commission, which features a number of guest appearances from a number of contemporaries whom Robertson knows and admires including Rainman, Tommy Illfigga and Dialectrix amongst others. “It’s a real connection with the places I’ve been and had contact with during the last five to seven years of making hip hop music,” he says of his debut long player. “I had a real strong idea about what I wanted to do lyrically for the emcees to touch on but I think sometimes having a really strong idea and this vision for something can stand in the way of the natural progression that music can take. It’s not something that you should try to tame or hold onto. I think music’s one of these things that you just let happen and let it do its own thing. So I let go of the reins a fair bit
Soul Strutt is the first in an irregular series of shows teaming up some great soul tunes on original vinyl from disc jockeys Barbara Blaze and Mohair Slim with awesome live acts. For our innaugural show Continental Robert Susz and the Rinky Dinks will be stirring up the dance floor with his awesome soul and rhythm and blues show. Wherever you catch Robert performing he’ll be singing and blowing his harp with all his heart & soul! The Gogo Goddesses will be in the cages and entry is a mere $5. The LuWow, 62-70 Johnston St, Fitzroy
Bringing with him his full live band, Roots Manuva will be setting venues ablaze with five studio albums worth of material as well as giving Australian audiences some of the first tastes in the world of the new material in a live setting. Saturday March 10, Prince Bandroom, Cnr Acland St, 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda
After a gargantuan 2011 with Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Taio Cruz, Bow Wow and more, Supafest has once again raised the bar. Headlining the 2012 proceedings will be none other than Mr. P. Diddy, who will be joined on stage by the likes of Ice Cube, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, Lupe Fiasco, Chris Brown, Missy Elliot and Big Sean. Saturday April 21, TBA
that’s really where I’m aiming for this one.” Richie Meldrum Calski’s [AUS] Love Drive Commission is out now on LookUp distributed through Obese. He hits the Corner Hotel with Joelistics [AUS] and Diafrix [AUS] on Saturday March 17.
nearby as well. They’ve kind of thought of everything – so you’ve got no excuse to head down and lend your support. RK Mantra [AUS] plays Boats, Rhymes & Life alongside Nick Thayer [AUS], DJ Prequel [AUS] and more on The Victoria Star, setting sail this Saturday March 3.
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29th Apartment 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9078 8922
Love Machine Cnr Lt Chapel & Malvern Rd, Prahran, 9533 8837
303 303 High Street, Northcote
Lucky Coq 179 Chapel St, Windsor, 9525 1288
Abode 374 St.Kilda Rd, St.Kilda
The LuWOW 62-70 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 5447
Albert Park Hotel Cnr Montague & Dundas Pl, Albert Park, 9690 5459
Mercat Cross Lvl 1, 456 Queen St, Melb, 9348 9998
Alia Lvl 1, 83-87 Smith St, Fitzroy, 9486 0999
Mink 2 Acland St, St Kilda, 9536 1199
Alumbra Shed 9, Central Pier, 161 Harbour Espl, Docklands, 8623 9666
Miss Libertine 34 Franklin St, Melb, 9663 6855
Back Bar 67 Green St, Windsor, 9529 7899
Misty 3-5 Hosier Ln, Melb, 9663 9202
Bar Open 317 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9415 9601
Mockingbird Bar 129 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9534 0000
Baroq House 9-13 Drewery Ln, Melb, 8080 5680
Musicland 1359A Sydney Rd, Fawkner, 9359 0006
Bendigo Hotel 125 Johnston St, Collingwood 9417 3415
Neverland 32-48 Johnson St, South Melb, 9646 5544
Bertha Brown 562 Flinders Street, 9629 1207
New Guernica Lvl 2, Hub Arcade, 318-322 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9650 4464
Big Mouth 168 Acland St, St.Kilda, 9534 4611
Night Cat 141 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 0090
Billboard 170 Russell St, Melb, 9639 4000
Night Cat 279 Flinders Ln, Melb, 9654 0444
Bimbo Deluxe 376 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 8600
Noise Bar 291 Albert St, Brunswick, 9380 1493
Birmingham Hotel Cnr Smith & Johnston St, Fitzroy
Northcote Social Club 301 High St, Northcote, 9489 3917
Black Cat 252 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 6230
Old Bar 74 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 4155
Blue Bar 330 Chapel St, Prahran, 9529 6499
One Twenty Bar 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy
Blue Tile Lounge 95 Smith St, Fitzroy
Onesixone 161 High St, Prahran, 9533 8433
Boutique 134 Greville St, Prahran, 9525 2322
Order Of Melbourne level 2, 401 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 6707
Brown Alley King Street, Melb,9670 8599
Palace Hotel 893 Burke Rd, Camberwell
Brunswick Hotel 140 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9387 6637
Palace Theatre 20-30 Bourke St, Melb, 9650 0180
Builders Arms 211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Palais 111 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs, 5348 4849
Cabinet Bar 11 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne, 9654 0915
Palais Theatre Lower Esplanade, St Kilda, 9525 3240
Caravan Music Club 95 Drummond St, Oakleigh
Papa Goose 91 Flinders Ln, Melbourne, 9663 2800
Caseys Nightclub 660A Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, 9810 0030
Penny Black 420 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9380 8667
Caz Reitops Dirty Secrets 80 Smith St, Collingwood, 9415 8876
Pier Live Hotel 508 Nepean Hwy, Frankston, 9783 9800
CBD Club 12-14 McKillop St, Melb, 9670 3638
Pony 68-70 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9662 1026
Chaise Lounge Basement, 105 Queen St, Melb, 9670 6120
Portland Hotel Cnr Lt Collins & Russell St, Melb, 9810 0064
Chandelier Room 91 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, 9532 2288
The Prague Hotel, 911 High St, Northcote, 9495 0000
Chelsea Heights Hotel Cnr Springvale & Wells Rd,
Pretty Please 61c Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9534 4484
Chelsea Heights, 9773 4453
Prince Bandroom 29 Fitztory St, St Kilda, 9536 1168
Cherry Bar AC/DC Ln, Melb, 9639 8122
Prince Of Wales 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9536 1168
Chi Lounge 195 Lt Bourke St, Melbourne, 9662 2688
Public Bar 238 Victoria St, North Melb, 9329 6522
Co. Lvl 3, Crown Complex, 9292 5750
Railway Hotel 280 Ferrars St, South Melb, 9690 5092
Colonial Hotel (Brown Alley) Cnr King & Lonsdale St, Melb, 9670 8599
Red Bennies 371 Chapel St, South Yarra, 9826 2689
Commercial Club Hotel 344 Nicholson St, Fitzroy, 9419 1522
Red Love Lvl 1, 401 Swanston St, Melb, 9639 3722
Cookie Lvl 1, 252 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 7660
Retreat Hotel 226 Nicholson St, Abbotsford, 9417 2693
Corner Hotel 57 Swan St, Richmond, 9427 9198
The Retreat Hotel 280 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9380 4090
Cornish Arms 163 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Revolt Elizabeth St, Kensington, 03 9376 2115
CQ 113 Queen St, Melb, 8601 2738
Revolver Upstairs 229 Chapel St, Prahran, 9521 5985
Croft Institute 21 Croft Alley, Melb, 9671 4399
Rochester Castle Hotel 202 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9415 7555
Cruzao Arepa Bar 365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 7871
Rooftop Cider Bar, Cnr Swanston & Flinders St, Melbourne, 9650 3884
Cushion 99 Fitzroy St, St.Kilda, 9534 7575
Room 680 Level 1, 680 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, 9818 0680
Damask 1/347 Burnswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 4578
Roxanne Parlour Lvl 3, 2 Coverlid Pl, Melb
The Drunken Poet 65 Peel Street, West Melbourne, 9348 9797
Royal Derby 446 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 2321
Der Raum 438 Church St, Richmond, 9428 0055
Roal Melbourne Hotel 629 Bourke St, 9629 2400
Ding Dong Lounge Lvl 1, 18 Market Ln, Melb, 9662 1020
Ruby’s Lounge 1648 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave, 9754 7445
Dizzy’s Jazz Club 381 Burnley St, Richmond, 9428 1233
Saint Hotel 54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9593 8333
Double Happiness 21 Liverpool St, Melb, 9650 4488
Sandbelt Live Cnr South & Bignell Rd, Moorabbin, 9555 6899
E:55 55 Elizabeth St, Melb, 9620 3899
Scarlett Lounge 174 Burnley St, Richmond, 9428 0230
East Brunswick Club 280 Lygon St, East Brunswick, 9388 2777
Seven Nightclub 52 Albert Rd, South Melb, 9690 7877
Edinburgh Castle 681 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Spensers Live 419 Spencer St, West Melb, 03 9329 8821
Electric Ladyland Lvl 1, 265 Chapel St, Prahran, 9521 5757
Spot 133 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9388 0222
Elwood Lounge 49-51 Glenhuntly Rd, Elwood, 9525 6788
Standard Hotel 293 Fitzroy St, Fitzroy, 9419 4793
Empress 714 Nicholson St, Nth Fitzroy, 9489 8605
Star Bar 160 Clarendon St, South Melb, 9810 0054
Espy 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda, 9534 0211
Station 59 59 Church St, Richmond, 9427 8797
Eurotrash 18 Corrs Ln, Melb, 9654 4411
Stolberg Beer Café 197 Plenty Rd, Preston, 9495 1444
Eve 334 City Rd, Southbank, 9696 7388
Sub Lounge & Restaurant 168 Elizabeth St Melb, 0411 800 198
Evelyn 351 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 5500
Sugar Bar (Hotel Urban) 35 Fitztroy St, St Kilda, 8530 8888
Ferntree Gully Hotel 1130 Burwood Hwy, Ferntree Gully, 9758 6544
Temperance Hotel 426 Chapel St, South Yarra, 9827 7401
Festival Hall 300 Dudley St, West Melbourne, 9329 9699
Thornbury Theatre 859 High St, Thornbury, 9484 9813
First Floor 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 6380
Tiki Lounge 327 Swan St, Richmond, 9428 4336
Forum Theatre 154 Flinders St, Melb, 9299 9800
Toff In Town Lvl 2, 252 Swanston St, Melb, 9639 8770
The Fox Hotel 351 Wellington Street, Collingwood, 9416 4957
Tony Starr’s Kitten Club 267 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9650 2448
Fusion Lvl 3, Crown Complex, Southbank, 9292 5750
The Tote Hotel 67 Johnson St, Collingwood, 9419 5320
The Gallery Room 1/510 Flinders St, Melbourne, 9629 1350
Town Hall Hotel 33 Errol St, North Melbourne, 9328 1983
Gem Bar & Dining 289 Wellingston St, Collingwood, 9419 5170
Trak Lounge 445 Toorak Rd, Toorak, 9826 9000
George Basement, 127 Fitzroy St, 9534 8822
Tramp 20 King St, Melb
Gertrude’s Brown Couch 30 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, 9417 6420
Transport Hotel Federation Square, Melb, 9654 8808
Grace Darling Hotel 114 Smith St, Collingwood, 9416 0055
Trunk 275 Exhibition St, Melbourne, 9663 7994
Grandview Hotel Cnr Heidelberg Rd & Station St, Fairfield, 9489 8061
Tyranny Of Distance 147 Union St, Windsor, 9525 1005
Great Britain Hotel 447 Church St, Richmond, 9429 5066
Two of Hearts 149 Commercial Road, Prahran
Grind N Groove 274 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville
Union Hotel Brunswick 109 Union St, Brunswick, 9388 2235
Grumpy’s Green 125 Smith St, Collingwood, 9416 1944
Veludo 175 Acland St, St Kilda, 9534 4456
Gypsy Bar 334 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 0548
Victoria Hotel 380 Victoria St, Brunswick, 9388 0830
HiFi 125 Swanston St, Melb, 1300 843 4434
Wah Wah Lounge Lvl 1, 185 Lonsdale St, Melb
Highlander 11a Highlander Lane, Melb, 9620 2227
Wesley Anne 250 High St, Northcote, 9482 1333
Hoo Haa 105 Chapel St, Windsor, 9529 6900
Westernport Hotel 161 Marine Pde, San Remo, 5678 5205
Horse Bazaar 397 Little Lonsdale St, Melb, 9670 2329
Willow Bar 222 High Street, Northcote, 9481 1222
Iddy Biddy 47 Blessington St, St Kilda, 9534 4484
Windsor Castle 89 Albert St, Windsor, 9525 0239
Jett Black 177 Greville St, Prahran
Workers Club 51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9415 8889
John Curtin Hotel 29 Lygon St, Melb, 9663 6350
Workshop Lvl 1, 413 Elizabeth St, Melb, 9326 4365
Khokolat Bar 43 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, 039642 1142
Yah Yah’s 99 Smith St, Fitzroy, 9419 4920
La Di Da 577 Lt Bourke St, Melb, 9670 7680
The Vine 59 Wellington St, Collingwood, 9417 2434
Labour In Vain 197A Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 5955 Lomond Hotel 225 Nicholson St, East Brunswick Longroom 162 Collins St, Melbourne, 9663 9226
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Loop 23 Meyers Pl, Melb, 9654 0500 Lounge 243 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 2916 The Lounge Pit 386-388 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9415 6142
20.
VENUE DIRECTORY
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