3D World - Sydney Issue #1039 by TheMusic.com.au

Issue 1039 TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2010

CARL COX Millennium Marathon ARMIN ONLY Mirage Reviewed THEULTIMATE Midnight Tracks AULD LANG SYNE Explained NYE Survival Kit

SYDNEY

NSW

CREDITS PUBLISHER Street Press Auﬆ ralia Pty Ltd GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Maﬆ EDITOR Kris Swales EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amber McCormick ARTS EDITOR Daniel CrichtonRouse SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS Cyclone, Daniel Sanders CONTRIBUTORS 5sprocket, Andrew Wowk, Angus Paterson, Anita Connors, Baz McAliﬆer, Ben Kumar, Blaze, Brad Swob, Bryget Chrisﬁeld, Carlin Beattie, Clare Dickins, Darren Collins, Dave Dri, Dave Jory, DJ Stiﬀ y, Gloria Lewis, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, Holly Hutchinson, Huwﬆon, Jane Stabler, Jann Angara, JC Eﬆeller, Jean Poole, Jeremy Wood, Johnnie Runner, Josh Wheatley, Kierﬆen Seeto, Komi Sellathurai, Lawrence Daylie, Lee ‘Grumpy’ Bemrose, L-Fresh, Liz Galinovic, Luke McKinnon, Matt O’Neill, Matt Unicomb, Melissa Weﬆ, Monica Connors, Nick Connellan, Nina Bertok, Nic Toupee, NHJ, Obliveus, Paz, Richie Meldrum, Rip Nicholson, Ritual, Robbie Lowe, Roo, Russ Macumber, Ryan Lungu, Sasha Perera, Scott Henderson, Steve Duck, Stuart Evans, Tash Fraser, Tim Finney, Tom Brabham, Tom Edwards, Triﬆan Burke

Alexis Dewick, Ben Maccoll, Carine Thevenau, Corey Brand, Cybele Malinowski, Dave Dri, Kane Hibberd, Koﬆas Korsovitis, Luke Eaton, Terry Soo ADVERTISING DEPT sales@3dworld.com.au NSW – Brett Dayman, Jason Spiller VIC – Katie Owen, Connie Filidis QLD – Adam Reilly, Melissa Tickle

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CLASSIFIEDS www.iﬂog.com.au ART DEPT artwork@3dworld. com.au Dave Harvey, Samantha Smith, Stuart Teague, Josh Penno

COVER DESIGN Stuart Teague ACCOUNTS DEPT accounts@3dworld. com.au (03) 9421 4499 PRINTING Rural Press (02) 4570 4444 DISTRIBUTION diﬆ ro@3dworld. com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS www.isubscribe. com.au Subscriptions are $2.20 per week (Minimum of 12 weeks) ADDRESS PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 1/142 Chalmers St Surry Hills 2010 Phone (02) 9331 7077 Fax (02) 9331 2633 Email info@3dworld. com.au

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SUSHI SNAPS 1 [V] Oz Artiﬆ 2010

6 Saturdays @ The Orient

2 Chinese Laundry Saturdays

7 Skybar @ Watershed

3 Fridays @ Ryans Bar

8 Smirnoﬀ Nightlife Exchange Project

4 Purple Sneakers

9 Sundays @ Northies

5 Saturdays @ Carmens

10 Wham! @ World Bar

WIN A SPACE IBIZA FESTIVAL VIP PRIZE PACK!

Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival returns this summer, taking place at EQ Moore Park Saturday 1 January for a second round of spectacular feﬆ ival fun. The show boaﬆs a ﬆellar line-up of international acts including Carl Cox, Steve Lawler, François K, Andy C, Netsky and High Contraﬆ. 3D World have one massive major Space Ibiza prize pack tailormade for drum‘n’bass fans, which includes two of each of the following: VIP Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival tickets, VIP Hospitality at the Metro Theatre tickets, Hospital Records CDs, Andy C Nightlife CDs, Space CDs, Space Ibiza T-Shirts and Hospital Records T-Shirts and bottles of Melody Wine (one Red, one White to be consumed at the feﬆ ival). The lucky winner and friend will also have the opportunity to meet Andy C at the feﬆ ival and view an artiﬆ of their choice (for 30 minutes maximum) from the side of ﬆ age during their set. Th ree minor prize packs are also up for grabs, each comprised of two Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival tickets, two Space CDs and two Space Ibiza T-Shirts. For your chance to win, simply email your name and contact details to giveaways@3dworld.com.au with IBIZA in the subject line. A minor prize winner will be drawn weekly from Friday 3 December with the major prize winner drawn Friday 17 December and announced in the following issue of 3D World. Get entering! 9

NSW

BRIEFS

EPIC&FAIL BEN WATT

EPIC ALL IN FAVOUR? ‘YE!

We tried to not to belive the Kanye hype, but we have to admit that My Beautiful Dark Twiﬆed Fantasy is act ually pretty good. Though we suspect Yeezy won’t be happy with a mere #6 debut on the ARIA charts…

SUMMER HAS BEGUN

Thank you Peter Siddle, thank you Mike Hussey – after your eﬀorts laﬆ week we’ll happily chug on the sponsor’s product inﬆead of Haterade for the remainder of the cricket season. Unless England win The Ashes of course…

WATT A GUY

Deep house maeﬆ ro Ben Watt is hocking oﬀ his records in carefully selected bundles of ﬁve via the Buzzin’ Fly online ﬆore, with 50 percent of proceeds going to the Shelter homeless charity. Guaranteed bombs for a good cause? Everyone wins…

FAIL WANK ON, WANK OFF

“Th is ﬆ uﬀ really is Picasso-like, fulﬁ lling the Cubiﬆ mandate of rearranging form, texture, color and space to suggeﬆ new ways of viewing things.” No, this isn’t describing a new show at the National Gallery in Canberra, but rather an LA Times writer trying to juﬆ ify his pay packet by jizzing all over the Kanye record.

ANTI-SOCIAL SNEAKERS

Designer Gerry Mckay recently unveiled concept designs for Facebook and Twitter branded Adidas shoes in further proof that social networking is invading the commonsense of otherwise talented people.

A SLEAZY DEATH

Sad to note laﬆ week’s passing of UK elect ro pioneer Peter “Sleazy” Chriﬆopherson, founding member of Th robbing Griﬆ le, Psychic TV and Coil. He was also a renowned music vid maker, direct ing the likes of Nine Inch Nails, RATM, Front 242 and our own Silverchair. 12 3DWORLD

SCOTTISH DJ/ PRODUCER Alex Smoke had to cancel the final leg of his Auﬆralian tour after suffering a collapsed lung. Incredibly, he firﬆ felt cheﬆ pains while playing at Melbourne’s Revolver, but bravely finished his set before seeking medical attention… IT MUST BE good to be The X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs, who topped the iTunes charts with debut single Somewhere In The World. Who knows if Altiyan will follow in the footﬆeps of Guy Sebaﬆ ian or Casey Donavan from here… ONLINE RESEARCH FIRM comScore has dubbed our Indonesian neighbours the moﬆ Twitter-addicted nation on Earth and the fourth largeﬆ users of Facebook. C’mon Auﬆ ralia – less talking, more tweeting... ACCORDING TO A survey by PRS For Music, The Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up has topped a poll of the moﬆ controversial songs, along with Eminem’s Kim and Sex Piﬆols’ God Save The Queen… RECENTLY CONFIRMED AS support act for The Chemical Brothers, Art vs Science have juﬆ announced an album release. Finally See Our Way is up on iTunes now and the fi rﬆ taﬆe of an album slated for an early 2010 release… ANOTHER DANCE MUSIC act to get belated major label attention is Deadmau5. His third collect ion of original material 4x4=12 surfaces via Virgin/EMI this Friday 3 December…

WASHINGTON

BIGGER THAN JESUS

The announcements juﬆ keep on coming from the mother of all Auﬆ ralian music feﬆ ivals. Yep, the Big Day Out team have decided that seeing Tool, MIA, LCD Soundsyﬆem, Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Cryﬆal Caﬆ les, Lupe Fiasco, Bliss N Eso, Plan B, Pnau and Booka Shade (DJ Set) among many, many more isn’t enough of a mission for juﬆ one day, and have added a few more acts into the mix. On top of massive local line-ups in all cities, Sia, The Vines, The Greenhornes, Washington, Matt & Kim, Black Milk and Anna Lunoe will all be ﬂaunting their wares across the nation. The bad news is that the Gold Coaﬆ Parklands Sunday 23 January, Sydney Showground Wednesday 26 and Flemington Racecourse (Melbourne) Sunday 30 are all sold out, but if you’re in Sydders or feel like ponying up for some ﬂ ights there are ﬆ ill tickets available for Thursday 27 January. TRICKY

NO MORE PLAY TIME

It’s a week for feﬆ ival line-up updates it seems, with boutique New South Wales event Playground Weekender dropping a liﬆ so long the feﬆ ival is deﬆ ined to soon outgrow its boutique ﬆatus. After leaving audiences speechless when they toured over the New Year’s period, Lamb are back to mesmerise once again, while Tricky also makes a welcome return on the back of his Mixed Race album. The Beautiful Girls, Architect ure In Helsinki, You Am I, Midnight Juggernauts, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Derrick Carter, Black Mountain, The Like, I Am Kloot, Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode), Dixon, Âme, Mad Professor, Mock & Toof, Fort Knox Five, Trus’me, Mark De Clive Lowe, Lorn, Parades, Black Angus & Dangerous Dan (You Only Live Once), Grace Woodroofe, Rat Vs Possum, King Cannons, Giselle, Elect ric Empire, Rephrase, Fait Accompli, Andy Bull and Slow Down Honey will also be there beside Doves, Four Tet, Caribou and more when Playground Weekender takes over Del Rio Resort, Wisemans Ferry from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 February, presented by 3D World. CALVIN HARRIS

LAST GIRL NO LONGER ALONE

Pop superﬆar Rihanna isn’t threatening Pink’s ridiculous run of Auﬆ ralian shows yet, but she has sold out a show each in Sydney and Melbourne with more dates juﬆ announced. And those tickets will probably ﬂy out the door now that the Laﬆ Girl On Earth Tour has added some pretty hefty support acts! Calvin Harris obviously loves it down here in Auﬆ ralia, following up his current jaunt for Stereosonic with an encore performance, while hype-heavy hip hoppers Far Eaﬆ Movement also join the party. Tickets are ﬆ ill available for Brisbane Entertainment Centre Friday 25 February, Newcaﬆ le Entertainment Centre Monday 28, Acer Arena (Sydney) Saturday 5 March and Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne) Tuesday 8, while the full line-up also play sold out shows at Acer Arena Friday 4 and Rod Laver Arena Monday 7.

NSW

BRIEFS

STARS

GENERAL OUTLOOK Make sure you have your escape routes planned this week. Can you squeeze yourself through that bathroom window? AQUARIUS (20 JAN TO 18 FEB) That haircut is one of the worﬆ decisions you ever made. Seriously, a decapitation would have been more flattering. PISCES (19 FEB TO 20 MAR) It’s party season, so in order to save time and the coﬆ of buying drinks, why not check yourself in to rehab until June? ARIES (21 MAR TO 20 APR) There is a horrible odour around you and people are noticing it. In fact, they think YOU are following the odour around. TAURUS (21 APR TO 20 MAY) I’m one of the top horoscope writers in the country, so tell me why I can’t afford to bail myself out of prison? GEMINI (21 MAY TO 20 JUN) It’s clear you are trying to hide the fact that you cannot read. But how often can you “forget your spectacles”? CANCER (21 JUN TO 21 JUL) You will make a poor fi rﬆ impression on your new partner’s parents this week, when you accidentally set them on fi re. LEO (22 JUL TO 21 AUG) Do you want to press charges againﬆ me? What proof do you have that I ﬆole ANYTHING from your car? VIRGO (22 AUG TO 21 SEP) After you were shot dead by the police laﬆ week, you will find this week comparatively relaxing. Enjoy. LIBRA (22 SEP TO 22 OCT) I’ve heard your cooking described as “a cross between airline food and a pile of burnt porno magazines”. SCORPIO (23 OCT TO 21 NOV) How is your Chriﬆ mas shoplifting going? The heavy crowds will make it easy for you to slip away unseen. SAGITTARIUS (22 NOV TO 20 DEC) A budding romance will fi ll you with hope this week, until your new lover’s genitals get arreﬆed for indecent exposure. CAPRICORN (21 DEC TO 19 JAN) Keep focused. Try to ﬆop spending money on takeaway food and the hookers who ﬆand outside takeaway shops.

CHEEKY MELBOURNE MC 360 is giving hip hop fans the chance to appear in the video for his new single Juﬆ Got Started featuring Pez. For the chance to get your mug in the video, head to www.360music.com. au... KING OF TWTTER Juﬆin Bieber now has his own line of merchandise available in Auﬆralia… MUSIC INDUSTRY CONFERENCE South By Southweﬆ in Auﬆin, Texas has announced the ﬁrﬆ liﬆ of artiﬆs appearing at the feﬆival component in 2011. Auﬆralian bands included are Blue King Brown, Wagons, Art vs Science, The Holidays, The Jezabels and Miami Horror. The event takes place 11-15 March, 2011, head to sxsw.com/interactive for more info… AUSSIE POP ICON Peter Andre was rushed to hospital laﬆ week after collapsing during a gig he was playing on the ﬁrﬆ night of his UK tour. We’re genutinely concerned for Pete and this is no place for speculation his problems may ﬆem from hearing his own music at high volume… IT WAS DEEMED suitable for keeping the rear ends of NASA aﬆronauts comfortable, and now the Smart Memory Bra uses the same foam, which retains or remembers its shape after pressure is applied. We’re not sure what happens if you try to burn one though… IF YOU WANT to get reacquainted with the music of N*E*R*D after they hit Oz over summer on the back of new long-player Nothing, The Beﬆ Of N*E*R*D drops on EMI 14 January…

LAIDBACK LUKE

GET LAID(BACK)

Laﬆ seen rocking feﬆ ival main ﬆages at We Love Sounds and Winter Sound Syﬆem, Laidback Luke is back to give fans of his bliﬆering elect ro house another taﬆe of his medicine. And he’ll have plenty to potentially serve up – not juﬆ this year’s club bangers Timebomb, Till Tonight and Indeﬆ ructible, but forthcoming originals Turbulence (featuring Steve Aoki and Lil Jon) and Chiuso (under the myﬆerious Nouveau Yourican moniker), not to mention remixes turned in for Dizzee Rascal, Moby, Tiëﬆo, Ferry Corﬆen, MSTRKRFT, Black Eyed Peas and Calvin Harris over the paﬆ 12 months. See him at The MET (Brisbane, presented by 3D World and on sale now so don’t miss out!) Friday 28 January, Platinum (Gold Coaﬆ) Saturday 29, Billboard (Melbourne) Friday 4 February and Soho (Sydney) Saturday 5. MICHAEL FRANTI

EVERYONE DESERVES FRANTI

Already announced as part of a ﬆellar line-up for the Byron Bluesfeﬆ which hits the northern New South Wales town from Thursday 21 to Monday 25 April, Michael Franti & Spearhead are giving the southern ﬆates a chance to catch their much-vaunted live show without ﬂ ights and accommodation having to be considered. Franti and his cohorts tour on the back of their lateﬆ album The Sound Of Sunshine, a joyous and uplifting long-player which ironically came out of a time of darkness for the frontman. It’s been earning praise from all and sundry, so if you want a taﬆe of it and all the classics catch them at Palace Theatre (Melbourne) Tuesday 19 April or Enmore Theatre (Sydney) Sunday 24 April. General tickets on sale Friday 10 December from 9am (local time) via Ticketek. DUBMARINE

DOWN PERISCOPE

Brisbane nine-piece Dubmarine aren’t juﬆ nifty with an awesome promo shot – they also know their way around dub and dancehall, exploring every facet of the sound on their debut long-player Depth Of Sound. It’s out now through Vitamin and is top-heavy with bottom end, twin trombone attack and synth explosions at every turn. But it’s the live arena where the group have always excelled, rocking the block at Parklife and Woodford in Oz – not to mention large scale events in the Czech Republic, Netherlands and Germany – and they’re fittingly hitting the road to launch the new record. Catch them at The Zoo (Brisbane) Friday 3 December with Oka and Direct Influence, Subsonic Music Feﬆ ival Sunday 4 December, Northcote Social Club (Melbourne) with Direct Influence and Woodford Folk Feﬆ ival again from Tuesday 28 December to Saturday 1 January.

DOSE OF SOMA

It’s not juﬆ Detroit and Berlin which have a mortgage on techno royalty – Glasgow also have their own superﬆars in Slam. The veterans have been in dance music’s A-Liﬆ ever since their classic Positive Education dropped in 1995, laying down the melody over funky techno workouts at a consiﬆently SLAM high ﬆandard ever since. The duo of Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle apparently had so much fun when they were in Oz laﬆ year that they’re back to do it all again, playing Truﬆ Us at Brown Alley (Melbourne) Friday 31 December, Spice Aﬂoat (Sydney) in the early hours of Saturday 1 January and the Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival AfterParty later that night, then heading up to Brisbane for a set on The Island Party Boat alongside Darren Emerson Saturday 8.

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NSW

BRIEFS

CALENDAR DECEMBER SUBSONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL: MICHAEL MAYER, EXTRAWELT, BORIS BREJCHA, DUBMARINE, TOBIAS THOMAS AND MORE – Friday 3 – Sunday 5, Mountain Valley Resort (Barrington Tops) SOLA ROSA, IVA LAMKUM – Friday 3, The Gaelic JONATHAN BOULET – Friday 3, Beach Road Hotel DEEP HOUSE PROJECT PLUS + 1 : DJ POCKET – Friday 3, Civic Underground THE ONLY, HABERSHAM, JON COWAN, LUKE CHABLE, ROLLIN CONNECTION – Saturday 4, Chinese Laundry AUSTRALIAN B-BOY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Saturday 4, The Italian Forum Cultural Centre FUCK FLURO: TIMMY TRUMPET, STAFFORD BROTHERS – Saturday 4, Soho BASS CONTROL: TECHNOBOY, BRENNAN HEART, TONESHIFTERZ, BIOWEAPON, NIK FISH AND MORE – Saturday 4, Sydney International Tennis Centre BAG RAIDERS, FLIGHT FACILITIES, THE HOLIDAYS, THE SWISS (DJS), CASSIAN, MITZI, GRAZ – Saturday 4, The Forum SHADOW WARS: JUSTICE CREW – Sunday 5, The Street University BROADCAST, SEEKAE – Wednesday 8, The Forum KOOLISM, KAI FRESH, SCHOOL OF THOUGHT – Thursday 9, Melt Bar MUSE – Thursday 9, Acer Arena MUSE – Friday 10, Acer Arena DJ SAMPOLOGY, THE JEZABELS, THE HOLIDAYS – Friday Dec 10, Oxford Art Factory PLUS + 1: THOMAS SCHUMACHER – Friday Dec 10, Civic Underground EL GUINCHO – Friday 10, The Gaelic LIGHT YEAR, BENI, INDIAN SUMMER – Saturday 11, Hopscotch Nightclub D25 PRE-PARTY: CO-OP DJS, CLAIRE MORGAN, JOE STANLEY – Saturday 11, The Fox and Lion Terrace D25: CARL CRAIG, KENNY LARKIN, THEO PARRISH, MOODYMANN – Saturday 11, The Forum HERMITUDE – Saturday 11, Tone TIEFSCHWARZ – Saturday 11, Chinese Laundry THE FIELD – Saturday 11, The Gaelic SPICE: TURMSPRINGER, RIKKI NEWTON – Sunday 12, Home Terrace FESTIVAL OF THE SUN: XAVIER RUDD, REGURGITATOR, SHARON JONES – Saturday 11 – Sunday 12, Port Macquarie’s Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park CLIPSE – Sunday 12, Metro Theatre SEEKAE

HAVING MADE HIS name spinning on the local club scene and collaborating with hip hoppers Horrorshow and Spit Syndicate, Sydney DJ Joyride is ﬆriking out on his own. He has recently released This Is It – the firﬆ track off his new EP Chivalrous. Get a taﬆe at www.myspace. com/2onajoyride... THE LEAD VOCALIST of Guns N’ Roses – the one and only Axl Rose – has sued Act ivision for using the band’s hit Welcome To The Jungle and also the likeness of original guitariﬆ Slash in Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock. After the number of dollars sunk into the floptaﬆ ic Chinese Democracy it’s not surprising he’s seeking new revenue ﬆ reams… THE MUSIC VIDEO for Drapht’s new single Rapunzel off the forthcoming The Life Of Riley has recently dropped and is getting very enthusiaﬆ ic thumbs up. The clip was produced by Trials from the Funkoars. Let your hair down at www.myspace. com/drapht... RIDING HIGH ON the release of an album critics have compared to the work of Picasso, it seems that Kanye Weﬆ can do no wrong. However the rapper is ﬆill ﬆuck on his embarrassing VMA altercation with Taylor Swift, bringing up the incident in a recent interview and shifting some blame. “Taylor never came to my defence in any interview and (she) rode the wave, and rode it and rode it!” Time to let go Yeezy...

CARL COX

ABOVE & BEYOND

Carl Cox has been added to the DJ pantheon at the Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival on New Year’s Day. The techno titan has enjoyed a long association with Space in Ibiza, this year’s party season particularly successful. Coxy joins the tribal Steve Lawler, iconic house DJ François K, and drum‘n’bass ﬆalwart Andy C plus many more. The taﬆemaker event is on Saturday 1 January from noon at The Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park. Tickets are available from www.spaceibizafeﬆ ival.com.au, www.inthemix.com. au, www.paulﬆ rangepresents.com and Moshtix.

CARGO GOLD

With the remaining tickets dwindling for Falcona’s NYE 2010 On The Harbour party at Cargo, ﬁnal line-up additions have been revealed. From New York comes DJ Equal, who’ll impress fans of A-Trak and Girl Talk. Also conﬁ rmed is Anna Lunoe, celebrating this year’s successful Miniﬆ ry Of Sound mix-CD. They join Melbourne elect rodreamers Miami Horror (performing an exclusive live set), Bag Raiders, the French Breakbot and more. For tickets – and VIP packages – go to www.cargonye. com or Moshtix.

USHER IN

Usher has announced a third Sydney show at Acer Arena on Monday 28 March. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am from Ticketek. His other OMG Tour dates sold out in mere minutes so get in quick!

DOOMSDAY

The masked DOOM is touring Auﬆ ralia for the ﬁ rﬆ time. DOOM is one of many guises for New Yorker Daniel

Dumile. Rumours (self-perpetuated?) persiﬆ that the super-villain rapper hired impoﬆors to perform in his ﬆead in North America, but Auﬆ ralia gets the real deal. He hits the Metro Theatre on Wednesday 23 March. Tickets, on sale Monday, are from Ticketek.

DOVES FLY

Mancunian indie act Doves this year delivered The Places Between: The Beﬆ Of Doves, a 12-year retrospect ive, and the trio return to Auﬆ ralia to perform classics and personal favourites. Catch them at Enmore Theatre Thursday 17 February, with tickets on sale from the venue. Doves also play Playground Weekender Friday 18 February. For tickets, go to www.greentix. com.

OVEN LIT

Th is year Aussie hip hoppers Koolism bounced back with their ﬁ rﬆ album in four years – The ‘Umu, named for a Tongan underground oven. They’ve developed a fresh new sound – ol’ skool party hip hop mixed with retro

elect ro and even bass music. The duo launch the album at Melt Bar on Thursday 9 December. Supports are Kai Fresh (ex-Natural Causes) and School Of Thought. Tickets through Moshtix.

SKYLARK

Horace Andy teamed with Massive Attack on Blue Lines, but he continues to attract new fans with his liquid voice and socially-conscious, Raﬆafarian-inspired music, this year releasing Serious Times. Andy performs with Dub Asante at the Metro Theatre Wednesday 16 March. Tickets, on sale Thursday, through the venue and Ticketek.

IN FLOWER

Sydney’s Black Gardenia are winding up their fortnightly Sunday residency at Coogee Diggers. The group bring cover-band cool to classic trip hop, performing songs by Portishead, Goldfrapp and more. The laﬆ two Soulful Sundays happen this weekend and again 19 December from 4pm. Catch the band on the terrace for free!

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NSW

BRIEFS

CALENDAR BOB SINCLAR

U2, JAY-Z – Monday 13, ANZ Stadium U2, JAY-Z – Tuesday 14, ANZ Stadium LITTLE DRAGON – Wednesday 15, Goodgod Small Club RAP CITY: SUMMER THROWDOWN: BLACKALICIOUS, MURS & 9TH WONDER, RA THE RUGGED MAN – Thursday 16, The Forum GORILLAZ – Thursday 16, Sydney Entertainment Centre BIG VILLAGE RECORDS: TUKA, THE DAILY MEDS, SKETCH THE RHYME, MCS THE TONGUE, JOE NEW – Friday 17, Tone DUBRAVE 1ST BIRTHDAY: NICK THAYER – Friday 17, Chinese Laundry PANTHA DU PRINCE – Saturday 18, Civic JEROME ISMA-AE, YOLANDA BE COOL – Saturday 18, Chinese Laundry SPICE: MURAT KILIC – Sunday Dec 19, Home Terrace PLUS + 1 XMAS PARTY – Friday Dec 24, Civic Underground SUNBURNT CHRISTMAS: FREESTYLERS, YOLANDA BE COOL VS DCUP, BAG RAIDERS, BASS KLEPH AND MORE – Sunday 26 , Bondi Beach SPICE: RIFRAF – Sunday 26, Home Terrace HIGH FLYERS BOAT PARTY: SIMON CALDWELL, DJ CREATE, KLEVAKUTZ AND JC, DIGDEEP DJS – Sunday 26, TBA PEATS RIDGE FESTIVAL: ITCH-E & SCRATCH-E, HUNGARY KIDS OF HUNGARY, GANGA GIRI, JASON COLLETT, EVIL EDDIE, OKA AND MORE – Wednesday 29 – Saturday 1 January, Glenworth Valley MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS – Thursday 30, Factory Theatre HOMEMADE NYE 20XI MASQUERADE PLAYGROUND – Friday 31, Home SHORE THING: DAVID GUETTA, ARMAND VAN HELDEN, THE ASTON SHUFFLE – Friday 31, Bondi Beach NYE 2010 ON THE HARBOUR: DJ EQUAL, MIAMI HORROR, BREAKBOT, BAG RAIDERS AND MORE – Friday 31, Cargo NICK WARREN, YUKSEK – Friday 31, Chinese Laundry HED KANDI – Friday 31, Cruise Bar MAD RACKET NEW YEARS EVE: CHRIS DUCKENFIELD, SESSION VICTIM – Friday 31, Marrickville Bowling & Recreation Club SIENNA MASQUERADE PARTY NYE 10 – Friday 31, Establishment PARTY UNDER THE STARS: FRANKIE KNUCKLES, JIM BARON AND MORE – Friday 31, The Loft & Bungalow8 PICNIC: ERIC DUNCAN, LOVEFINGERS – Friday 31, TBA PACHA: BASEMENT JAXX, BOB SINCLAR AND MORE – Friday 31, Ivy

IT BEGAN AS a film, became a cult TV series, and now Buffy The Vampire Slayer is going to get the remake treatment again on the big screen. Sarah Michelle Gellar won’t be getting her wooden ﬆake handed back, with ﬆarlets Blake Lively and Auﬆralian Mia Wasikowska (aka Alice from Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland) among the names bandied about for the lead… NEW SOUTH WALES Central Coaﬆ rockers Short Stack have been named Channel [V] Oz Artiﬆ 2010, beating Amy Meredith, Bliss N Eso and John Butler Trio… THE DUBSTEP REVOLUTION continues, with electro house brand Onelove jumping on the bandwagon. Their new CD Dubﬆep Invasion is helmed by Aussie club ﬆalwart Kid Kenobi and newcomers Glovecats and features names like Rusko, Doctor P and Joker… EVEN THOUGH THE lateﬆ inﬆalment of Sex And The City was universally panned, Kriﬆin Davis (aka Charlotte) hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a third film in an interview with The Mirror. God, make it ﬆop… AMERICAN FUTURE BEATS artiﬆ Pretty Lights has been busily racking up cred points all year, and should generate even more with the release of his third EP of 2010. Even better news is that the eight-track Glowing In The Darkeﬆ Night is available for free download if you sign up for his mailing liﬆ at www. prettylightsmusic. com...

THE RAPTURE

PIECES OF A DREAM

Those feted disco punks The Rapture have announced a Field Day sideshow at the Metro Theatre on Thursday 6 January. Word is that the band will perform material from the long-awaited follow-up to Pieces Of The People We Love. Better ﬆ ill, they’re supported by indie-dance DJ (and trend forecaﬆer) Erol Alkan, plus Strange Talk. Tickets are available at noon today from the venue, www.fuzzy.com.au and Ticketek.

PLAY DAY

NIGHT FOOD

Hopscotch is no longer juﬆ a cute childhood game, but a new club and way to party for grownups. Hopscotch Nightclub launches on Saturday 11 December with hot gueﬆs Light Year, Beni, and Melbourne mash-up DJs Indian Summer. Formerly known as Havana Club de Luxe, the venue has been totally remodelled, with inspiration for its decor and vibe coming from the Nile, daggering, Hello Kitty, Sean Connery and Brooklyn.

Love a little myﬆery, especially when it involves a warehouse and DJs? The Picnic fold are hoﬆ ing a New Year’s Eve event at one such inner-city location – as-yetundisclosed. The soundtrack? Disco. International gueﬆs are Eric Duncan, of Rub-N-Tug, and fellow New Yorker Loveﬁngers (aka Andrew Hogge). Tickets are available through www. residentadvisor.net – and the party is BYO. Keep tabs on www. picnicﬆ uﬀ.com.au for updates.

REIGN ON

Underground music doesn’t need to be dark – or scary. Golden Cage, previously responsible for Church Of Techno, are launching a summer series, Verano, on the roof of the Beauchamp Hotel on Sunday from noon to 9pm. Anticipate a soundtrack of techno, minimal, tech house and deepness from Matttt, Anders Hitchcock, Garth Linton and Maurizio. $10 entry.

Sydney’s FBi 94.5 is reuniting with the Purple Sneakers crew for a New Year’s Eve house party on Friday 31 December. Laﬆ Night – to be held at The Gaelic – will double-up as a fundraiser for the indie ﬆation. The emphasis is on grassroots local musos. Early band announcements include The Paper Scissors, Guineafowl and Gold Fields. Tickets, on sale Thursday, are priced at a bargain $29 or, for FBi supporters, $24 (+ bf) from Moshtix.

DREAM DATE

PLUM TIME

Hip hop heads rejoice! The ﬂedgling

Big Village Records are throwing a Chriﬆmas party. Billed are Tuka, The Daily Meds and Sketch The Rhyme with gueﬆ MCs The Tongue and Joe New. It all goes down at Tone Nightclub on Friday 17 December. Tickets, at $10 (+ bf), on sale through Moshtix, or $15 on the door.

BREAK IT

Auﬆ ralian B-Boy Championships are back for a seventh year at the Italian Forum Cultural Centre in Leichhardt on Saturday from 1pm. DJs in the house are Jumps (The Cat Empire), Mathmatics (Robotek) and Floskel (Germany), with MC hoﬆs Miﬆery and Mirrah. Entry $20 on the door. Hit www. breakclub.com.au.

ART OF WAR

Turntabliﬆs have battles – now visual artiﬆs and illuﬆ rators do, too. The next series of the Secret Wars live art championships kicks oﬀ in February 2011. It’s a character-based, black and white battle set in front of 350 or more. Organisers are putting out a call for artiﬆs – go to www. secretwars.com.au.

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EVER WONDERED HOW TO MAKE IT THROUGH NEW YEAR’S EVE UNSCATHED? HOW THEY SEE IN THE NEW YEAR IN REYKJAVÍK? EXACTLY WHAT THE FUCK AULD LANG SYNE IS ALL ABOUT? 3D WORLD’S FINEST HAVE THE ANSWERS TO ALL THAT AND MORE.

or dance music enthusiaﬆs, memories of one party can often blend into the next – sprinkle the odd kick-on into the mix and a Beﬆ Night Eva can become a “wha’ happened?” quicker than you can say “have you got that track with the epic piano breakdown?” But when you’re sitting back in your armchair in the Old Gurners’ Home in the diﬆ ant (or not so diﬆant) future recalling partying days that have since gone to the Great Kick-On In The Sky, chances are you’ll remember where you were every year of your life when the clock ﬆ ruck midnight to signal the arrival of another new calendar. The memories might be patchy, sure, but whether it’s a chinﬆ roking deep house DJ dropping Kylie’s On A Night Like This with the cheesieﬆ grin you’ve ever seen, sharing a loved-up moment with the person who means moﬆ to you or having a hect ic argument with that same person in a cab queue as ﬁghts threaten to break out around you, they ﬆ ill seem to ﬆ ick. Even if you’re of the opinion that New Year’s Day is the new New Year’s Eve, or that it’s all about the (hopefully work-free) weeks before and after, we know you’ll be up to something – and that’s

what this special edition of 3D World is all about. It’s the one time of year when the reﬆ of the planet looks on Auﬆ ralian club and feﬆ ival line-ups with envious eyes, and some of the biggeﬆ acts doing the rounds of the country share what’s going on in their worlds as they prepare to pack their crates/CD wallets/ USB flash drives full of bombs to unleash on Auﬆ ralia’s dancefloors. And speaking of dancefloors, I’ll see you there once I’ve decided which Piano Bomb gets the midnight nod. KRIS SWALES

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NYE SURVIVAL KIT IF YOU’RE PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE THIS NEW YEAR’S EVE, A FEW SAVVY ACCOUTREMENTS CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. BRYGET CHRISFIELD HOPES TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF PUNCTUATING THE TRANSITION INTO 2011 WITH A BANG. DOG TAGS If celebrating New Year’s Eve abroad or interﬆate, chances are you’ll be so munted you won’t remember the name/address of your lodgings. Inveﬆ in some dog tags and engrave this info into the back. Or (for tightarses) an old fashioned, plaﬆ ic, school bag tag can be purchased from your local newsagent and hung around your neck on a piece of ﬆ ring. (Although leather thonging probably won’t break the budget and will be less likely to cause an unsightly rash.) PORTABLE MOBILE PHONE CHARGER Particularly if you are heading to a camping feﬆ ival, inveﬆ ing in one of these is a muﬆ. There are battery-operated devices or solar powered units available and you seriously DON’T wanna miss the 50 million generic Happy New Year texts containing ﬁ reworks/ popping champagne bottle graphics. EAR PLUGS Again, this is a camping feﬆ ival-speciﬁc requirement but don’t be soft and wear them while soaking up the tunes.

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These squidgy, snot coloured items will be your beﬆ friend if a) you’re trying to catch some zeds during 5am doof-doof time or b) you need to block out the sounds of your ex and your beﬆ friend having kinky sex in a nearby tent.

the chick who’s pulling a dude on the danceﬂoor give HIM a disposable toothbrush as well and then arrange a rendezvous back on the d-ﬂoor for a more hygienic smooch after their respective brushing of fangs?

SUNSCREEN If you’re attending a day party, juﬆ remember: no one likes a burnt loser. If you can’t ﬁt a tube in your clutch/man bag, you can usually pump out a dollop in exchange for a gold coin donation at the ﬁ rﬆ aid area.

TORCH KEYRING Sometimes what appears to be doable in the dark conﬁnes of a club can be deceiving. A quick ﬂash of a torch keyring, illuminating the subject while pretending to search for a loﬆ pinger, is bound to sort out the beauties from the beaﬆs.

LIGHTER Don’t smoke? So what! There’s nothing better than lunging to the rescue of some hottie with a durrie dangling from their lips who’s rummaging through overﬆ uffed pockets. Etiquette then necessitates that the receiver of your flame chat to/dance with you until that sucker has been butted out. RIZLA PAPERS See “Lighter” but add a free high to the benefits. WISP DISPOSABLE TOOTHBRUSH You’ve seen the ad, right? What we’re wondering is, why – since they come in handy twin packs – doesn’t

WET ONES To freshen up your panda eyes or nether regions before you expect your chosen vict im to go there. ROHYPNOL If all else fails… Oops, are we bad? [Clearly – Ed] FLEXI FLATS Hailing a cab home is impossible on New Year’s Eve/Day so you may as well accept the fact that you’ll be going walkies if you’re allergic to PT. Head to flexiflats.com.au and grab your roll-up ballet flats in a sack for this purpose.

CLOCKIN’ALL OVER THE WORLD SICK OF DÉJÀ VU LOCAL NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORIES/ BLACKOUTS? BRYGET CHRISFIELD SIZES UP VARIOUS OVERSEAS DESTINATIONS WHERE LOSING THE PLOT IS CELEBRATED.

ew Year’s Eve is a time to acknowledge the end of the calendar year and is usually spent with friends either celebrating the paﬆ year’s personal beﬆs or raising middle fingers in the air and hoping less bad shit will happen next year. Inﬆead of waﬆ ing valuable milliseconds assembling a giant liﬆ of New Year’s resolutions that you’re bound not to follow through with, why not book a fl ight and buﬆ a move on foreign soil? Th is way your ill behaviour is less likely to be spotted by acquaintances and poﬆed on Facebook. But, really, the beﬆ thing about New Year’s Eve is the midnight window of opportunity where it’s compulsory to engage in tongue pie with a random. Even if you’re married, a leave pass should apply for that single inﬆant the clock ﬆ rikes 12 and, if you pre-plan this with a co-conspirator, be sure to delete all text evidence. Remember: What happens on tour ﬆays on tour. HOGMANAY Th is is what Scottish folk call New Year’s Eve, but in their case it goes for three days because 2 January is a Scottish Bank Holiday (‘public holiday’ in Auﬆ ralian). There’s a cuﬆom called ‘fi rﬆfooting’ that involves trying to be the fi rﬆ to cross a friend or neighbour’s threshold with a gift. Apparently this brings the householder good luck. Does hitting your fave club juﬆ after the ﬆ roke of midnight and giving the door bitch some lip service count? Hogmanay kicks off juﬆ after midnight on 1 January and continues throughout the whole of the month so that even Billy No Mates has a chance of receiving some goodwill. Fun fact: the Scots even have their own special term for the 12 days of Chriﬆ mas – 12 days ﬆarting on, and including, Chriﬆ mas day – “Daft Days”. GOA If you’ve had a recent tetanus shot and pack a bottle of pubic lice treatment in your luggage, head on over to this Indian ﬆate for some backpacker-infeﬆed revelry. There are outdoor raves aplenty and it supposedly all happens on “The Hill Top”, in the middle of Anjuna and Vagator, where the gurning soap dodgers get their party on for four days ﬆ raight. Locals lay mats out under palm trees and serve tea, cakes and food for those with tired legs and frazzled brains. “It is similar to being back in England sometimes – chasing the next venue for the rave to continue,” travel-queﬆ.co.uk reckon. We say, “Men’al, men’al, chicken orien’al!” POLAR BEAR PLUNGE If you’re hungover and coming down like a mo’ fo’, there’s nothing quite like a plunge into arct ic temperatures to sort your head out. On Salt Spring Island, Canada the Annual Polar Bear Swim takes place on 1 January regardless of weather. ‘Cause hypothermia is so hot right now...

REYKJAVIK When you are no longer fit to be eyeballed by society, head to Iceland where the hours of sunlight throughout December/January are minimal. There are chains of communal bonfi res all around the city if you need a light and revellers continue on the sauce until sunrise (midday during Iceland’s midwinter). Apparently elves and trolls are not uncommon around these bonfi res so we’re tipping there’s absinthe in the punch. There’s also a service called ‘Reykjavik Nightlife Friend’, which sounds intereﬆ ing. You are designated a pimp (sorry) “friend” who “knows the beﬆ places, gets you a VIP entrance into the hotteﬆ clubs, helps you ‘break the ice’ with the locals and shows you the good times to be had in the ‘cool’ capital”. Let us know how you go.

AULD LANG SYNE EXPLAINED HOLLY HUTCHINSON PEELS THE LAYERS OF MYSTIQUE AWAY FROM THE SONG MOST CAN HUM BUT FEW KNOW THE WORDS TO.

here are a lot of things I hate about New Year’s Eve. I hate the pressure to make out with someone at midnight, I hate the crowds and I hate the selling and ensuing use of tiny plaﬆ ic trumpets and whiﬆ les. But the thing I hate the moﬆ about New Year’s Eve is people singing Auld Lang Syne. Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish song. The term ‘Auld Lang Syne’ means ‘times gone by’, and is apparently a rhetorical queﬆ ion about remembering the paﬆ. Or is it? The only real facts we know about this song is that it was written by Robert Burns in 1788, and the song basically asks the queﬆ ion: “Should you forget all about the old days?” The obvious response is something like, “No, of course not, we should never forget old friends

and old times, even though we’re having a way better time now and we’re drowning in cocaine and diamond necklaces.” But then it all gets a bit confusing. The second and third verses of Auld Lang Syne, which no one bothers to sing because they’re either licking someone else’s face or going home to kill themselvesby that ﬆage, go along these lines – “The two of us have frolicked in the hills and picked dandelions along the way. We paddled in ﬆ reams from sunset to sundown – and things have been bad too, but is that any reason to forget about times gone by?” Robert Burns, what are you talking about? You juﬆ went from reminiscing about picking ﬂowers and admiring the sunset to ranting about how the old days were hard.

What were you thinking when you wrote this poem? Were you drunk? But come to think of it, Auld Lang Syne has exact ly the same logic of a drunk. Juﬆ like Robert Burns, drunks also go on a tangent about how much they love their friends, and how awesome their lives have been so far, before ﬂ itting pointlessly to another topic, completely forgetting what their original point was, juﬆ happy to liﬆen to their own voice dole out ﬆories that are only intereﬆ ing to themselves. Perhaps this is exact ly why Auld Lang Syne is so popular. A song that makes almoﬆ no sense, but vaguely relates to how important friends are and remembering the good times? No wonder it’s the anthem of New Year’s Eve.

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CARL COX’S MILLENNIUM MARATHON 1999-2000

ONLY THE LARGER THAN LIFE CARL COX WAS GAME ENOUGH TO BRAVE THE FEARED Y2K BUG AND CROSS THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE TO SEE IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM WITH DJ SETS IN TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. CYCLON E TALKS TO THE DANCE MUSIC TRAILBLAZER ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE BIGGEST PARTY THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.

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he Brit techno titan Carl Cox headlined not one but two New Millennium Eve parties on different continents. He DJed at Mobile Home on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, then journeyed back in time to play Phuture 2000 at Kaka’ako Waterfront Park in Honolulu, Hawaii (officially endorsed by the Governor). The idea was that of music biz identity (and Cox’s sometime manager) Eddie Gordon. He was setting up a special live broadcaﬆ for the BBC’s Radio 1 with DJs ushering in the New Millennium from different timezones – One World Millennium. Cox was the only DJ up for crossing the International Date Line for a second bash. “Moﬆ DJs were so lazy,” he chuckles. “They said, ‘Nah, I’m only doing one – I’m gonna get trashed, anyway, so I only wanna be at one place. Why would I wanna do two?’ And I thought, ‘What an opportunity to do two – go back in time and do it all over again somewhere’.” Pete Tong, Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills declined. The real reason for their reluctance? Nervousness about the Y2K Bug. Cox was deemed “absolutely mad”. “They said if I’m gonna go on a plane and all the elect ronics are gonna go to pot, then that plane’s gonna go down and you’re all gonna die.” Cox flew out of Sydney at 4am on Saturday 1 January 2000, arriving in Hawaii at 8pm on Friday 31 December 1999, amazing cuﬆoms officials. He played at the ﬆart and conclusion of Radio 1’s blockbuﬆer, Hawaii being at the end of the timezone. It was, Cox concedes, “really intense”: there could be no trainwrecks, let alone swearing. A decade on, Coxy, now based in Auﬆ ralia, is ﬆ ill going ﬆ rong. The 30-year veteran has lately relaunched his Intec label – now Intec Digital. He’s working towards another ‘artiﬆ’ album with old FSOM ﬆalwarts Josh Abrahams and Davide Carbone, plus developing a live show. And he’s a late announcement for Sydney’s Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival on New Year’s Day. YOU’RE A FEARLESS, UN-NEUROTIC GUY, BUT WAS A TINY BIT OF YOU SCARED OF THE MILLENNIUM BUG? “No, I thought it was hype. I’ve always said to myself, ‘If it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go’. That’s the way I see it. When I take all these fl ights here, there and everywhere, and I take all these long car journeys, or even when I’m riding my motorbikes, whatever – if it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go… So, if I’m gonna take this trip across the timezone into Hawaii, and it’s my time to go, well, at leaﬆ up to that point I’ve made thousands of people happy. I had some sort of worth in this life based on what I had to give. [But] I had already decided even at that point that I’ll be fine [laughs].” AND THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE DATELINE? “Qantas airlines – which I think is juﬆ fantaﬆ ic for doing this – decided to put out one of their oldeﬆ planes that wasn’t dominated by the lateﬆ technology. If anything did happen while we were up in the sky, [then] at leaﬆ the pilots got to take over the reins and fly the plane home. We rang them up and we said, ‘Look, can you guarantee that nothing’s gonna happen at the end of the day?’ [Assumes Ocker accent] ‘Oh yeah, we wouldn’t take off, mate, if we thought we weren’t gonna make it’.” DID YOU HAVE A POSSE WITH YOU? “I had at leaﬆ eight people who also wanted to take the journey with me, including my managers and my girlfriend at the time. We were also

ﬆaying in Hawaii for a week after everything. We hired this big villa where we’d all ﬆay under the one roof and had a really great time once we got there.” HOW DID THE HAWAII PARTY COMPARE TO SYDNEY’S? “They were very different. The thing about Hawaii is they hadn’t had anything like that at all – even today, they ﬆ ill haven’t had anything like that. The party was amazing, it was juﬆ elect ric, people were so excited about it. Either one of them was as good as the other – I couldn’t say which one was better. It was quite bizarre because, when I got to Hawaii from Sydney, I had FOX television news, and they had some other television companies there, radio ﬆations – everyone came to meet me. I felt like the bloody President or something! Everyone’s asking me, ‘What was Sydney like? You’ve done one New Year’s Eve already, are you looking forward to this one?’ I’m juﬆ like, ‘Man, this is crazy’. The intereﬆ in it was juﬆ really high. When I took to the turntables in Hawaii, the noise was juﬆ as big from people clapping and cheering – ‘Yes, he made it, here he is, he didn’t let us down’.” WHAT WERE THE KEY RECORDS YOU PLAYED? “[In Sydney] I ﬆarted off with an intro that I’ve been wanting to do for years – Emerson, Lake & Palmer, a track called Fanfare For The Common Man. Basically, it’s a fanfare and it almoﬆ feels like it’s the beginning of the Olympics or something. It’s amazing. It’s ELP – real prog-rock dudes from the 70s. I did this intro and everyone was juﬆ like, ‘Oh my God, something’s coming…’ Then I thought, ‘What am I gonna play for the fi rﬆ tune?’ So I played Phats & Small’s Music For Pushchairs – and this is a massive house tune, juﬆ seriously uplifting. My number two record was Jump N’ Shout by Basement Jaxx – and that kinda set the tone for the party and then everyone juﬆ loﬆ their minds… But I didn’t plan those records – I planned those records probably about four or five minutes before I played them.” HOW DO THOSE MILLENNIUM PARTIES RATE NOW COMPARED TO OTHER GIGS? “Every time I talk about it, I’ve got so much guﬆo for it because it was juﬆ unique. I’ve never had anything like that in my career that’s given me so much enjoyment. I would say the Millennium and Love Parade are the beﬆ parties that I’ve ever done. So it’s very high up in my liﬆ of ‘Carl Cox: amazing parties of all time’.” DID YOU PARTY? “I didn’t drink at all. I ﬆayed really focused. I got really good reﬆ. I was juﬆ drinking water and orange juice right until I got to Hawaii. Once Hawaii was done, then, man, I got absolutely hammered! I gave myself a celebration to be able to do all of t he 24 hours.” WHO: Carl Cox WHERE & WHEN: Stereosonic at Melbourne Showgrounds

Saturday 4 December, Stereosonic at RNA Showgrounds (Brisbane) Sunday 5 December, Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival at EQ Moore Park (Sydney) Saturday 1 January

HOW IT ALL WENT PETE TONG T

he New Millennium Eve was a fizzer for promoters, especially in the UK. Events floundered. The dance induﬆ ry, increasingly commercialised since the mid-90s with its superclubs and mega-brands, subsequently crashed. In the ensuing watershed some superﬆar DJs disappeared. One cause? Over-ambition – and greed. There were too many Gordon Gekkos in the biz. Ticket prices were high. Gatecrasher held a (successful) ﬆadium party in Sheffield with tickets at £100 (incidentally, Carl Cox’s Mobile Home set was beamed in by iSDN). In a New Millennium party preview, Mixmag exposed the DJ bidding war. It suggeﬆed that Seb Fontaine (remember him?) was to play four gigs at £60,000 each, with Sasha offered even more juﬆ to spin an early slot at Gatecrasher, while Manumission in Ibiza tried to entice DJs to an after-party by poﬆ ing them a private jet catalog. Th is fall of the super-DJ partly inspired a book by former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips: Superﬆar DJs, Here We Go!: The Incredible Rise Of Clubland’s Fineﬆ. Ironically, Sasha, “the Son of God”, was among few to survive the flood. The Y2K bug was a red herring, but computers played their bit in the crisis. The induﬆ ry downturn coincided with a boom in illegal fi lesharing. Music diﬆ ributors and, in turn, labels went under. DJs could no longer rely on an income from music-making. Perhaps, in the end, it was all juﬆ cyclical. Cox maintains that many in the biz remain “tentative”. “I think a lot of it really was to do with expect ations,” he says of the Y2K crash. “The expectations of what was supposed to be happening was juﬆ far greater than what should have been happening.” Auﬆ ralia’s dance scene wasn’t as profoundly affected, Future Entertainment’s Mark James ﬆ ill citing Welcome 2000 in Melbourne as a high point.

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THE LOUD ACHIEVER ALEX RIDHA IS NO LONGER THE NEWCOMER, BUT RUSS MACUMBER LEARNS THAT IT WAS HIS YOUTHFUL VIGOUR WHICH HELPED MAKE BOYS NOIZE A GLOBAL CLUB STAR.

ake no miﬆake – Alex Ridha’s alter ego Boys Noize is a huge deal in elect ronic music today. His indie-edged elect ro and techno originals have been exploding dancefloors globally since the early noughties, and he is remixer of choice for such a-liﬆers as The Chemical Brothers, Snoop Dogg and N*E*R*D. His eponymous label Boysnoize Records is almoﬆ as large on the global front, home to eﬆeemed artiﬆs such as Housemeiﬆer, D.I.M, Shadow Dancer and of course the label head himself. Ridha grew up playing the piano and drums, but it was his brother’s extensive collect ion of 1980s vinyl that inspired the 13-year-old to a career behind a set of turntables rather than as a traditional musician. His natural aptitude for the decks was picked up a couple of years later. “At that time I had my fi rﬆ DJ gig in a nightclub, playing house music for like 400-500 people or more,” Ridha shares casually down the line from his home in Berlin. At this point in the early-90s the youngﬆer was DJing under the moniker Kid Alex. “After that fi rﬆ night I had many requeﬆs to play a lot more clubs in Hamburg. People were so amazed by the fact that I was so young. Even though I was young I would play deep house.” It wasn’t long before word got out of the Hamburg based prodigy. “Then I played in Berlin and Frankfurt and Cologne and Munich, because I was the youngeﬆ DJ in the whole country and everybody knew about it. The word spread faﬆ and I had plenty of bookings within Germany. I was billed as the youngeﬆ and incredibly skilled,” Ridha laughs as he reminisces. “You know, it was funny.” Between touring Deutschland and releasing his fi rﬆ record, Ridha somehow managed to squeeze school into his schedule. “School was weird because my teachers, well of course my friends they knew about [the DJing] but the teachers ﬆ arted reading about it in the

local newspaper. They tore out the page with my name and put it on my desk – it was a really awkward moment.” Whilﬆ he had built a good size following in his homeland as Kid Alex, Ridha’s fi rﬆ fruitful moment of youthful gumption came when he heard a little known British band’s EP. Th is was around the time he’d outgrown the Kid tag, having juﬆ opted for the (slightly) more mature Boys Noize, and the barely 20year-old took it upon himself to approach the act. “[Becoming a remixer of choice] really ﬆarted with my remix of Bloc Party that I did,” he reveals. “It went so well and when I did it I think it was the fi rﬆ remix of Bloc Party they’d ever had. It was before they put out their fi rﬆ album, it was right after their EP. I contacted the label and I was like ‘Hey, I have here the release [of Banquet] and am intereﬆed in remixing it for you’,

and they sent me the ﬆems. I gave it to the band in Berlin, it was their fi rﬆ show here and there was like 20 people. But they’d forgotten about it, they didn’t even care about the remix! It took them ages [to release it], over the next year I was always playing it. And then two years later it was picked up by the French label Kitsuné who licensed it and it became a hit – three years later!” The reluctance of the label to release the track was to become a trend that kick ﬆarted Ridha into taking his deﬆ iny in his own hands. By 2004 Ridha had ﬆarted to gain some tract ion as Boys Noize, with solid releases on a couple of eﬆeemed labels in International Deejay Gigolos and Datapunk. The prolific producer was cultivating a unique sound, though in his words “the sound wasn’t really popular, there was juﬆ a couple of DJs who were able to play it, like maybe Ivan Smagghe”. With a backlog of tracks maﬆered and ready to roll, Ridha found that the labels weren’t so keen to release too many tracks too soon. Thus the second case of youthful gumption was spurred, Ridha blindly diving head fi rﬆ into the role of record label head in the pre-digital era of DJ culture. “I thought, ‘Ok. Why not press my own vinyl and put it in the record shop?’. Without any promotion or anything. Because at that point every DJ in the world had to go to the record shop to buy his music, there was no online, nothing.” Was this not a massive ﬆep for a young man with no experience in running a business? “Well at fi rﬆ the motivation was of course that I had all of this music that I felt was better than [what was out there], but what I really undereﬆ imated was all of the paperwork!” Ridha let the contract s and paperwork, including tax declarations for the German government, slide for three whole years before fi nally getting someone on board to look after the business side of the business, while he retained control of all creative. Despite the potential fi nancial ruin his inexperience

nearly brought, Boysnoize Records proved a boon platform for Ridha to build the massive international following he now claims. The Hamburg native ﬆ ill looks back fondly on those not-so-diﬆant times when 1200s ruled the clubbing world. “At the time there was juﬆ so much more culture in those record shops. You know they were juﬆ amazing places, where people would come in to pick their music, they’d liﬆen to music they didn’t even know. I spent like almoﬆ every day in a record shop looking for and liﬆening to music. I look back on it very sadly, because that culture kind of died.” WHO: Boys Noize WHERE & WHEN:

Summadayze at Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne) Saturday 1 January, Summaﬁeldayze at Doug Jennings Park (Gold Coaﬆ) Sunday 2 January, Hordern Pavilion (Sydney) Friday 7 January

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OUTSIDE THE BOX DARREN “BEARDYMAN” FOREMAN BEGAN HIS MUSICAL CAREER AS A CHAMPION BEATBOXER. MATT O’NEILL SPOKE TO THE TWO-TIME UK BEATBOX CHAMPION ABOUT TRANSCENDING HIS ORIGINS.

eatboxing has always had something of a ﬆrange ﬆigma about it. At a virtuosic level, it’s popularly considered one of the moﬆ immediately thrilling and incomprehensibly brilliant forms of solo musical performance in the word – but, in and of itself, it will always be regarded as a novelty. Unlike the majority of musicians, a beatboxer can only impress if his or her skills are world class – otherwise they will merely annoy. Th is could explain why Darren “Beardyman” Foreman has been doing so much over the paﬆ two years to expand beyond beatboxing. While Foreman – ﬆ ill the only performer to have taken out the UK Beatbox Championship two years running – has never had any reason to be concerned about a lack of technical skill, his groundbreaking live shows over the paﬆ two years have nevertheless displayed all the hallmarks of a man desperate to deliver something more than musical novelty. “I like to vary the set according to the audience,” Foreman enthuses. “I used to play tiny sets between bands or DJs but, these days, I’m given full, hour-long sets to really explore and take the audience on a journey. If I’m playing to a seated crowd, I’ll put more comedy ﬆ uff in there, whereas if I’m playing to a big room full of ravers, I’ll take a lot more risks. I’ll throw out hip hop, trip hop, dubﬆep, drum‘n’bass, electro and anything and everything in between. “I don’t generally like to have beatboxers playing at my shows anymore,” the MC confides. “For me, there’s sort of an inherent novelty to beatboxing and that’s why I felt I had to move away from it. I’d like to think I’ve taken beatboxing to a point where it is merely a component of what I do rather than what I do per se. It’s a tool that I can use – looping and layering a beatbox rhythm is quicker for me than triggering a sample or writing it out in MIDI.” Foreman may have originally developed as a beatboxer but, since 2008, the MC has expanded his repertoire to technological innovation, leftfield ﬆ yliﬆ ic experiments and classic hip hop showmanship. Entirely improvised, Foreman’s iconoclaﬆ ic sets encompass everything from ﬆandard beatboxing and experimental vocal loops to spontaneous crossgenre pollination and unexpected bouts of comedy. “I improvise everything I do. I use elect ronics to loop my voice, I’ve got synthesisers and drum machines hooked up – I basically have a blank canvas to take the show in whatever direct ion I want to,” the MC elaborates. “You know, there will be renditions of exiﬆ ing songs and mash-ups and then there will be ﬆ uff I’ve juﬆ made up on the spot – that’s how I like to roll. I don’t really know if there’s anyone who does what I do at this point.” Such is the expansive nature of Foreman’s work that it’s gradually positioned the performer as something of a unique entity within popular music. While one can easily reference performers operating in a similar area – avant-garde comedian Reggie Watts, leftfield elect ronic pioneer Tim Exile or Brisbane beatbox luminary Tom Thum, for example – Foreman’s work operates at a scope far beyond that of any of his contemporaries. “There are a lot of people I love to work with – I’ve done a lot of collaborations and I love collaborating – and there are a lot of people

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around the world who work in a similar area to myself,” Foreman explains. “What I do, though, I think, is a lot broader. I can’t think of anyone who combines improvisation and beatboxing with the really hard ﬆ yles of dance music like drum‘n’bass or grime. The closeﬆ I can think of is some live product ion DJs I know.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the lengths Foreman is currently going to in order to realise his dream performance set-up. Inspired by the aforementioned Exile, the MC is currently overseeing the development of his own software/hardware set-up after having been left wanting by induﬆ ry ﬆandards like Ableton Live, Kontakt, MaxMSP, Reaktor and countless other programs – even programs utilised and designed by Exile. “I’m act ually building my own syﬆem, yeah,” Foreman conﬁ rms. “It’s been through several incarnations and it’s never made it through a complete live performance but, when it’s done, it will be able to do things nothing in the world can do. I’ve tried everything, I’ve tried Ableton, freeware, Reaktor and none of them do what I want them to do – not enough. My set-up will deliver a completely unfettered creative experience. It’s about inﬆant creation.” Further evidence, meanwhile, will be presented in the form of the Beardyman debut album – tentatively titled I Done A Album. Ironically scheduled for release before Foreman’s inﬆant creation software (“I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to make it commercially-available, to be honeﬆ,” the MC says of the set-up), I Done A Album will ﬁnd the MC and beatboxer forsaking his live work in favour of carefully sculpted – albeit imminently experimental

– danceﬂoor product ions. “I am quite proud of it,” the newly-minted producer announces. “From a ﬆ yliﬆ ic ﬆandpoint, I made sure it was quite producer focused. It has a glitchy, kind of IDM vibe, running through it all but it’s very dancey – and, by that, I mean, any kind of dance genre. There’s dubﬆep, elect ro, house. It’s all kind of bundled together. I wanted to make sure that it was intereﬆ ing and as conceptually tight as the live show.” WHO: Beardyman WHERE & WHEN:

Blah Blah Blah @ Riverlife (Brisbane) Tuesday 28 December, Falls Feﬆ ival (Marion Bay) Thursday 30 December, Falls Feﬆ ival (Lorne) Friday 31 December, Field Day at The Domain (Sydney) Saturday 1 January

RIGHT IN THE NIGHT DRUM‘N’BASS FIREGUREHEAD ANDY C TELLS BRAD SWOB HOW “HAVING A LAUGH AND MUCKING AROUND” BIRTHED ONE OF HIS GENRE OF CHOICE’S MOST IMPORTANT RECORD LABELS.

t’s hard to imagine the trajectory drum‘n’bass has taken over the paﬆ two decades without one central figure – Andrew Clarke, better known in the scene as simply Andy C. The founder of RAM Records back in the early 1990, Clarke has continued to maintain a Godfather-like ﬆatus within the d‘n’b community through a combination of his A&R and leadership of the flagship label, his own product ions and his lightning-faﬆ DJ sets which in themselves have become the ﬆ uff of legend. Further cementing his reputation has been a series of mix CDs called Nightlife which ﬆarted in 2003 and document Clarke’s biggeﬆ dancefloor weapons of the moment. The fi fth volume of the series recently hit record ﬆore shelves, this one spread across two discs. With so much music to select from, the process of assembling a mix CD of this level muﬆ be a daunting one. “It’s huge man,” Clarke admits over the phone from London. “It all ﬆarts off and you kind of think it’s going to be easier because you look at what you’re playing out in the clubs and you look through the record box. As time goes on you’ve got new additions you want to add and certain tunes you want to play that maybe you don’t play in the club. It juﬆ turns into this process that basically ends up right at the very laﬆ minute. “I mean on this one, even the night I was mixing I was ﬆ ill finding some tracks and going out at midnight to pick some up. ‘Oh, it’s got to have this tune on there and it’s got to have that one’ and people were making me new tunes right up to the laﬆ minute. So you know, it ﬆarts off easy and juﬆ turns into a laﬆ minute rush. I could have done it over three CDs you know – there were loads of tunes. But in the end, I was under orders to keep it at two so that’s what we did. I ﬆ ill managed to squeeze over 60 tunes on.” Over the life of RAM Records, Clarke has helped break a lot of d‘n’b producers and it’s no surprise that he has access to all the lateﬆ dubs from every producer in the scene. These days the offices of RAM are inundated with demos from all around the globe. In recent years the label has enjoyed plenty of success with big album releases from the likes of Chase & Status and Sub Focus. But when Clarke ﬆarted RAM back in 1992, things were a lot different and it was impossible to predict that the label would go on to enjoy the longevity and success that it has. “No way,” Clarke agrees. “The whole RAM idea was literally born out of evening sitting down at home. I was talking about the fi rﬆ release – I was gonna press it up onto white label. Long ﬆory short, she was an artiﬆ and she was like, ‘I’ll throw up a logo, why don’t you call it RAM, fi nd out how to print labels onto records?’ So the whole process really came about in an evening of juﬆ having a laugh and mucking around. The next day I found out how to print labels onto a record. But what it’s done is phenomenal and I’m incredibly proud of it. There have

been so many people that contribute to the success of the label, you know. It’s not without everyone’s eﬀorts. “So it’s crazy – we’re twenty years old in two years’ time. We’re planning big parties – we’re gonna have big parties and a big celebration for it. There’s not many labels that laﬆ that long, let alone sort of underground d‘n’b labels so I’m really, really, really proud of it.” Almoﬆ 20 years is a long time in any game and one wonders how Clarke ﬆ ill manages not only to keep up with the d‘n’b scene, but to ﬆ ill be intereﬆed, excited and seduced by it. “It’s in my blood man, you know,” he replies. “The energy, the dynamics of it, the rawness of it, when the drops come in the clubs – there are so many ﬆ rings to the d‘n’b bow now. There are so many sides to it that you really can explore the journey during a set. That’s why I prefer to play longer sets and play a bit of everything. I do like to cram it in and keep the energy levels up so I do ﬁt in as many tunes as possible. “D‘n’b is juﬆ unique, isn’t it? The tempo is unique and the whole vibe behind it. There is not another dance music like it.” WHO: Andy C WHAT: Nightlife 5 (RAM Records/Inertia) WHERE & WHEN: Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival at EQ Moore Park (Sydney) Saturday 1 January, Bass Jump NYD at Prince Bandroom (Melbourne) Saturday 1 January

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AFTER 12 YEARS MOVING BETWEEN THE MAINSTREAM AND THE UNDERGROUND WITH BASEMENT JAXX, FELIX BUXTON TELLS STUART EVANS THEY’RE FORGETTING PAST SCARS AND JUST HAVING FUN.

CUTS BOTH WAYS

S house producer and current Duck Saucer Armand Van Helden once expressively said Basement Jaxx’s breakthrough album, Remedy, had taken house music and “fucked it up the arse”. The album, released in 1999, featured Jaxx’s now trademark augmentation of effects, inventive creativity, crazy synths, bellowing vocals and colliding genres. It set the scene for future Jaxx releases. “I think Armand meant the ﬆatement as a compliment and not that we’re really juﬆ two gay guys,” Felix Buxton laughs. “We’ve admired Armand as he’s a bit of an anti-puriﬆ. He’s different and is antieﬆablishment and there’s a little bit of me in that. Because of that he’s managed to ﬆay around for a long time.” Basement Jaxx ﬆarted life as a club night in Brixton, London, over a decade ago. Thanks to a succession of singles, successful albums, live shows and remixes, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe have been floating in and out of people’s consciousness for over ten years. The party boys from Brixton were shaped from a vibrant and exciting house music scene. Their love of house provided the moral thread and direct ion to develop their crazy notions of what house music could sound like. And although house music provided the initial direct ion, ever since Kish Kash the duo have been moving ﬆeadily away from the scene they once prized. “We’ve taken our eye off the mainﬆ ream as we didn’t want to make a David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland type of record. We got to the ﬆage where we weren’t excited with that ﬆ yle of music,” Buxton explains. If early Basement Jaxx beats beared a diﬆinct ly Brixton influence, their lateﬆ tendency has been to gradually move further afield. Their laﬆ release was the little known and hardly promoted Zephyr EP, around 33 minutes of experimental Balearic rock jams which ﬆ ill included trademark Jaxx sounds. Zephyr, however, was not aimed at the populiﬆs. More it was a downtempo and ambient number that was heavy on the Middle Eaﬆern influences. It affi rmed that Basement Jaxx refused to limit themselves or conform to people’s expectations. “Zephyr was the

quieteﬆ release we’ve ever had. We’ve been around the world and have played in a variety of countries. Th is means our music has really amalgamated to diﬀerent interpretations. You know, diversity within elect ronic music will always exiﬆ, juﬆ like you’ll always get people who are juﬆ out to make money and look as good as they can,” Buxton says. That Basement Jaxx have lucratively ﬆ raddled the commercial and underground partition says much about how they’ve fused ragga with house, Bollywood and beats and have generally helped to shape dance music with anthems Fly Life, Where’s Your Head At?, Red Alert, Romeo and Good Luck. Buxton reckons elect ronic music’s subculture has changed. He explains, “Today’s house music is like rock ‘n’ roll as it’s been around for years and is really juﬆ a variation of the same thing. There’s ﬆ ill an underground scene and some aspects have morphed into a contemporary

dance culture which remains very much alive, particularly this uber-cool world of house music that currently exiﬆs.” Buxton says the main diﬀerence between now and when the Jaxx commenced is the perceptible drug references in modern music culture. “In house music, the drug thing wasn’t really there before. Nowadays there’s music made for people on vodka and ecﬆasy. I got into house music because I loved it and liked to dance. However the dubﬆep sound that’s emerged is really exciting.” Basement Jaxx has also worked with a range of ﬆrong, female vocaliﬆs despite writing music from a male viewpoint. “We try to search for singers who are expressive and who can add personality to the music. As it’s us who write the music, switching it over to add a female vocal ﬂips the meaning a little.” And for Buxton, one female vocaliﬆ ﬆands out. “We worked with Yoko Ono, who was very charismatic and energetic. She was a pleasure to work with and wasn’t

pretentious in the slighteﬆ. She act ually kept asking us what we wanted her to do.” Although female vocaliﬆs have tended to dominate previous albums, their lateﬆ effort is more male-dominated. React ion to their commercially tinged 2009 album Scars was mixed. The overall consensus was that, although it was an improvement over the disappointing Crazy Itch Radio, the disco and dance nuggets that once tantalised the commercial and underground audiences were wearing thin. Believe the columniﬆs and the sound of Basement Jaxx is ﬆeadily declining – the boys who once yielded respect from DJs and pop do-gooders are apparently running out of puff. “Are we?” Buxton counters. “We haven’t paid much attention to what people are saying. We don’t do something juﬆ to fit in. If it’s creative and you follow what you believe then you can’t do what everyone else wants.” Scars summed up the duo’s experiences over the paﬆ few years, both good and bad. “We’ve been going for around 12 years and have certainly received a few personal and professional scars along the way. The sound on Scars changed to be more melancholy and focus more on personal relationships. After years of making music and touring, this summer we decided to take a break and focus on DJing and live shows. We’ve also been doing a heap of really cool ﬆ uff,” he says. That cool ﬆ uff has included scoring fi lms and making more underground music. Aside from their own works, the London lads have remixed for Juﬆ in Timberlake, Missy Elliott and N*E*R*D. They’ve won a Grammy for Kish Kash in the inaugural beﬆ Elect ronic/Dance Album category and numerous BRIT awards. “We’ve always been into landscapes, melodies and music as there are many layers to music. Lately we wanted to expressive ourselves in different ways. At the moment we’re simply having fun.” WHO: Basement Jaxx WHERE & WHEN: Pacha NYE at Ivy (Sydney) Friday 31 December, THAT Party at The Point, Albert Park (Melbourne) Saturday 1 January

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SILVER LINING ANGUS PATERSON FINDS VETERAN PROGGER NICK WARREN REVELLING IN HIS RECENT SWITCH TO ABLETON LIVE AND DIGGING DEEPER AND DEEPER TO FIND MUSIC TO BEST POPULATE HIS DJ SETS.

hen Nick Warren tells you he’s juﬆ returned from a spell of DJ dates throughout South America, it’s not hard to imagine the fevered hyﬆeria that would have greeted him at the shows. After all, that part of the world has always been enamoured with the kind of deep, melodic underground house that Warren plays, and it’s also been the place of origin of countless other quietly achieving DJs and producers, including Hernan Cattaneo who he played back to back with at the legendary Creamfields in Argentina. Now that the spell of South American dates are over, it’s hardly suprising to hear he’s been left exhauﬆed. “I’m a bit jetlagged act ually,” Warren admits. “I played several feﬆ ivals across Argentina, and then was in Peru over the weekend for another Creamfields show, and then I had the long haul fl ight home laﬆ night and didn’t sleep much at all, which was a bit of a pain! But hey, it could definitely be worse.” That sounds like the Nick Warren we know and love – someone ﬆ ill passionate enough about the music he’s playing to realise that touring South America isn’t anything to complain about, and who’s never grown impatient with the more tiring aspects of the DJ lifeﬆ yle. His laﬆ DJ tour of Auﬆ ralia in Eaﬆer 2009 saw him visiting some of our more intimate clubbing spaces, and proving fi rﬆ hand to his fans that he’s juﬆ as passionate as ever about all the new music coming out. His next visit was under a slightly different guise, with product ion partner Jody Wiﬆernoff to play as Way Out Weﬆ on the Future Music Feﬆ ival tour earlier this year, a visit so keenly embraced by fans that the duo were called upon to play a laﬆ minute sideshow in Sydney due to an internet petition. Way Out Weﬆ have also taken their acclaimed We Love Machine album across Europe and America over the paﬆ 12 months, but since the middle of the year Warren has been back in a solo headspace. He’s dropped his fi rﬆ ever solo release In Search Of Silver on John Digweed’s Bedrock label, in addition to another release scheduled for Danny Howells’ label with more in the pipeline. “It’s been a different perspect ive for me, because I’ve always worked so closely with Jody on the product ion front. But I’ve felt a new confidence after completing We Love Machine, and I’ve also clicked really well with the whole ‘melodic techno’ sound heard on the Bedrock label.” He confi rms that amongﬆ all this, he’s found time to lay down a new Way Out Weﬆ single with Wiﬆernoff, the expected fi rﬆ of a series of smaller collaborations over the next 12 months, with another album ﬆ ill a long way off. Can we expect something thematically in line with We Love Machine? “Not really,” he says. “It’s quite deep, we were working with quite a different sound on our laﬆ album, but we’ve gone back in more of an underground direct ion.” It’s a direct ion that act ually matches the change in vibe of Warren’s own DJ sets in the paﬆ 12 months. He’s always been known as a DJ to really bring the energy, and never one to dither with long, self-indulgent builds. Anyone who’s liﬆened to any of his recent sets though would have noticed a deeper and darker focus. “I think a lot of the progressive ﬆ uff got a little cheesy to be honeﬆ, a lot of the big melodies got a little overblown for me. So the deeper and darker ﬆ uff is really what’s exciting me at the moment.” When Warren spoke to the Auﬆ ralian dance media prior to his laﬆ DJ tour, he carried the excitement of a man who’d effect ively been given a

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new lease on life. The minimal techno movement, a sound that never really meshed with his love of the more melodic side of underground house, had dominated for several years, but by that point he’d been reinvigorated by the more melodic ﬆ rains of techno emerging from producers like Gui Borratto and Robert Babicz. Th is time around things have cooled off a litle and that same excitement isn’t there, though he says it’s largely juﬆ a matter of digging a little deeper. “I’d ﬆ ill say now that the more clever, slightly deeper music that’s being produced at the moment is ﬆ ill very exciting. If you can find the records that leans towards that peaktime kind of energy, but ﬆ ill bring that deepness, they’re the kind of records I’m searching out.” Something else that’s lined up politely with Warren’s growing love of the deeper sounds is his recent switch over to Ableton. “That’s really changed things a lot, as moﬆ of the time now goes into the prep work. It’s a matter of getting the tracks sorted and deciding how you want them to sound, and it allows you to be a lot more creative when you’re act ually playing out. You might be playing three different things at once, or layering in the basslines from another track or playing your own edited version of a tune. You can make it more your own, really.” Warren was one of the performers who held off joining the digital revolution for the longeﬆ, but says that even for the CDJ diehards like himself, eventually it was an obvious choice. “I originally tried out Traktor and I thought that was OK, but when I eventually began using Ableton using a controller, I loved it. I never was an amazing mixer, I could get the job done but I wasn’t the beﬆ of the bunch. Ableton opens up the potential to mix much longer, and means it’s not as jarring as it can be at times.” Something that Sasha (one of the earlieﬆ adopters of Ableton) often talked about how easy it was to get loﬆ in the depths of music that didn’t necessarily work on the dancefloor. “Initially it juﬆ took my sound deeper and deeper and deeper, which isn’t always the right way to approach a gig, certainly not a feﬆ ival for inﬆance,” he says. “So these are things you are always having to think about, but it’s worthwhile for the possibilities it opens up.” WHO: Nick Warren WHERE & WHEN: Chinese Laundry (Sydney) Friday 31 December, Summadayze at Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne) Saturday 1 January

MENTAL COMBAT Hip Hop With BLAZE

Venue-wise hip hop and funk has never had much success on New Year’s Eve. The bigger sounds get all the beﬆ locations while this music tends to be located only in people’s houses, usually because the venues charge a packet for venue hire or the main clubs already have their events planned well in advance. Besides, VB is the drink of choice for moﬆ heads therefore there isn’t much money to be made from this audience on the bar on NYE. I’ve been to many a house party where the decks are set up in the lounge room and all the DJs in the house take turns spinning. Years ago either people would bring a small case of funk 45s or a heavy box with vinyl. Now it’s a mixture of those with laptops and Serato controller discs, with only the puriﬆs being the dumbkopfs who have carted a crate worth of records around on the busieﬆ night of the year. Occasionally the MCs in the house get on the mic, though many times the mic is hidden from those who are too drunk or inept. “Sorry bro. I didn’t bring a mic. I’m a DJ so I brought the decks. You’re an MC and you didn’t bring a mic? You shoulda brought a mic dude. You’d be rocking the house.” Drunk people are great to screw with, whereas those on ecﬆasy are terrible. You can’t get rid of them with their ﬆ upid grinding of the mouth and insiﬆent conversation whilﬆ you are in the mix. At leaﬆ drunks you can diﬆ ract their attention easily, “look, a squirrel”. Anyways, hip hop works better in this country as barbecue or lounge room scenarios. The big venues are for the munters who want to get shitfaced with other loved-up partygoers. The beﬆ parties I’ve been to have been those where there are three or four decks and two mixers, so anyone can jump on and scratch whilﬆ the music keeps playing. I’ve witnessed fantaﬆ ic nights where the creativity and energy were worth packaging. Unfortunately moﬆ of these nights were pre-YouTube so they live on in memory only. Hopefully some of you might try to do this yourselves this year. Music is the secret glue for everyone’s enjoyment, but combine that with turntable antics in close proximity and you will have a recipe for success. Juﬆ make sure there’s enough VB on hand and shut the gate to anyone waving a glowﬆ ick outside.

DOSE UP

ORDE MEIKLE OF SLAM ADMITS TO RICHIE MELDRUM THAT PLAYING A 9AM SET AT BERLIN’S CLUBBING MECCA PRESENTS ITS OWN CHALLENGES TO DJS OF A CERTAIN VINTAGE.

espite having juﬆ enjoyed a rare full weekend off (his firﬆ since September), Orde Meikle, one half of acclaimed Scottish house and techno duo Slam, isn’t allowing himself the luxury of unwinding too much. Inﬆead, he’s using the downtime to gear himself up for what looks like being one of his moﬆ memorable weekends of 2011. Pressure, the monthly club night he runs with Stuart McMillan (the other half of Slam), is celebrating its 12th birthday, after which they fly to Berlin to play at the city’s notorious Berghain club. Considered by many to be the current world capital of techno, Berghain is known not juﬆ for the quality of the music and the hedoniﬆ ic atmosphere, but also for its fearsome door policy where large, leather-clad German bikies rule with an iron fi rﬆ over who makes it into this ominous looking fortress of fun. “There is absolutely no door policy whatsoever,” Meikle confi rms. “They judge you as you walk up and yeah, it is pretty hard to get in.” The guys have previously played both Berghain’s main room and the upﬆairs Panorama Bar, but on this occasion are scheduled to play a much later (or earlier, depending on how you look at it) set, hitting the decks for a challenging 9am ﬆart. “It’s very ﬆ range DJing at that time,” Meikle admits. “If you go to bed do you come in on the right wavelength? I think I might get a little bit of sleep before I go down there, then a couple of sneaky double Jack Daniels!” Slam is a name synonymous with quality house and techno. The aforementioned Pressure, which runs monthly in the brick-clad, viaduct arches underneath a railway ﬆation in Glasgow’s city centre, is regularly heralded by some of the biggeﬆ names in dance music as their favourite club and crowd to play. Big name gueﬆs including Jeff Mills, Laurent Garnier, Richie Hawtin, The Chemical Brothers and Underworld are joined on the club’s line-ups by lesser-known artiﬆs sourced from around the globe. Th is ‘seek and you shall find’ ethos also extends to the tracks you’re likely to hear the guys playing out. “We’ve always been those kind of musicians, those kind of sad people that would be ﬆ anding outside the record shop before it opened,” Meikle jokes. “So we’re always trudging through other peoples’ charts, ﬆ uff on [music sharing website] Soundcloud and liﬆening to what other people are doing on the major digital websites. It’s always been about

getting that record that you think is really brilliant, that no one else has picked up on and juﬆ dropping it.” Not content juﬆ to introduce new music through their DJ sets, Slam also run two record labels, the seminal Soma Records (renowned for releasing Daft Punk’s ﬁ rﬆ tracks from 1997’s Homework) and the more recent Paragraph Recordings, which is used as a vehicle for the music that Meikle and McMillian produce themselves but doesn’t seem to ﬁt within what is regarded as the traditional Slam sound. Having been regular visitors to Auﬆ ralia since the mid-90s, Meikle is underﬆandably keen to swap a Scottish winter for another Aussie summer. “Laﬆ time we were here was juﬆ a fucking great tour!” he enthuses. “It’s juﬆ a brilliant time of the year to be out there, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

WHO: Slam WHERE & WHEN: Truﬆ Us at Brown Alley (Melbourne) Friday 31 December, Spice

Aﬂoat (Sydney) Saturday 1 January, Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival After-Party at The Arthouse (Sydney) Saturday 1 January, The Island Party Boat (Brisbane) Saturday 8 January

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but once a year I’m happy to.” The seasoned DJ that he is, Lewicki also knows that if he’s not having a good time, chances are his crowd won’t be either. Fortunately his love of what he does makes the chances of that happening very slim.

PEAKS AND TROUGHS

“I think if I’m not having a good time it’s pretty hard for everyone else to have a good time. The thing is, [there’s] decades of great music at your ﬁ ngertips so it’s pretty hard to screw it up to be honeﬆ . If you’re having a good time and not having an attitude about it, it will be a great memory – it’s all that sort of ﬆ uﬀ. It’s like that saying, the peak times have peak songs.”

JANE STABLER LEARNS THAT, MUCH LIKE A GOOD DJ SET, SIMON LEWICKI’S CAREER AS GT HAS HAD A NUMBER OF PEAKS – BUT EVEN THE MAN HIMSELF DIDN’T THINK HE HAD ANOTHER ONE IN HIM.

Juﬆ like his sets, Lewicki knows that music careers also have peaks, and after thinking he’d reached his, he took some time oﬀ only to realise that maybe he hadn’t peaked juﬆ yet.

ven if you’re a dance music fan, the name Simon Lewicki may not mean that much to you, but the name Groove Terminator moﬆ certainly should. GT has been synonymous with house music and Miniﬆry Of Sound since 2000, and ﬆaying true to form, the man will be bringing in the next new year with MOS in Sydney. Despite working on the one night of the year moﬆ of the world begs to have off, Lewicki says that there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing than working as 2011 rolls on in. “It’s not really like a job, that’s the whole thing,” he says. “Anyone who calls it a job shouldn’t be doing it. I would say that in the 23 years I’ve been DJing I’ve had three [New Year’s] off, I think I’ve worked the laﬆ ten New Year’s Days. But I act ually feel the times I have off, it felt really, really weird. It felt really ﬆ range. I’m playing records for a job, it’s my 23rd year of being a DJ and it ﬆ ill amazes me all the time.” Although a NYD veteran, amazed is also what he’s hoping his 2010/11 crowd will be. “New Year’s Day is pretty special in Sydney,” he continues. “80 percent of my beﬆ friends in the world live in Sydney so I get to see them on New Year’s Day, so it’s really awesome. When you do a gig, it’s like you kind of get the joy of New Year’s. I get so much fun from preparing, you forget about how there’s so much music! The sheer volume is ridiculous, so you go back and the tracks that you remember that ﬆ ick with you – you’re basically playing the beﬆ of the paﬆ 20 years, it’s pretty amazing. For me it’s a lot of fun – I wouldn’t want to play that set five nights a week,

“Maybe two years ago I ﬆepped back from full-on going out every weekend and took a year oﬀ,” he recalls. “The longeﬆ I’ve gone without a gig is six months and after that I ﬆart to freak out. The laﬆ two years I’ve loved DJing more than before – it’s so much more fun with the technology, there’s more chance to manipulate the music. There’s a new generation of DJs coming through, it raises the bar, and it’s really exciting to watch, and it’s really inspirational.”

WHO: GT WHERE & WHEN: Miniﬆ ry Of Sound Classics at Ivy Saturday 1 January

NSW

OGFLAVAS OG Urban news with CYCLONE

TAYLOR SWIFT

A few urban ﬆars should contemplate making major New Year’s resolutions. For ﬆarters, anyone using Auto-Tune – quit. It’s no longer cute. 50 Cent, props to you for abandoning an ill-advised elect ro-hop LP, Black Magic. (Remember how you dissed Kanye Weﬆ ’s 808s & Heartbreak?) Others, take note: that big-ass SUV is already overloaded. The mercurial ‘Ye might think before he speaks (or tweets) but, considering that he’s so entertaining, that’d be a shame. Who else is gonna enliven dull award shows? And, act ually, that Taylor Swift penned a song for ‘Ye on Speak Now is hilarious. Not since Mariah Carey aired her Eminem diss Obsessed has pop culture witnessed such an improbable (and enduring) beef, yet Swift’s Innocent has a lil’ heart. Snoop Dogg’s New Year’s resolution? G, it’s time you became pickier with the features. Jessica Mauboy’s Get Em Girls is one thing, but Katy Perry’s California Gurls? That’s not being a Big Mack – it’s pimpin’ yourself out. Snoop, you’re a caricature. In 2009 Kid Cudi delivered a sprawling yet ﬂawed conceptual maﬆerpiece, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day – he’s juﬆ followed with another. His New Year’s rez? Develop editing skills. While the emo-hop phenom is fascinating, with Slim Shady its godfather, moaning about fame is kinda pathetic – especially on your debut. Haters are validating. Chin up, Tinie Tempah. Ever since the Black Eye Peas’ I Gotta Feeling, David “Fuck me, I’m famous” Guetta has been the go-to elect ro-hop guy. At leaﬆ Diddy reached out to one of house’s (black) pioneers in Felix da Housecat. Monsieur Guetta, let the right ones in – and no more trance vamping up as hip house, merci. Indeed, some of urban’s biggeﬆ names require a cred booﬆ. Lil Wayne, trash the guitars – and forget nu-metal. Will.i.am – your rez? Liﬆen to The Peas’ Behind The Front and ask yourself if that Fauﬆ ian pact was worth it. Yo, Dr Dre? Drop Detox in February, but ensure the beats are dope. Willow Smith, the 10-year-old daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, gave us the ﬆ reet kitsch Whip My Hair, but we’re suss on this tween ‘brand’ with her own (well, Rihanna’s) ﬆ yliﬆ and Roc Nation deal. Mr. Smith, you saw what happened to that child ﬆar Michael Jackson, not to mention Kris Kross. Jump on the school books, Willow, kiddo.

TIME TO TRACK

Tech Underground with ANDREW WOWK

UNDERWORLD

While everyone else gears up for New Year’s feﬆ ivities, usually wondering how the hell they’re going to fit everything in, it seems year after year, at leaﬆ here in Sydney, genuine techno enthusiaﬆs are left with very little to choose from. I can count on one hand the number of techno acts that have been in town over the paﬆ few New Year’’s periods: Josh Wink, Carl Craig, Underworld (and that’s ﬆ retching the definition of techno) and Carl Cox (who we see multiple times every year, anyway). There aren’t even that many small, locals only parties (again, I can probably count them on one hand). Why does techno suddenly go into hiding at this time? Is it a fear amongﬆ promoters of being overshadowed by all the large-scale events featuring pop ﬆar DJs like David Guetta and Roger Sanchez? Perhaps, however the obvious response to that is “techno enthusiaﬆs don’t give a fuck about David Guetta or Roger Sanchez and the laﬆ thing they’d want to do on NYE/NYD is be at the sort of party headlined by these artiﬆs”, and that then begs the queﬆ ion: with all these people left wondering how to spend New Year’s, why hasn’t someone considered a dedicated techno party? The sheer number of people that fi ll out the techno parties happening at leaﬆ once a month is evidence enough that there’s a ﬆ rong enough market for something to work at this time of year as well. But I don’t want to spend my whole column grizzling. Inﬆead, I’d like to finish up by recounting some of my fondeﬆ techno memories of NYE/NYD in the years gone by. Firﬆ up, there was Carl Craig at Chinese Laundry. As 3am rolled around, all the Detroit classics ﬆarted getting a run: The Bells, Shades Of Jae and of course Knights Of The Jaguar. Then there was Underworld closing with King Of Snake at Shore Th ing and Josh Wink playing to about five people at Summanights but ﬆ ill delivering a killer set chock full of aciiiiieeeed. And finally, Swarm went back to their roots a few years back and hoﬆed an NYE shindig at The Jets Sports Club featuring only Sydney talent, which was a ballsy move – so much respect. I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable New Year’s period, and I hope wherever you are someone plays Knights of the Jaguar at midnight.

ON THE TERRACE THE OWNERS OF IBERIAN SUPERCLUB PACHA LOVED THE DEBUT SET OF SYDNEY’S MO’FUNK SO MUCH THEY MADE HIM A RESIDENT. MAURICIO NUNEZ TELLS LIZ GALINOVIC WHAT CAME NEXT.

auricio Nunez has always been known as Mo. And after years of being the only kid into hip hop and soul in a world that was ripping its jeans for grunge, Mo took on turntables and the surname Funk. As Mo’Funk he began to purvey his sound, beginning with high school parties before taking it all the way to the pearly gates of DJ heaven – Ibiza. “The big decision point was to leave Auﬆ ralia a couple of years ago. I wanted to explore what was out there and I went to Ibiza and fell in love immediately. A lot of doors opened for me, I guess it was juﬆ being there and being really positive and meeting the right people.” That was back in 2007 when, after a few “cool gigs” Nunez found himself at the world renowned Pacha nightclub. “The fi rﬆ gig I had there really changed my life man. The owners of the club were there and they heard it and they said ‘that is the beﬆ set we’ve heard on the terrace, ever. Can you be our resident?’ And it juﬆ shocked me, I didn’t think that could happen and from that day on I was there almoﬆ every night of the week and I’ve been one of their main residents ever since.” For Nunez, DJing has always been more than the simple task of mixing records. “I see it as creating something from what you have. In this time of all the new technology where everyone’s got laptops, it [has] made it so much more accessible to be really creative as an artiﬆ. You can cut up songs and sample things so easily you can create music on the fly and that makes DJing so much more fun.” When it comes to creating music from what you have, Nunez’s ﬆage name says it all. “Funky music is everything, it’s not juﬆ hip hop or soul or house or anything, it spans everything and that’s exact ly what I do. The key to my success I think has been that I’ve been really diverse... so it spans a lot of different genres.” After several years of success on that magical island of clubs and parties, Nunez has achieved many things to be proud of – from residencies at the Island’s Cafe Mambo and We Love Sundays at Space, to performing with

some of the biggeﬆ names on the scene, Mark Ronson among them. When the temperature begins to wane he makes his way back to Auﬆralia, chasing summers like venues and promoters chase him. “I’m doing the Pacha New Year’s Eve party as well as Bungalow 8 where I’m warming up for Crazy Penis and the Cuban Brothers tour through Chriﬆmas and New Year around Auﬆ ralia,” he rattles oﬀ a busy schedule. “And N’fa from 1200 Techniques and myself have been doing things together where he’s rapping and I’m DJing.” Not shy of expanding his horizons, his home ﬆint is also an opportunity to work on the next phase of his career which fans hope to ﬁnd poﬆed all over his Soundcloud very soon. “I’ve had my head down making music for the laﬆ year or so, really taking it seriously because obviously the evolution of being a DJ is to ﬆart producing your own records. Now that I’m home I’ve been really getting through that.”

WHO: Mo’Funk WHERE & WHEN: Pacha NYE at Ivy Friday 31 December, Party Under The

Stars at Bungalow 8 and The Loft Friday 31 December

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WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU SEE DARREN CROSS’ CREATIONS AS THE ELF ARE INSPIRED BY “LIFE SHIT”, AND LIZ GALINOVIC TRIES TO COME TO TERMS WITH A MAN WHOSE SOUND STRADDLES THE DANCEFLOOR AND THE COME DOWN.

x-Gerling frontman Darren Cross is kind of like an elf in that he’s cheeky and playful with a touch of vagueness that ﬆems from underﬆanding the changeable nature of life. If everything in life conﬆantly changes, there can be no real definitive answers. Perhaps that’s why he decided to ﬆart making music under the myﬆerious (even to Cross himself) moniker of The ELF, an indie elect ronic solo outfit with a sound that conﬆantly changes. “I’ve put out two EPs with The ELF and they were both on my own label and they went from sample-based ﬆ uff to crazy, really ﬆ upid, comedy techno kind of music,” Cross explains before going to talk about his debut LP Plankton Icke and Tina Turner David City Limits, which he has been releasing track by track for free on Soundcloud. He describes it as “hip” and therefore different to anything he’s done previously. “That’s really exciting for myself, ‘cause I’ve been doing my own fi lm clips and it’s quite ﬆ range, it’s really downbeat and ambient but ﬆ ill dance – kind of a cross between dance and sample based. And I’m really excited and it’s all for free. I juﬆ want people to hear it and have it and I’ll probably be playing heaps of it at Peats Ridge as well.” Desptie Cross’ description of Plankton, there are ﬆ rong dance elements but he also manages to retain his ties to the acouﬆ ic guitar he’s been playing since his teens – so tracks like Diﬆant Ping could easily fit into an indie rock category. As far as influences go, he’s not really sure of them. “Life,” he offers. “Life shit. Yeah, ‘cause life’s different and sometimes you juﬆ get into mood and everything juﬆ changes. Life’s pretty influential on how you write music and the different ﬆ yles you do... it’s really weird, if I’m depressed I write happy music, I don’t underﬆand how that works. I write banging dance music if I’m upset,” he chuckles.

“I used to get more influenced by what’s happening but I haven’t watched TV in two years and I don’t liﬆen to the radio. I juﬆ prefer to do my own things these days so I guess life is the big influence.” Another thing he’s not quite sure about, but will no doubt be influenced by life, is what we can expect from his upcoming live shows – Peats Ridge Feﬆ ival being one of them. “Th at I’m not quite sure about. I’ve juﬆ been doing it all on my laptop and running a little sampler thing and running Ableton and ﬆ uff... I might put a band together, I might get live drums or I might juﬆ get loads of different samplers, but hopefully whatever’s coming off ﬆ age for people is really exciting.” Exciting it’s sure to be as well as emotive, moving, often exhilarating and hard to explain. With the laﬆ of Plankton’s tracks being released onto the web, those who’ve heard it won’t fi nd it hard to believe that even without any promo, intereﬆ has been expressed from all over the globe. And with Cross’ kooky genius conﬆ antly feeding off the happenings of life, there will no doubt be much more to come from The ELF. “I’m going to ﬆart writing the new album from next year. Life changes for everyone and my life’s changed and I juﬆ feel like writing and doing a whole new thing.”

WHO: The ELF WHERE & WHEN: Peats Ridge Feﬆ ival Thursday 30 December

NSW

FOR THE KIDS All Ages with TASH FRASER

DJ TROY T

The weather is heating up and so are the parties. Coming up this summer are quite a few parties and events that should not be missed. On Monday 20 December, iD Under 18s Chriﬆ mas Party will take over Luna Park’s Big Top arena. Sydney’s favourite under 18s event will run from 6pm untill 11pm, and will be giving away free merchandise on the night. You will be impressed by their million dollar lighting and sound product ion, amazing laser shows, fi re jets, confetti bombs and lots more. Performing on the night will be The Aﬆon Shuffle, Stafford Brothers, Sam La More, Timmy Trumpet, Zannon, Bioweapon, Steve Hill, Suae, Ravine and there will be lots more announced soon. Firﬆ release tickets are available from Supre outlets for $30 + bf. Party from 3pm till’ 10pm on Sunday 16 January at Summerbreak under 18s party. Th is event has been announced to be the biggeﬆ under 18 party with a record breaking 4,500 kids attending their laﬆ party. Summerbreak will be held at Fairfield Showground with Weaver and Nacho Pop taking the ﬆage as well as Tenzin, Steve Frank, Charlie Brown, G-Wizard, Troy T, Joey Kaz, Nemz, Billy B, Alex Borello and so many more. Visit Facebook to find out more about rides, food, drinks and anything else you want to know about Summerbreak. Tickets are now on sale for $35 from Supre ﬆores. Make sure you ﬆart to buy your tickets early for Project Replay held in March next year as it will sell out quickly. With over 60 local and interﬆate DJs hitting the decks across three arenas, Project Replay is definitely an event not to be missed. An audience of a rumoured 5,000 people will be entertained as interﬆate DJs Nomad, S3RL, Naﬆ y, Whiskey and JigZee take the ﬆage, as well as Sydney’s The Saint, Luke Spellbound, S Dee, Audio Damage, Weaver, Convict, Scotty G, Haze, Pulsar, Kinekt4 and many more. International headliners will be announced soon. Tickets, as well as VIP tickets, for this 16+ event are on sale now and are available through Moshtix and from ﬆ reet promoters. Project Replay will be held on Saturday 19 March and the venue will be announced soon. Be sure not to miss these popular parties and keep reading to hear more about the many upcoming events this Summer is sure to bring you.

THE ALBUM OF WEEK

ALBUMREVIEWS

GOOSE Synrise

(!K7/Inertia)

KANYE WEST My Beautiful Dark Twiﬆed Fantasy

(Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/Universal) Regardless of what you think of the man or the sound, Kanye Weﬆ ’s 2008 album 808s And Heartbreak changed the face of popular music – something not too many artiﬆs of any genre, let alone hip hop, can claim. His trials and tribulations since have been well documented, yet Weﬆ has used it to advantage, channeling it all into a follow-up. Being so immersed in the fickleness of the high fashion scene, there was no way Weﬆ would or could repeat what had already been done – Auto-Tuned singing in the case of 808s – and this was clear as soon as his ‘Good Fridays’ build-up to this album began; one new, free song a week for several months, songs that did, in some ways, feed off the traditional or even oldschool ‘rap’ aeﬆ hetic yet sounded unlike anything anybody else was doing. So after months of this building hype Weﬆ’s new, clunkily-titled album My Beautiful Dark Twiﬆed Fantasy arrives. The fi rﬆ single, the raucous, King Crimsonsampling Power, was a shock with its rock attitude, yet is not representative of what is a varied, ambitious maﬆerpiece of vocal diﬆortion, edgy drum programming, lush inﬆ rumentation and attitude-laden witticism. Raw posse cuts such as Monﬆer (featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross and an amazing performance by Nicki Minaj) and So Appalled (with Jay, Swizz Beats and RZA) ﬆand alongside super-emo cuts like the wonderfully self-deprecating Runaway and club-thumping Loﬆ In The World, the original flavour Weﬆ soulfulness of Devil In A New Dress and feature-packed, Rihanna-powered, pop triumphal All Of The Lights. Rather than trying to re-invent the wheel (again), on his new album Kanye Weﬆ has done what many creative geniuses have done before him – taken elements that already exiﬆ and make them into something truly great. DARREN COLLINS

Between the release of their debut hit-sampler Bring It On and the 2010 sophomore follow up Synrise, Belgian rock-cum-elect ro four-piece Goose have allowed four years to pass – in this time permitting their sound to relocate and be rediscovered within a comparatively skewed dance fusion vessel. It’s here, at Kaufman’s New Jersey Turnpike-end of the journey, where we reacquaint ourselves with the former elect roclash pushers, now (more than ever) Eurocentric digital rock poppers. From Coca-Cola adverts to video game series Gran Turismo to automaker Mitsubishi promos, Goose have outsourced their sound, in the process conﬆ ruct ing a solid reputation for themselves as veritable contenders to the soundtrack and commercial ditty crown of

AEROPLANE We Can’t Fly (Eskimo/EMI)

It nearly ended before it began for Italian/ Belgian act Aeroplane. After a ﬆ ring of acclaimed remixes for the likes of Grace Jones and Sebaﬆ ien Tellier, Stephen Fasano threw a spanner in the works by up and leaving his partner Vito De Luca. Unperturbed, De Luca has pushed on alone to complete Aeroplane’s debut album We Can’t Fly. Unable to be pigeonholed into the cosmic disco scene, We Can’t Fly is pure Balearica as 80s elect ro-disco rubs shoulders with Pink Floydﬆ yle guitars and New Romantic frilliness. Marrying a reggae bounce to gospel choir exhortations, ﬁ rﬆ single We Can’t Fly begs for anthem ﬆatus while Superﬆar’s vocoder-topped pianos so impressed Giorgio Moroder he recorded his own version of the track. Th is feel is continued by My Enemy, with its Hi–NRG bassline and I Don’t Feel with its enormous Italo-disco vocals. None of that explains the indie-county twang of Good Riddance, which seems more the territory of Nick Cave or Tex Perkins, yet it’s this inspired product ionwithout-borders that will appeal to hipﬆers and may even spawn a crossover single or two. DARREN COLLINS

recent years. With this in mind, it’s a tricky yet all together gratifying challenge to separate Synrise from this musical realm. From verse-one, the album opener and title track doesn’t make the game an easy one, inﬆantly dropping the liﬆener into a spiralling synth hollow, reminiscent of a Phillip Glass or Tangerine Dream ﬁ lm score. Th rough an ethereal vocal backing courtesy of Canadian elect ronic punk Peaches, the title track milks every second of its 5:30 run to produce what may be the band’s moﬆ cinematic tune to date – oﬆensibly providing the remaining nine tracks leeway to wander the rockier end of traditional elect ro. Can’t Stop Me Now explodes with an Infadels-meets-Boys Noize commotion that despite all comparisons emerges lacking complete resolution within its mix. CARLIN BEATTIE

MUSCLES Younger and Immature

(Modular/Universal) Bashing your record label is seldom a smart move, however back in 2008 that’s exact ly what elect ro scallywag Muscles decided to do. After a few tirades and a very public spat with his label Modular, he took a breather, ﬆarted to play a few acouﬆ ic live shows and sought to find inner peace and tranquillity. Debut album Guns Babes Lemonade was well regarded, and Younger And Immature has all foes (Muscles, Modular and Universal) singing lullabies and making friends. Forever kicks off events with Muscles’ trademark elect ro layers and lyrics that point to his own life expectancy, while Girl Crazy Go is a ﬆ ranger beaﬆ with a core narrative that bewilders. Meaningless fi ller track Love Struck is the weakeﬆ of the bunch, but Beat the Rush is better with its a sly drug reference while the faﬆ, furious and catchy Northern Beaches is a fitting laﬆ hurrah. Younger And Immature doesn’t show much in the way of succession or innovation, yet it’s a very good liﬆen that demonﬆ rates Muscles’ uncanny ability to make likeable elect ronic music. STUART EVANS

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NAT

ONE TRACK MIND DELS Trumpalump

(Big Dada/Inertia)

ILLY The Chase (Obese) Despite ﬆ ill being a relatively new artiﬆ, Illy’s second album sees him returning as a veteran. Back with the same posse of Auﬆ ralian producers including M-Phazes at the helm, Illy has done well not to veer too far from the fi rﬆ edition while ﬆ ill bringing something unique and indeed mature. That said, the album does have its pitfalls. Album opener Go is promising. It builds begrudgingly before coming to an intense spacious climax. It Can Wait is an ironic choice for lead single considering the number of negative references to Pictures from his laﬆ album and the pseudo-commercial success it was afforded. Of course, as all good artiﬆs know, if you find a hit formula you should ﬆ ick with it and he has – from J-Skub’s indietronica

VARIOUS/STEVE AOKI I Love Techno 2010 (Balance Music/EMI)

You can’t mess with a techno brand. After alienating and pissing oﬀ the regulars by recruiting Crookers to be the tag of their previous compilation, this time around they’ve gone for the American and perennial ﬆagediver, Steve Aoki. Of course, the I Love Techno Feﬆ ival is colossal, which is why it recently marked the 15th anniversary for the Belgium party crew. However on the lateﬆ inﬆalment of techno tenacity, the trackliﬆ ing is as much techno as the theme from Top Gear. It could be elect ro or even Euro pop, but techno? Phu-lease. Steve Aoki has a canny knack for whacking dodgy sounds together and slopping over a slightly and chucky diﬆorted bass with little in the way of vigilant product ion elements apparent. Aoki

NAT

breakbeats to the playful female vocal line. Th is is a good thing of course; Pictures was catchy as hell and so is this. Even if a little lame on ﬁrﬆ liﬆen, you’ll be involuntarily humming along in no time. On Cigarettes Illy once again displays his pop sensibilities and furthermore a vulnerability rarely shown and sorely missed in Auﬆ ralian hip hop. Unfortunately, while there are more moments like this on the album, they are outnumbered by tracks like Guess I Could, replete with the kind of typical rap poﬆ uring that you would hope someone of Illy’s calibre would have outgrown by his sophomore. If you’re a rapper, ﬆating you’re unlike other rappers is common enough to be its own retort. Th is album has its moments it juﬆ isn’t quite coherent enough. CHEST ROCKWELL

is the man behind credited with launching the careers of Gossip, Bloc Party, MSTRKRFT, The Rakes and The Bloody Beetroots, so the man’s got talent despite what’s showcased on this confused augmentation. It’s also disappointing to see that a high proportion of the tracks are lifted ﬆ raight from Aoki’s own Dim Mak label. I Love Techno 2010 includes Mr Oizo and Gaspard Auge’s Rubber, Green Velvet’s Harmageddon, Steve Aoki and ArmandVan Helden’s Brrrat!, Felix Cartal’s Love, Aoki and Sidney Samson’s Wake Up Call, Aoki and Bloody Beetroots’ New Noise, and Aoki and Afrojack’s Show me your Hands. In parts Aoki’s mix does have a bit of grit and determination, it’s juﬆ they are ﬂeeting and too sporadically arranged to get any real tract ion or momentum. STUART EVANS

Poﬆ-Dilla sickly hip hop is like this massive plughole through which all non-gangﬆa rap will eventually plummet, but Trumpalump is the kind of above-par eﬀort that makes this future appear not-unpleasant, all computer malfunct ions and gorgeously atonal chords that graft onto your ears like melancholy velcro. The remixes are uniformly great, even (especially?) when they sound like a robot. On drugs. In Jamaica.

HYBRID Disappear Here (Diﬆ inct ive)

Eleven years on from the ﬁ rﬆ Hybrid album and they haven’t changed a great deal: Disappear Here’s polite, manicured syncopation and eerie multi-tracked vocals (think Orbital. Lots of Orbital) are perhaps a bit less melodramatic, but also rather less diﬆ inct ive. Their own Soundsyﬆem remix is a proﬁcient Deadmau5 rewrite.

GOOSE Words EP

(!K7/Inertia) Words is a decent example of dark, edgy elect ro/EBM revivalism, if you don’t have a copy of Depeche Mode’s Behind the Wheel handy. “Words are violently erupting…” is a nicely evocative if meaningless chant intoned with ridiculous seriousness, while the synth arpeggios are suitably aggro. Weirdly I’m rather into Boris Dlugosch’s bleepy, hyperact ive elect ro house remix, which makes the case for Benni Benassi’s moment having passed rather too soon. TIM FINNEY

3DPLAYLIST 3D 1. My Beautiful Dark Twiﬆed Fantasy KANYE WEST 2. Fabriclive 54 VARIOUS/DAVID RODIGAN 3. Gimme A Break VARIOUS 4. Lazpod 17 VARIOUS/DAMIAN LAZARUS 5. Ashes To Ashes WARPAINT 6. Outrun SILENT SHADOW 7. 1400 SPIRITCHASER 8. Russkie Wig-Out VARIOUS 9. Sky At Night I AM KLOOT 10. Second Tougheﬆ In The Infants UNDERWORLD

USE YOUR ILLUSION

WHEN DUTCH TRANCE DEMIGOD ARMIN VAN BUUREN KICKED OFF HIS ARMIN ONLY – MIRAGE TOUR IN UTRECHT SOUTH OF AMSTERDAM ON SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER, 3D WORLD’S CLARE DICKINS WAS THERE TO WITNESS EVERY LASER, EXPLOSION AND EPIC BREAKDOWN – AND CAME AWAY VERY IMPRESSED.

ut your chips in, or get out of the game. Armin van Buuren didn’t get to be DJ Mag’s #1 DJ in the world by reﬆ ing on his laurels. After barnﬆorming the dance music world with his maiden nine-hour Armin Only – Imagine shows in 2008, the Dutchman is upping the ante with a series of globetrotting ﬆadium performances on the back of fourth long-player Mirage. Armin Only – Mirage will see the 33-year-old tour 15 deﬆ inations across five continents, but hit its zenith in Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on New Year’s Eve. But for the next 24 hours, van Buuren’s attention is fi rmly focused on Mirage’s maiden gig at the Jaarbeurs complex in Utrecht, about 30 minutes out of Amﬆerdam. As preparation for the show, all performers (“between 60 and 70” according to van Buuren) were flown in to rehearse for five days at a fi lm ﬆ udio called Lukkien in the Dutch city of Ede juﬆ weﬆ of Utrecht. Van Buuren similarly went to painﬆaking ends to synchronise the music with not juﬆ eye-catching visuals on two LED screens placed either side of the ﬆage, but a blazing light and firework show that rolls out in tandem with Mirage’s troupe of dancers. It was an exhauﬆ ive process which involved writing individual time codes for every track in his CD wallet. On the night the time codes, paired with a click track, will allow for seamless synchronisation between audio and visual – all van Buuren needs to do is ﬆart the time codes and inform front of house what he is playing, and everything from the scantily clad dancers resembling Lady Gaga in The Fame to the sparks flying out of brother Eller van Buuren’s guitar will correspond accordingly. If ever there was a reminder that this was no ordinary DJ gig, this was it. But for the ambitious trance kingpin, this is what it’s all about – providing his fans with a memorable experience and simultaneously extending himself as an artiﬆ in the process. “You have to underﬆand what we’re doing here; I’m not making any money on the show. It would be a lot easier for me to fly to a location with my biggeﬆ tracks, play them all for nine hours and then go. But I think I want to give something back to my fans,” he says, the intensity in his voices raising a notch. “They’ve awarded me the Number One DJ in the world for the fourth year in a row and I see that as an assignment to take risks, to keep pushing it and to try new things. And of course I’m very, very insecure about certain things I am going to try tomorrow, but if we don’t take risks we will never get further.” Juﬆ over 24 hours later and 15,000 people appear to have validated the Dutchman’s decision to go out on a limb. Groups of fans hoiﬆ flags from Poland, Brazil, Greece, Malta and Lebanon aloft, while locals come from

varying walks of life. 3D World chats with a middleaged father with four kids at home, twentysomethings from Rotterdam and spots more than a sprinkling of silver haired revellers who appear as excited as any to witness the spectacle that’s about to unfold. That’s not to discount the hundreds of thousands who will be watching the act ion live on Dutch TV ﬆation BNN. It’s synapse-searing ﬆ uﬀ, too. After easing the crowd into gear with rolling progressive trance from behind a screen, AvB is revealed in all his Jesus-posing glory at 12:30 am, accompanied by the Metropole Orcheﬆ ra, Eller van Buuren’s band Bagga Bownz and choreographed dancers as shots of ﬁ re spurt out of spires on either side of the ﬆage. It mounts a ﬆ rong case as the moﬆ elaborately OTT and simultaneously awe-

inspiring intro ever seen in dance music. It also sets the pattern for the grandeur that characterises the reﬆ of the night, as van Buuren dishes out lashes of euphoric trance, interspersed with performances from Mirage’s gueﬆ liﬆ of vocaliﬆs Susanna, Ana Criado, Chriﬆ ian Burns, Cathy Burton and Nadia Ali taking the ﬆage. A noticeable absentee is English belle Sophie Ellis-Bextor who is missed when Not Giving Up On Live fi lls the ﬆadium (AvB reveals she may be a chance for NYE in Melbourne). Many artiﬆs would ﬆ ruggle to sprinkle enough intereﬆ into a nine-hour set to keep the dancefloor intereﬆed, but van Buuren adds some spice to the brew dropping chunks of acid and elect ro house among the more traditional laser-kissed fare. The appearance of Rank 1’s Benno de Goeij, van Buuren’s ﬆ udio mate, is also an exhilarating addition, with the producer playing the 1999 Dutch trance classic Airwave live on the keys, before a medley of trance classics (Solarﬆone’s Seven Cities, OT Quarter Hold That Sucker Down and the Airwave remix of Andy Ling’s Fixation, among others) keep the dancefloor in an excited lather. The conclusion is fitting. Having yeﬆerday paid tribute to his large support crew (Armada Marketing Manager Margreet Spit numbers it to be around 250 working on the Utrecht show), the show’s singers, accompanied by Eller van Buuren and de Goeij join the trance titan for the final track, Burned With Desire as the night draws to a close. WHO: Armin van Buuren WHERE & WHEN: Armin Only – Mirage at Etihad Stadium (Melbourne) Friday 31 December, Summafieldayze at Doug Jennings Park (Gold Coaﬆ) Sunday 2 January

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TRENT RACKUS WHERE AND WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST SET? “1993 at a recovery on Pitt St, Sydney.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ALL TIME 12”? “With It Guys – Let The Music Take Control.” WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DJS? “Danny Tenaglia, A-Trak, Chris Duckenfield, Jeff Mills, Greg Wilson.” FAVOURITE CLUB TO PLAY? “Toss up between Wham at World Bar and Chinese Laundry.” WHAT’S YOUR BEST ALL TIME GIG? “2001 NYE at Wharf 3 on the Harbour.” WHAT’S THE FUNNIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN FROM BEHIND THE DECKS? “A guy on the floor of The Blackmarket sifting through his own spew looking for a pill he had juﬆ eaten.” WHAT’S THE WORST REQUEST YOU’VE GOT? “Britney Spears.” WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF WHAT YOU DO? “At fi rﬆ I don’t think they were too keen on the bedroom banging, but when I ﬆarted making a good living from it they realised I wasn’t going to be running back to a suit.” WHAT DOES THE LOCAL CLUB SCENE NEED MOST? “Definitely could do with people be more loved up, there are way too many people with the wrong agenda in clubland today.” WHAT GIGS HAVE YOU GOT COMING UP? “Cargo Wednesday 1 December, Sugarmill Thursday 2 December, Wham at World Bar Saturday 4 December, Pacha at Ivy New Year’s Eve, Miniﬆ ry Of Sound Classics at Ivy Saturday 1 January.” PIC BY CARINE THEVENAU

NSW NSW

NYE AT BEACH PALACE HOTEL COOGEE www.beachpalacehotel.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Kidmac, Beni, Snob Scrilla, Anna Lunoe, Emily Scott, Funktruﬆ DJs, Surecut Kids, Mo’funk.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Th ree rooms of diﬀerent ﬂavours. Aquarium: party breaks, mash-up, fun room. Mid Palace: headliners, main room house and elect ro. Habitat: funk, soul and hip hop.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Sweet beats and awesome views.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Beach side parties and quality entertainment acts.” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Make plans now and avoid missing out.” DRESS? “Anything it’s NYE!” HOURS? 7pm til late.

CASTLE HILL TAVERN NIGHTCLUB RELAUNCH www.caﬆ lehilltavern.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Andrew McKinnon, John Glover, Ember from 8pm. Benn Finn Duo and Matt Jones Duo on the Level One Bar from 6pm.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “1000 capacity nightclub being opened for the ﬁ rﬆ time in three years.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Be a part of this monumental night!” BEST XMAS EVE EVER?: “Caﬆ le Hill Tav is an inﬆ itution for Xmas Eve, biggeﬆ on the Northside every year!”

DRESS? “Casual.” HOURS? 10am – 3am. COST?: Free entry to hotel – $15 entry fee for nightclub. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: Biﬆ ro open. Sausage sizzle all night Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: No

COST? Presale $25 or $30 on door.

JACKSONS ON GEORGE

THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: No Drinks Included: Complimentary on arrival for pre-sale tickets View Of Fireworks: Yes

www.jacksonsongeorge.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “DJ Michael Stuart and gueﬆ DJs on the decks all night pumping out beats over four levels.”

“Celebrate with friends and welcome 2011 by the beach.”

THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Five bars, free canapés 6-7pm and front row views of Sydney’s internationally renowned ﬁ reworks display.”

DRESS? “Masquerade ball.”

DRESS?: “Dance party!”

www.coogeebayhotel.com.au

HOURS?: Starts 8pm.

HOURS?: From 6pm until the early hours .

WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Commercial, Top 40, dance.”

COST?: $25 Moshtix, $30 at the door.

COST?: $55.

THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Location.”

THE CHECKLIST Live bands: No DJs: Yes Food included: No Drinks included: No View of ﬁ reworks: Yes (at Coogee Beach)

NEW YEARS EVE FULL MOON PARTY MASQUERADE BALL AT COOGEE BAY HOTEL, SELINA’S

CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Parties and fun.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Every year.” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP?

THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: No DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: Yes

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GORGEOUS NYE, SHIPWRECKED, CIRCULAR QUAY WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF... “Ralph Lawson, James Curd, Acid Mondays.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS... “The MCA – is there a better venue?” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF KID WHO LIKES... “Quality.”

BAG RAIDERS

QUEENS WHARF BREWERY www.qwb.com.au

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVA? “Seeing the ﬁ reworks on Sydney harbour for the ﬁ rﬆ time... amazing!”

WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Regurgitator, Bag Raiders, Urthboy, Cassian, Van She Tech, Nova and The Experience, Backbeat.”

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Don’t miss the after-party.”

THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS?: “Performances by Miss Burlesque Auﬆ ralia, freak shows, circus performers and a whole carnival of fun.”

DRESS? “Absolutely gorgeous!” HOURS? 8pm – 2am. COST? $300 includes entry and unlimited premium beer, wine, food (canapes). THE CHECKLIST Live Bands - No DJs - Yes Food Included - Yes Drinks Included - Yes View Of Fireworks - Yes

CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Awesome music with something a little bit diﬀerent.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER?: “They’re all good at the Brewery!” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP?: “Get your tickets now at qwb.com.au or oztix.com.au.”

DRESS?: “Dress it up or get casual but wear closed in shoes.” HOURS?: 6pm – 3am COST?: General Admission – $50 + booking fee, VIP – $150. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes for VIP tickets from 8pm – 12am Drinks Included: Yes for VIP tickets from 8pm – 12am View Of Fireworks: Yes

BABYFACE AT TAO ULTRALOUNGE www.mrbshotel.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Mainﬆ ream R&B.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Ten ﬆ unning VIP Models showcase/countdown.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Great music, great atmosphere and great fun.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Partying all night on Hong Kong Harbour.”

WOOLPACK HOTEL REDFERN woolpack.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Pimping sounds all through summer Fridays and Sundays. Ali Carter and Dave – jazz/soul, Nic Henﬆ ridge – smooth guitar.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Tuesday 21 December Woolpack Members Badge draw. 22 December, Sony Bravia giveaway.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE

NSW

KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Meat trays, Tuesday night bingo. Lots of meat trays to be won.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Woolpack front lawn.” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Woolpack bus ﬆop to paradise.”

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Get to where you’re going early.” DRESS? “Sexy, smart casual.” HOURS? 9pm – 4am COST? $30 entry, $25 gueﬆ liﬆs. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: No DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: No

HED KANDI CIRCUS ILUMINA AT CRUISE BAR cruisebar.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Hed Kandi’s sweet sexy house.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Location, location, location! Cruise Bar is on the edge of the harbour, right in the heart of the NYE act ion at Circular Quay. Perfect for views of the ﬁ reworks over the Opera House. The main ﬆage is on the wharf in the open air. Any closer to the water and you’d fall in.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Hed Kandi, house music, harbour views and waterfront bars.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Th is could be it. After 2009’s sold out NYE event, Hed Kandi return to present ‘Circus Ilumina’ (the Circus of Light) with an international DJ line up, the famous Kandi dancers, plus sideshow alley performers set to dazzle and amaze with acrobats, live ﬁ re shows, ﬆ ilt walkers, magicians and more.”

COCO CUBANO WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Coco Cubano – located in Taylor’s Square, Darlinghurﬆ – is an exotic, licensed beverage house that celebrates the bygone era of Cuba at every level, from seduct ive shabby-chic interiors to tantalising taﬆes and the endless rhythm of rhumba.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Coco Cubano pumps on New Year’s Day. We have the beﬆ vantage point and outdoor seating area on Oxford Street where you can recover in the sun with a classic Hemingway-inspired mojito, the traditional Cuban highball. You can continue late into New Year’s night with any of the Cuban classics and cocktail delights on the menu but be ready for the taﬆe of Cuba and heritage of Havana in every carefully crafted maﬆerpiece. Then take some time select ing your choice of a Coco Cubano cigar.” CHECK US OUT IF YOU’RE THE

KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “To indulge and share in some of Cuba’s moﬆ prized – decadent cocktails, American Latino wines, rich espresso, the deepeﬆ chocolate, authentic hand rolled Cuban Cigars, good food and moﬆ importantly, the art of conversation. Embrace the rhythm, feel the warmth, enjoy the taﬆe.” FUTURE PLANS? “Coco Cubano has brought a truly experiential Cuban Café/ bar to Kings Cross Darlinghurﬆ. The company is continually expanding and now opening at 302 Church St Parramatta plus Victoria Ave Chatswood in 2011. For more information jump on the website www.cococubano. com.”

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Cameras essential. There’ll never be more photo opportunities in one night with the Opera House in the background, ﬁ reworks overhead.” DRESS? “Smart casual, party frocks and killer heels, collared shirts and designer jeans or you can get into Circus theme and dress to impress.” HOURS? 6:30pm – 2am COST? Firﬆ release $89/second release $110. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes (DJ based band) DJs: Yes Food Included: No Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: Yes

NYE PARTY UNDER THE STARS AT BUNGALOW 8 & THE LOFT WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Frankie Knuckles, Crazy P DJs Jim Baron and Chris Todd, Mobin Maﬆer and Karina Chavez singing live from Miniﬆ ry of Sound and Mo’Funk.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Frankie Knuckles bringing 30 years of dance music hiﬆory to our decks and our waterfront location to watch the Sydney ﬁ reworks.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “If you want to party under the ﬆars (literally) Bungalow 8 is an outside, ﬆ unning water front location, with views of the harbour to watch the ﬁ reworks.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “The Loft and Bungalow8 provide the perfect setting for for of the biggeﬆ names in dance music to meet Sydney’s moﬆ glamorous club set as we welcome 2011.”

AFTER A DAY AT THE FIELD NYD RECOVERY PARTY, TAO LOUNGE (MR B’S HOTEL) WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Cutting edge R&B, funky old-skool, electric mash-up and party anthems!” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Awesome $5 drink specials including Alize and wet pussy shots! Exclusive special gueﬆ performance and it’s lavish ladies night.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “To party it up with Sydney’s ﬁneﬆ DJs and MCs in a recovery party like no other, plus special gueﬆ performance!” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “You need to dance, dance, dance like it’s dynamite!”

DRESS? “Smart casual, summer fun. Feﬆ ival wear welcomed, no thongs or sandals.” HOURS? 10pm – very late. COST? Free entry before 10:30pm. Discount entry before 12am via VIP gueﬆ liﬆ – veronica@xclusivproduct ionz.com THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: No DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes Drinks Included: Yes View Of Fireworks: No

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Scout out who you want to have your NYE kiss with at the ﬆart of the night and ﬆart making the moves early on, then make sure you are close by for when the clock ﬆ rikes 12. Boom! Fireworks will be going oﬀ and not juﬆ in the sky.” DRESS? “Dress to impress.” HOURS? “6pm – 4am.” COST? Firﬆ release sold out, second release $89 + bf, third release $99 + bf, VIP $150 + bf. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes (VIP ticket) Drinks Included: Yes (VIP ticket) View Of Fireworks: Yes

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SAME OLD LANG SYNE, NEW YEAR’S EVE AT THE ANNANDALE

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “NYEs are often let-downs. But we’re calling that this will be one to remember!”

www.annandalehotel.com WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “The Gin Club, The Holy Soul, Psycho Nanny & The Baby Shakers, The Maladies and The Jewel & The Falcon.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “You get to check out Sydney’s fineﬆ rock ‘n’ roll talent whilﬆ avoiding the lame celebrations happening everywhere else in this town. Oh and did we mention the $3 beers between 6pm – 8pm?” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Live, rough, and ready psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll, cheap piss, good looking bar ﬆaff.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “What we are offering is not a tradition New Year’s celebration. It is an alternative option for those who ﬆ ill wanna party on the night but aren’t into watching fi reworks with a bunch of fuckwits under or near the Harbour Bridge.”

NYE ON THE HARBOUR AT CARGO BAR www.cargobar.com.au WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Miami Horror (live), Breakbot, Bag Raiders, Van She Tech, DJ Equal, Anna Lunoe, Sosueme DJs, Cassian, Alison Wonderland, The Gameboys, F.R.I.E.N.D/S DJs, Falcona DJs, Rogers Room, Hoodlmz & Mr Belvedere.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Platinum VIP ticket holders will receive exclusive use of the lounge for a pre-cocktail party where you can secure your front row seats before the reﬆ, as well as a canape and drinks package for two hours and a bottle of champagne to ring in the New Year!” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Epic parties with all your friends, ﬁreworks on the Harbour, champagne by the bottle, random makeout sessions at midnight and really good music!”

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Go in with your friends on a limo for the trip in and back.” DRESS? “Sexy, sassy and full of pre-New Year’s resolution debauchery.” HOURS? 8pm until the wee hours of NYD. 6pm for VIPs. COST? $105 + bf, Platinum VIP $170 + bf. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes (VIP) Drinks Included: Yes (VIP) View Of Fireworks: Yes

www.summitreﬆaurant.com.au

NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP? “Catch up with all your old pals and don’t be calling your ex any time after midnight.”

WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “DJ Joseph Smith and his band Groove Royale.”

DRESS? “Whatever you want. But if you’re a lady coming down the The Annandale don’t wear heels as you will get ﬆ uck to our infamously ﬆ icky carpet.”

THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “Beﬆ views in Sydney – 360 degrees uninterrupted. From Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House to Darling Harbour and Parramatta River.”

HOURS? 5pm – 3am. COST? $15 + bf. THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: No Food Included: No but a very popular Thai reﬆaurant Wok n Roll is out back. Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: No

HOTEL GEARIN NEW YEAR’S CARNIVAL www.hotelgearin.com WE’LL BE PIMPING THE SOUNDS OF: “Some great funky bands and DJ beats.” THE ACE UP OUR SLEEVE IS: “All Phunked up.” CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Funky carnivals.” BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE EVER? “Let’s make it this one.” NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO TIP?

NSW

SUMMIT RESTAURANT & ORBIT BAR NYE COCKTAIL PARTY

“Get here early.” DRESS? “However you wish. It is a carnival.” HOURS? Open till 3am. COST? $15 THE CHECKLIST Live Bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: No Drinks Included: No View Of Fireworks: Yes

CHECK OUT OUR NIGHT IF YOU’RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES: “Style, sophiﬆ ication and good food.” DRESS? “Glamour.” HOURS? 8pm – 2am. COST? $295 or $395 (premium reserve seating) THE CHECKLIST Live bands: Yes DJs: Yes Food Included: Yes Drinks Included: Cocktail on Arrival View Of Fireworks: Yes

CLUB CLASSICS KOBRA KAI

WHERE & WHEN: Kobra Kai Soundsyﬆem at Home Friday 3 December, Space Ibiza Feﬆ ival at EQ Moore Park Saturday 1 January, Home Thursday 6 January, Diﬆortion at Oxford Art Factory Saturday 4 February RAY KEITH TERRORIST (Moving Shadow), 1994. “Big tune, huge bassline, great drums and a silky smooth piano line – when it comes in, you feel like you’re ﬂoating on the keys, you’ll hear a mash of this in our live show.” BAD COMPANY THE NINE (BC Recordings), 1998. “Well anyone who loves drum‘n’bass knows this tune. Bad Company in 1998 were making some of the heavieﬆ d‘n’b that was around and this ﬆ ill remains a massive tune even by today’s ﬆandards.” DOM AND ROLAND CAN’T PUNISH ME (Moving Shadow), 2000. “Th is would have to be one of my favourite drum‘n’basﬆ unes of all time. It’s one of those tunes that makes you crazy every time you hear it dropped. It ﬆ ill makes quite a few appearances in many big name DJs’ sets to this day.”

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR DJ NAME? “I named my crew of DJs after our love of elect ronic music as my blog kind of ﬆarted out that way. I got my personal DJ name from the fi rﬆ record I ever bought. An ex-girlfriend has it now, it’s on her fi re place.” IN A NUTSHELL, DESCRIBE WHAT YOU PLAY? “I play to the room and whatever mood I’m in, which generally means layering Lyn Collins and Phil Collins with Dolly Parton’s Jolene over and over again. Not juﬆ the song, the entire album (in no particular order), including I Will Always Love You.” WHAT MADE YOU START DJING? “Kruder and Dorfmeiﬆer along with my discovery of the MPC3000.” WHAT CAN YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR FIRST GIG? “Two things, I remember thinking if one was to dedicate themselves to a DJing career, it could have a severe effect on your liver – ﬆory

YOU’VE EVER PLAYED? “Richard Pryor Bicentennial Nigger and anything by Luke Escombe.” WHAT’S THE WORST BOOTLEG YOU’VE EVER HEARD? “It’s a tie between a recording my old friend made as a bootlegger in 1980 of Joy Division in a nightclub in Mancheﬆer, and one I made of The Belle Stars’ Clapping Song in 2002.”

DJBOOTH NICK LA ROSA (MAD HONOUR OF THE NEONHEARTS DJS)

checks out. I was also a little bewildered about channeling my love for all music into one or two hours here and there.” WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST THING YOU’VE SEEN IN A NIGHTCLUB? “A guy drinking Yakult and Baileys, he had snuck them in tiny Yakult bottles premixed to a live music night I run at Cafe Lounge on Tuesdays. I get paid with a bar cut, but I had to applaud the attempt.” NAME THE FUNNIEST RECORD

THE MOST IDIOTIC REQUEST YOU’VE HAD AS A DJ? “The three rooms upﬆairs have loﬆ their connect ion to the DJ booth and the next DJ has cancelled. Can you ﬆay back another three hours tonight and burn us three by ﬁve hour long mixtapes real quick?” WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT SYDNEY CLUBS? “They tend to hire you for the size of your gueﬆ liﬆ, ignoring technical ability, music knowledge, self motivation and passion.”

WHERE & WHEN: Pop Panic at World Bar Tuesday 30 November, Sin-e at Cafe Lounge every Tuesday, Kinselas every Saturday

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UNDER SIDE

10, 9, 8... Your 2010 may have sucked warm shit through a ﬆ raw, but New Year’s Eve is a chance at redemption. In one night, you can bury 2010 in ﬆ yle and get 2011 off to a great ﬆart. I’ve experienced the full spect rum of New Year’s Eve parties in my lifetime and I’ve learned seven things that can help get you through. 1: Commit to something. The worﬆ thing you can do is keep holding out for a better offer. If you were on the A-Liﬆ, you’d know by now. Examine your options early and make a decision. If something better comes along you can always juﬆ bail. What are they gonna do, sue you? 2: Have a back-up plan. You can generally measure the trajectory of a party by about 10pm and if it isn’t up to snuff that ﬆ ill gives you time to move on to another location. A late arrival at a second party also makes you seem more fresh and intereﬆ ing than you act ually are. 3: Do your catering early. Whatever you need for a good night, sort it out well in advance. Bottle shops have closing times and so do the ‘freelance pharamaciﬆs’ who sell ﬆ uff direct ly out of their lounge rooms. The traditional New Year’s Eve fi reworks display is really juﬆ a Government funded consolation prize for people who forgot to organise any drugs. Point being, if you haven’t sorted yourself out yet, why are you waﬆ ing time reading this article? 4: Manage your own intoxication. No one will want to talk to you while paramedics are pumping your ﬆomach. 5: No sulking (aka, pull your weight). It’s New Year’s Eve. Put your angﬆ away and pretend you’re capable of having a good time. No one likes a cry-baby at a party. 6: The ﬆ roke of midnight is the ultimate excuse to make a move on someone. If you’re looking to kiss somebody in particular, make sure you’re both at the same party. Because if they aren’t kissing you at midnight, you know they’re somewhere else, kissing somebody far better than you. And then you’ll break rule number 5. 7: Avoid coﬆ ume parties. No one will want to fuck you when you’re dressed as Auﬆ in Powers. Now go and follow the rules and let’s all meet back here in 2011 to discuss. DAVE JORY

CLUB CLASSICS NYE

TIMMY TRUMPET

BEST NEW YEARS EVE MEMORY? “DJing at Auﬆ ralia’s ﬁ rﬆ Sensation White was pretty amazing. Such an incredible atmosphere for something here in Oz. Felt like I was back in Ibiza!” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “I usually wind down the music to play the NYE classic Auld Lang Syne theme on trumpet. Went nuts at Club Mass in South Korea laﬆ year!”

DJ JOYRIDE

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “Beﬆ NYE memory involved The Tongue, two bottles of Black Douglas and bad Euro dance. No matter how you put that together it’s gonna be a winner.” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “Ultimate midnight track would be Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing. It’s euphoric as shit, and it lets the people get their sexy on!”

MUSCLES

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “I can’t remember my beﬆ New Year’s Eve. I juﬆ know it was like house party after house party, 48 hours of no sleep, high, riding bikes at night, down the coaﬆ. There was a big breakfaﬆ, cooking bacon and eggs on the beach.” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “Katrina & The Waves – Walking On Sunshine. It’s the kind of track everybody knows, kind of daggy but timeless party track.”

MATT STAFFORD

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “Being about six and being allowed to ﬆay up ‘til midnight to see the fi reworks for the fi rﬆ time. Chris was put to bed early that night.” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “A countdown always, but always a different track every year, you have to keep it fresh and always a big weapon!”

NUKEWOOD

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “Playing at Home Nightclub laﬆ year before The Shapeshifters in the main room. It was an unbelievable experience and thanks Scott Robertson for giving me the opportunity.” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “Good queﬆ ion, there is a heap that would work really well. Anything from Daft Punk would be a good choice.”

48 3DWORLD

NAT

DJ STIFFY’S NYE PREVIEW

NERVO

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “Th ree Year’s ago, in Melbourne. We came home from freezing cold London to spend Chriﬆmas and New Year with family and friends. We ﬆarted oﬀ with a house party down at Sorrento. We then all got a car service down to Melbourne (very hung over) for Summadayze feﬆ ival. A friend of ours was DJing so we managed to scam about eight VIP tickets. We drew that NYE out over about 48 hours! Fun times!” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “It would have to be When Love Takes Over as it’s such a positive, uplifting message – perfect to ﬆart the New Year. Obviously the song is really special to us because it launched a massive part of our careers too! But I think this year we might drop Irresiﬆible inﬆead as it’s equally as positive and a little more fresh for us.”

NINO BROWN

KID KENOBI

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “I’m hoping this coming one will be my beﬆ New Year’s yet. My girlfriend is pregnant, my girlﬁ rend’s Mum is coming to visit from Canada, and one of my beﬆ mates MC Shureshock will be there with his partner and new baby girl and we’ll all be together celebrating on Magnetic Island so I reckon it will be pretty special.” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “I think this year it will be the Sub Focus remix of Hold On by Rusko cause it’s a bit of a hand’s in the air, hug your loved one type tune mixed with a hard out bass sect ion. Perfect for NYE!”

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “There’s been a few! One was in 2002-2003 when I was in Indonesia, it was a wild party and there had been a lot of terror alerts and people were telling me not to go. I was in a massive 5 Star hotel, DJing. DJ box was in the corner with glass walls – it was crazy!” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “It changes every year, lately Lil Jon and Fatman Scoop have been making special NYE tracks which I’ve been playing, but Kool & The Gang – Celebration is always a classic.”

TENZIN

BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORY? “I have had so many really good NYE memories but I think the one that really ﬆands out is my worﬆ one. Being ﬆ randed in a Kombi van broken down on the side of the road because it had an altercation with a kangaroo. (So I missed the gig).” ULTIMATE TRACK TO DROP AT MIDNIGHT NYE? “Underworld – Born Slippy, it juﬆ seems to set the mood in the room to overload and it’s an all time classic.

NAT

If you’re a bit of a macroeconomics nerd (as I tend to be, simply because I think I’ve got this weird form of autism in which every time I see references to ‘‘comparative advantage’’ I act ually get an erect ion, but it’s a weird kind of non-sexual erect ion like the one you get waking up...) Anyways, the point is, that many people are currently queﬆioning the value set that has prompted the beginning of the collapse of the economic and political dominance of the Weﬆern world. Some are blaming it on unbridled greed. Some are blaming it on the loss of community. I, however, blame it on Dutch trance. I mean, where the hell do you want me to ﬆart? Tiëﬆo? Needs no explanation. Sander van Doorn? Olav Basoski? None of these ‘artiﬆs’ at any point ever did anything that was act ually remotely useful. I mean, fuck, everyone goes around paying out on Angelina for adopting African children, but at leaﬆ she might have act ually done something useful for said Africans (in addition to giving an entire generation of teenage boys their firﬆ hard-on). But what ultimately grinds my gears is the fact that this musical equivalent of the George Foreman Grill has attempted to somehow intellect ualise Dutch trance and turn it into some horseshit new age philosophy that’s somehow imbued with meaning and a broader world view. It’s fucking trance. You take drugs to it, look at the pretty lights, get back in your WRX and sleep all day at your mum’s house and simultaneously forget all the ‘amazing’ connect ions you made with 10,000 other spiritually enlightened types in what can only be described as elect ronic music’s equivalent of being a Collingwood/ Canterbury supporter. But, hey, it’s a free country, and people can do what they want, like what they want. Which is why on New Year’s Eve in Melbourne outside the Armin Only event, I’m launching my new NGO, DutchTranceLicksBalls.org, which will proteﬆ the negative impacts of Dutch trance on Weﬆern culture, specifically that it promotes memory loss, poor driving skills and ultimately retards people’s intellect ual development by making them think a night on the pills will give them spiritual and emotional fulfi lment. Now, everyone knows that what act ually gives spiritual/emotional fulfi lment is a night on the pills, followed by a day on the pills, followed by a three-way with your current and ex-girlfriends. At that point, the music you liﬆen to doesn’t act ually matter.

NAT

GUESTLIST

MARK EG

TUESDAY

BEACH RD HOTEL Tuesday Night Live. 8pm. Free. TOKIO HOTEL Embrace: Georgia Juliette, Sara-Jane Ohara 8pm. Free. THE VALVE Underground Tables: Loko, Disco Rossco. 7pm. Free. WORLD BAR Pop Panic: Karaoke, DJs Shipwreck, Cosmic Explorer, Madhonour, M.I.T.

WEDNESDAY BEACH RD HOTEL The Filth presents Sideshow. 8pm. Free. TOKIO HOTEL Blues & Roots Revival: Soul Nights. 8pm. Free. WENTWORTH HOTEL Uni Night: DJ Nicky M, Dream One. 8pm. Free.

THURSDAY BEACH RD HOTEL Thursday In The Rex: DJ Alex. Free. CRUISE BAR Salsa On The Rocks: DJ Dwight ‘Chocolate’ Escobar. 8:30pm. Free. THE GAELIC VIP Thursdays: Tikelz, Moto, J Lyrikz, Naiki, Rkayz, Mistah Cee. 8pm. $10. HOME TERRACE Unipackers: DJs Aladdin Royaal, Flite. 10pm. $5/$10. MELT Art Of Grace, DJ Popsuey. 9pm. TONE Loop: Simon Caldwell, Jimmi James. 7pm. Free. THE VANGUARD Paris Wells. 6.30pm. $15 + bf. WORLD BAR Teenage Kicks: Urby, Johnny Segment, Monkey Genius, Bruce, Teenage Kicks DJs. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY BEACH RD HOTEL Neon Nights. 8pm. Free. CANDY’S APARTMENT Liquid Sky: DJs Moonchild, Kyro & Bomber, Dikoriot, Bass Thiefs and more. 8pm. $10/$15. CIVIC UNDERGROUND Deep House Project Plus + 1: DJ Pocket, Mike Acetate, Telefunken, Mitch Crosher. 10pm, $15. CRUISE BAR Johnny Vinyl, Strike. 8pm. Free. THE CHATSWOOD CLUB Poonies. $10/$5 with guestlist. THE GAELIC Sola Rosa, Iva Lamkum. 8pm. $27.50. THE GLADSTONE HOTEL Purple Sneakers: Bridezilla DJ Set, M.I.T, BenLucid, Kill The Landlord, Bluth Brothers DJs, Banshee. 7pm. Free before 8pm/$12 after. BAG RAIDERS

GOODGOD SMALLCLUB Captain Franco, Spruce Lee, Radge & Tyson, National Treasure, Perfect Snatch, Continental Breakfast. HOME THE VENUE Sublime: KCB, Peewee, Nomad, Nasty, Scotty G, Big Dan, Flite, I.KO, Pulsar, Haze, JTS, Kinekt 4, RaversMVP, Monk3y, Energizer Bunny, Bionic, Geeflukz, Morphee, Vesper, Dirty Stopout, MC Losty, MC Uncle Abe. 10pm. $25. JACKSON’S ON GEORGE Four ﬂoors of entertainment and DJs. Doors 9pm. Free. KIT & KABOODLE Falcona Fridays: Falcona DJs. 10pm. $10. MELT Mum Go Here Go There: The Dirty Secrets, Convaire, Disco Club , Jugu. 8:30pm $20. MR B’S Yogi, DJ Husky. 6pm. Free. THE ROUGE Monkey Genius, Cunningpants, Kill The Landlord, Deckhead, Frames. Free before 12am/$10 after. RIVERWOOD DOWNS Subsonic Music Festival: Kora, Michael Mayer, Extrawelt, Sola Rosa, Dominik Eulberg, Tijuana Cartel, Watussi, Tobias Thomas, Heinrichs & Hirtenfellner, Earthling, Weekend Heroes, Hermitude, Mista Savona. 5pm. $90 (+ bf). RUBY L’OTEL Flirty Fridays: Shan1 N Krew, Soulganic, Cavan Te, Suite Az. SPECTRUM Silent Alarm DJs. 11:30pm. $5. TAO LOUNGE DJ Husky, Yogi. 8pm. TANK RnB Superclub: G-Wizard, Def Rok, Troy T, Eko, Lilo, Jayson, Losty, Ben Morris. 10pm. TOKIO HOTEL Rock Glam: Turn It Up, Soul Nights. 8pm. Free. TOWN HALL HOTEL Zoltan. 9pm. Free. WENTWORTH HOTEL Wentworth Weekend Warm Up: Wentworth DJs. 8pm. Free. WORLD BAR MUM: The Checks, The Dirty Secrets, Felicity Groom, Bleeding Knees Club, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Honey Month, Convaire, Chicks Who Love Guns, The Holy Soul, Dark Bells, Slow Down Honey, Post Paint, Nick Van Breda, Shakin Howls, Leroy Macqueen & The Gussets, Drop Tank, Disco Club.

SATURDAY 202 BROADWAY Jamrock: Prince Andrew, DJ Fasmwa, Joe, Nick Toth. 9pm. $15. BEACH RD HOTEL Saturday In The Rex: Jonathon Boulet. 8pm. $15. CANDY’S APARTMENT Shake!! Shake!! Shake!!: DJs Zomg! Kittenz, Disco Valante, Slipperywhenwet, Moo Who and more. 8pm. $10/$15/$20. CHINESE LAUNDRY The Only, Jonathan Cowan, Habersham, Luke Chable, Rollin Connection, Bare Essentials Crew, Kraymer, Redial, Northie, DJ Moto, DJ Eko, Naany. 9pm. $15 before 10pm/$25 after. THE COLLINGWOOD HOTEL Slinky Saturday: DJ Steve, DJ Trisha. 9pm. $10. CRONULLA BEACH SLAM Beach Volleyball Festival: Cadell, Dazzla, Zannon, John Anderson. 1pm. CRUISE BAR Danni Presti, Simon Neal. 8pm. Free. ESTABLISHMENT Sienna: G-Wizard, Def Rok, Eko, Lilo, Troy T. 9pm. THE FORUM Bag Raiders, The Holidays, Graz. 8pm. FORBES HOTEL We Love Indie. THE GAELIC Drapht, Briggs, Dialectrix. 8pm. $20 (+ bf). HOLLYWOOD HOTEL Motion: Dean Dixon, Dave Fernandes, DJ Burn-Hard, Northern Soul Poster Boy. 8pm. $5. HOME THE VENUE Homemade: The 808s, Aladdin Royaal, James ‘Saxman’ Spy, Matt Ferreira, Hannah Gibbs, Ben Morris, Illya, Tony Venuto, I.KO, Flite, Dave Austin, MC Uncle Abe. 9pm. $25.

THE ITALIAN FORUM Australian B-Boy Championships: Justice Crew, Jumps, Mathmatics, Floskel. 1pm. $20. JACKSON’S ON GEORGE DJ Lenno, DJ Aladdin Royaal. Free. MANNING BAR Noche De Fuego: Son Veneno, Mambo G, Amit, Mani, Av El Cubano, DJ Coco. 9pm. $25 (pre-sale)–$32 (at door). MELT BAR Kontrast Xmas: YokoO, Robbie Lowe, Deeflow, Matt Weir, Joey Kaz, Joey Tupaea.11pm. $10/15. PHOENIX Phoenix Rising: Dan Murphy, Johan Khoury, Mark Alsop, Rado. 4:30am. $10. PLANTATION The Temple: Alex K, Sunset Bros, Outsource, Rata, Steve Play, Andre Jay, Dk1, Wilz Frantic, Benino G, Blinky, ScottyO, Nick Nova, Danny P, Rath. 10pm. $15-$20. RIVERWOOD DOWNS Subsonic Music Festival: Kora, Michael Mayer, Extrawelt, Sola Rosa, Dominik Eulberg, Tijuana Cartel, Watussi, Tobias Thomas, Heinrichs & Hirtenfellner, Earthling, Weekend Heroes, Hermitude, Mista Savona. 5pm. $90 (+ bf). THE ROUGE Lavida, Keli Hart, Dave Manna, John Glover. $10 before 11pm/ $15 after. SHUSH Bass Drop: Cyantiﬁc, Royalston, Linken & Vertigo, Peter Chen. $25. SOHO Timmy Trumpet, Stafford Brothers, Tenzin, John Glover, Ember, Benibee. SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL TENNIS CENTRE Bass Control: Technoboy, Brennan Heart, Toneshifterz, Bioweapon, Nik Fish, Art Of Fighters, Mark EG and more. 2pm. $59-$99. TOKIO HOTEL Alphamama DJs. 8pm. Free. WORLD BAR Wham!: Habebe, James Taylor, Trent Rackus, Adam Bozzetto, Pete Nouveau, Rob Marshall, Vivi, Mehow, Shamozzle, Moneyshot, The Jackal, Adam Lance, Danny Lang, Joe Gadget. 8pm - 6am. $15.

SUNDAY BEACH RD HOTEL The Sunday Nice Up! 6pm. Free. BEAUCHAMP HOTEL Verano: Matttt, Anders Hitchcock, Garth Linton, Maurizio. 12pm. $10. CRUISE BAR Sun-Sets: DJ Strike. 4pm. Free. FORT DENISON Sundays ‘til Sunset. $20. THE GOLDFISH The Martini Club, DJs Johnny Gleeson, Tom Kelly 6- 8pm. Free. HOME TERRACE Spice: Simon Caldwell, Sam Roberts, Nic Scali, Murat Kilic. 5am. $20. THE ROUGE J Smoove, Matt Nukewood, Barﬂy. Free. THE STREET UNIVERSITY Shadow Wars: Justice Crew. PLEASE SEND ALL GUESTLIST LISTINGS THROUGH TO SYDNEY@3DWORLD. COM.AU BY MIDDAY THURSDAY PRIOR TO PUBLICATION.

50 3DWORLD

NSW

NYEPERIOD

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE

SATURDAY 25 DECEMBER

BONDI BEACH Sunburnt Christmas: Freestylers, Helena, Bass Kleph and more. $63-$88.

MONDAY 27 DECEMBER COOGEE BAY HOTEL Space Mykonos. 8pm. $24.10. IVY SHE Pool Party: Junior Jack & Kid Creme, Danny De Sousa, Marcus, Nick Vidal, Graham Cordery, Liam Sampras, Paul Hatz, Dave 54. 2pm.

WEDNESDAY 29 DECEMBER GLENWORTH VALLEY Peats Ridge Festival: Angus & Julia Stone, Trentemøller, Freestylers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Shout Out Louds, The Dynamites, Lightspeed Champion, PVT, Decoder Ring, The Audreys, The Break, Washington, Cloud Control, Jonathan Boulet, Freq Nasty, Space Invadas, The Jezabels and more. 12pm. $125 (day ticket)–$295 (+ bf). OXFORD ART FACTORY Lightspeed Champion & Spacecamp, Bleeding Knees Club. 8pm. $33 + bf. MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

THURSDAY 30 DECEMBER FACTORY THEATRE Marina & The Diamonds. GLENWORTH VALLEY Peats Ridge Festival: Angus & Julia Stone, Trentemøller, Freestylers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Shout Out Louds, The Dynamites, Lightspeed Champion, PVT, Decoder Ring, The Audreys, The Break, Washington, Cloud Control, Jonathan Boulet, Freq Nasty, Space Invadas, The Jezabels and more. 12pm. $125 (day ticket)–$295 (+ bf).

FRIDAY 31 DECEMBER BONDI BEACH Shore Th ing: David Guetta, Armand Van Helden, The Aston Shuﬄe. $135-$225 + bf. CARGO BAR NYE on the Harbour: Miami Horror, Breakbot, Bag Raiders, Van She Tech, Sosueme DJs, Cassian, Joyride, Alison Wonderland, The Gameboys. 7pm. $85-$170 + bf. CHINESE LAUNDRY Out Of Th is World NYE: Nick Warren, Yuksek, Robbie Lowe, Jeﬀ Drake, Will Styles, Mattt, Glovecats, Doctor Werewolf, Club Junque, Spenda C, Sam Scratch, A-Tonez, Bella Sarris, Yayogi. 9pm. $35-$50 + bf. CLUB 77 Starf*ckers NYE. 9pm. $23-$28.

NSW

CREAM TANGERINE Paradise Lost NYE. 6pm. $74-$135. CRUISE BAR Hed Kandi NYE: Soul System, Jack McCord, Simon Speller, Angele, Just James, Simon Neal, Dave Baker, MC Chris Luder, Soul Patrol, Danny Presti, Frankie Romano. $79-$220 + bf. ESTABLISHMENT Sienna Masquerade Party NYE: DJ Def Rok, Troy-T, Lilo, G-Wizard, Eko, MC Jayson. 9pm. $69. THE GAELIC Last Night (A New Year’s Eve House Party & Oﬃcial FBI Fundraising Event): The Paper Scissors, Guineafowl, Gold Fields, Ghoul, Bearhug, Butcher Blades, FBi Open Day Winner, Purple Sneakers DJs, FBi DJs, Surecut Kids, Kato. 8pm. $29/$24 for FBI supporters. GLENWORTH VALLEY Peats Ridge Festival: Angus & Julia Stone, Trentemøller, Freestylers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Shout Out Louds, The Dynamites, Lightspeed Champion, PVT, Decoder Ring, The Audreys, The Break, Washington, Cloud Control, Jonathan Boulet, Freq Nasty, Space Invadas, The Jezabels and more. 12pm. $125 (day ticket)–$295 (+ bf). HOME THE VENUE Homemade NYE Masquerade Playground: Matt Ferreira, Hannah Gibbs, Venuto, Great Dane, Dave Austin, Flite, Seiz, I.KO, MC Uncle Abe. 8pm. $45-$99. IVY Pacha NYE: Basement Jaxx, Bob Sinclar, Flight Facilities, Matt Nugent, Johnny Gleeson, Mo Funk, John Glover, Jonny Powell, Tass, Graham Cordery, Liam Sampras, Robbie Santiago, Ben Zooky, Trent Rackus, Kocho, Dazzla, Murray Lake, Adam Jacobs, Mark Matthews. 6pm. $150-$300 + bf. JACKSONS ON GEORGE NYE Destination 2011. 6pm. $55. BUNGALOW 8 & THE LOFT Party Under the Stars: Frankie Knuckles, Crazy P, Mobin Master & Karina Chavez, Mo’Funk. 8pm. $79-$99 + bf. LUNA PARK Harbour Party: Digitalism, Sneaky Sound System, Dennis Ferrer, Riva Starr, Goodwill. 6.30pm. $124.50-$304.50. MARRICKVILLE BOWLING & RECREATION CLUB Mad Racket: Chris Duckenﬁeld, Session Victim, Zootie, Ken Cloud and Simon Caldwell. 9pm. $55. MV ROYAL: SHIPWRECKED BOAT PARTY Marksy b2b Floody, Nathan, Steve Giddio b2b Brad Thatcher, Krazy Joe. Pick-up 7:30pm from Pyrmont Bay Wharf. $250. OXFORD ART FACTORY A NYE Massacre: Trashbags Posse. 9pm. $30 + bf. SWEENEY’S HOTEL Bare Essentials NYE: Carlos Zarate, Garry Todd, Bump DJs, Telefunken, Matt Weir, Mitch Crosher, Sam Roberts, Ben Dunlop. 3pm. $50.

SATURDAY 1 JANUARY THE ARTHOUSE Space Ibiza Festival After-Party: Thomas Schumacher. THE DOMAIN Field Day: Justice, Duck Sauce, Erol Alkan, A-Trak, Peaches, Yuksek, Plump DJs, Aeroplane, Tensnake, Chris Baio, Zombie Disco Squad, So Me, DVNO, Klaxons, Sleigh Bells, The Rapture, Tame Impala, Public Enemy, Art vs Science, Chromeo, The Cool Kids, Trent Moller, Mystery Jets, Marina & the Diamonds, Neon Indian, Casiokids, Jamaica, Beardyman. 12pm. $135-$195 + bf. ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER Space Ibiza Festival: François K, Sébastien Léger, Darren Emerson, Dave Seaman, Andy C, High Contrast, Nick Curly, Camilo Franco, Netsky, Break. 12pm. THE EXCHANGE HOTEL Big Gay Party: JD Samso. HOME THE VENUE Day One: Freemasons, Katherine Ellis, Dan Murphy, Haylenise, James Tobin, Jayson Forbes, MC Glammer, Oxford Hustlers. 9pm. $57-$102. IVY Ministry of Sound Classics: Bang Gang DeeJays, John Course, Groove Terminator, Chris

Duckenﬁeld, Ken Cloud, Nick Law, Kate Monroe, Ben Morris, Soulshaker DJs, Tim McGee vs Trent Rackus. $44.95-$59.95. LUNA PARK Harbour Party: Digitalism, Sneaky Sound System, Dennis Ferrer, Riva Starr, Goodwill and more. METRO THEATRE Hospitality: Netsky, Camo & Krooked, Royalston. 10pm. GLENWORTH VALLEY Peats Ridge Festival: Angus & Julia Stone, Trentemøller, Freestylers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Shout Out Louds, The Dynamites, Lightspeed Champion, PVT, Decoder Ring, The Audreys, The Break, Washington, Cloud Control, Jonathan Boulet, Freq Nasty, Space Invadas, The Jezabels and more. 12pm. $125 (day ticket)–$295 (+ bf). SOHO Alan Braxe. SYDNEY HARBOUR Spice Aﬂoat Sunrise Cruise: S*L*A*M, Miltøn Jackson, Bjorn Wilke, Murat Kilic, Yokoo, Robbie Lowe. 3am. $99 + bf.

SUNDAY 2 JANUARY CHINESE LAUNDRY Garden Party: Chase & Status, Sub Focus, Nero. 2pm. $50 + bf. NEVERMIND One Night Only: Claude VonStroke. 10pm. $20.

TUESDAY 4 JANUARY METRO THEATRE Public Enemy, Ozi Batla. 8pm. $71.50 + bf.

THURSDAY 6 JANUARY THE FACTORY THEATRE Hot Hot Heat, Papa Vs Pretty, Fuzz Phantoms. 8pm. $44 + bf. THE FORUM 2 Live Crew. 8pm. $44 + bf. HOME THE VENUE Killa Kela, Andy Knowles, DJ Skeletrick. 8pm. $25 + bf. METRO THEATRE The Rapture, Erol Alkan. $55 + bf.

FRIDAY 7 JANUARY THE FORUM Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Dam-Funk, The Gaslamp Killer. 8pm $58 + bf. HORDERN PAVILLION N*E*R*D, Chromeo, Boys Noize, Tinie Tempah. 8pm. $95 + bf.

SATURDAY 8 JANUARY CHIFLEY PLAZA Sydney Festival First Night: Nomad. 3pm. Free. THE FORUM Sleigh Bells, Baio, Rat Vs Possum, Purple Sneakers DJs. 8pm. $49.50 + bf. MARTIN PLACE Sydney Festival First Night: Arrested Development, Daara J Family, Hanggai. 3pm. Free. METRO THEATRE Junip. 8pm. $55 + bf. PHOENIX BAR Void: Loefah, Breakage.

NYE AROUND SINGAPORE

ZOUK Marco V, Jeremy Boon, JNR, Funk Baﬆ*rd (DJ), Aya Sakine (Keys), Aidan (Percussions), Miss Mic (Vocals), Kaye (Saxophone). Ranked number 10 on DJ Mag’s liﬆ of Top 100 clubs in the world in 2010, Zouk is Singapore’s hotteﬆ nightclub and a badge of honour for DJs and clubbers alike. Laﬆ year two huge elect ro acts (Basement Jaxx and The Bloody Beetroots) got New Year’s feﬆ ivities pumping and this year’s celebrations are set to be oﬀ the hook once again with tech-trance architect Marco V headlining the main event. Funky, soulful boogie house tunes will also be delivered

by Jeremy Boon and residents in the Velvet Underground space dedicated to more relaxed house and soul tunes. Coﬆ is $38 which includes two drinks. www.zoukclub.com

BERLIN

BERGHAIN/PANORAMA BAR Chris Liebing, André Galluzz, Ryan Elliott, Jerome Sydenham, Ben Klock, DJ Pete, Marcel Dettmann, Marcel Fengler, Boris, Len Faki, Adam Beyer. Berghain is Berlin’s premier techno club, housed in a former power generation plant near the Berlin Oﬆbahnhof train ﬆation. The building is diﬆ inguished by its enormous dimensions, which accommodate an 18 metre high danceﬂoor and space for 1,500 gueﬆs, and also its minimaliﬆ interior design, dominated by ﬆeel and concrete. On the upper ﬂoor, the Panorama Bar contains a large-format painting by Wolfgang Tillmans. The New Year’s line-up includes a hoﬆ of superﬆars including German techno maﬆer Chris Liebing, Fiedel, Ryan Elliott, Jerome Sydenham, Ben Klock, DJ Pete and Marcel Dettmann (amung others) for what is sure to be one unforgettable non-ﬆop party. www.berghain.de

JAPAN

WOMB Magda, Marc Houle, plus Womb Residents:Aki, Techriders, Ohnishi, Akr, Ryusuke Nakamura, Dr Shingo, Satoshi Otsuki, Takuya, Kikiorix, Harry. Hidden away in the unassuming ﬆ reets of downtown Tokyo’s Shibuya Diﬆ rict, between smoke shops and love hotels, lies one of the world’s beﬆ clubs – Womb. The venue boaﬆs four ﬂoors of banging tunes, two chill-out lounges and several bars. Since opening in 2000, Womb has seen the likes of Richie Hawtin, Joris Voorn, Sasha, Digweed, Surgeon and The Chemical Brothers play sets to crazy and always enthusiaﬆ ic crowds of Japanese

PERTH

ORIGIN NYE, BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE. Chase & Status, Sub Focus, High Contraﬆ, Nero, 16Bit, Spor, Breakage, Evol Intent, dBridge, Loefah, Killa Kela. Returning to its original venue of the Belvoir Amphitheatre, Origin NYE will showcase the ﬁneﬆ in international drum ‘n’ bass and dubﬆep talent over two ﬆages

music lovers and international visitors. New Year’s celebrations for 2011 will be lead by German prodigies Magda and Marc Hole. Both acts have had a growing involvement in the legendary Minus label, with their proﬁ les as DJs and producers growing exponentially. Residents Aki, Techriders, Ohnishi, Akr, and Ryusuke also hit the decks to ring in 2011. www.womb.co.jp

52 3DWORLD

NAT

D THE WORLD LAS VEGAS

backed by the biggeﬆ sound and beﬆ product ion in Perth. Catering to both the ﬆ raight up danceﬂoor smashers and deeper vibes this year’s line-up traverses the full spect rum of bass music. The line-up includes Chase & Status, Sub Focus, High Contraﬆ, Nero, 16Bit, Spor, Breakage, Evol Intent, DBridge, Loefah and Killa Kela. Tickets $115.40 via Moshtix. www.theorigin.com.au

LONDON

FABRIC Craig Richards, Jay Haze (Live), Steve Bug, Cassy, Carﬆen Kleman, Paco Osuna, Alexi Delano, Hearthrob. Voted #2 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 Clubs liﬆ in 2009 and 2010, Fabric is the ultimate deﬆ ination for underground house and techno music in London. Located on the northern fringe of the city, Fabric has three separate rooms with independent sound syﬆems. A feature of the club is its vibrating ﬂoor in Room One: known as a

NAT

RAIN AT THE PALMS Paul Oakenfold Those visiting Las Vegas over the holiday season have an unparralled select ion of entertainment options to choose from and if money is not a problem this city is your paradise. The Palms located oﬀ the Strip has made a name for itself as a hotspot for Hollywood actors and other cool cats. Rain is one of three nightclubs in the 700 room hotel, with a gladiator arena, tiered seating and numerous booths and bars. Single tickets ﬆart at $75, booths for six to eight people go for around $300 and high ﬂyers can secure prime position in a Skybox for $1,000 a night. New Year’s Eve at Rain will be heralded in by British trance DJ Paul Oakenfold. But if you’re not a fan of Mr Oakenfold feel free to swing by neighbouring club, Tao – Kim Kardashian will be hoﬆ ing the night. Quality. www.palms.com

BRAZIL

REVEILLON BOUTIQUE AT HOTEL BOUTIQUE, JURERÊ Roger Sanchez, Richard Grey, Shawnee Taylor, Daniel Kuhnen, Tatiana Springs, Brych and Brandz. Reveillon Boutique on Beach Of Jurerê in southern Brazil will be the beautiful location for one magic New Year’s party. The impressive lineup includes American house DJ Roger Sanchez, French DJ and Ibiza favorite Richard Grey and the divine Shawnee Taylor. Another option is the Warung Beach Club – considered to be the elect ronic music temple on the south of Brazil with a huge main danceﬂoor, two VIP arenas and a second outdoor ﬆage. Mesmerising music and a spectacular location by sea are sure to have you very high on life. www.reveillonboutique.com www.warungclub.com

“bodysonic” danceﬂoor with sect ions of the ﬂoors attached to 400 bass transducers emitting bass frequencies of the music being played. So as you can imagine a New Year’s celebration in a venue of this magnitude will be nothing short of mindblowing. Th is year’s line up consiﬆs of German DJ Steve Bug, minimal tech-house veteran Jay Haze, Berlin bass queen Cassy, Spanish veteran Paco Osuna and USA’s Alexi Delano. www.fabriclondon.com

TUBETIME

5SPROCKET’S GUIDE TO STAYING IN AND WATCHING TV ON NEW YEAR’S EVE.

It isn’t quite New Year’s Eve unless you’re sitting on the couch by yourself, sober, watching the television. The fi reworks are the big event, shown at 9pm and midnight – certainly the beﬆ way to bring in another fucking year. They broadcaﬆ skillfully, capturing the magic of a city’s skyscape erupting in orgasms of green twinkles and orange and purple “wooaahs” in a way that could never truly be appreciated by being there in person. Watching a grand outdoor event from the comfort and coldness of your living room also avoids all people that are socialising, licking faces, and pretending to be carnival animals. Also, the TV broadcaﬆ cleverly synchronises the movement of colour and light with the greateﬆ pieces of music of all time, such as Cher’s Believe, the Superman theme, and anything by Jamiroquai. If you begin to feel like you’ve missed out on some of the feﬆ ivities, dig out your Mr Bean video tapes and remind yourself that you’re ﬆ ill popular and successful in life. “That Mr. Bean is such a silly man,” you say to prevent your tear ducts combuﬆ ing, a party popper in your hand, waiting for the right moment. In 2006, Channel Ten wrangled, spat, and ﬆole the preﬆ igious rights to broadcaﬆ ing the NYE pyro-extravaganza from Channel Nine. Being the country’s hip and funky channel, having spent the year showing things like The Osbournes and the eviscerated corpse of The Panel, it took it on itself to bring the drunken debauchery of New Year’s to the living rooms of all the people that have ﬆayed at home to purposely avoid it. Crazed cat ladies, crochet grandmas, and the under-six Clag crowd tuned in to watch things sparkle spectacularly to Smash Mouth’s All Star. Inﬆead, they were treated to Matt Newton (then known as the son of Bert) making fellatio geﬆ ures, dry humping pianiﬆ John Foreman and saying lots of swears. Newton pretended to play the piano with his penis. Over 50 complains were lodged, which means everyone in the hemisphere was offended. In its coverage of the ﬆory, the press joined the dots, alleging that Newtown may have been under the influence of alcohol. That, or he’s juﬆ a dickhead. It’s always a tough night in front of the box, forced to pump up the volume to drown out the bile lubricated cheering outside – the pitter patter of a nudie run, a pregnancy in the making, the gentle thuds of racial intolerance. Thankfully, there are the alternative programming rituals that will help soften the antisocial blows. The Rocky Horror Picture Show runs on repeat on cable channels, forever burning the image of Tim Curry in fishnets on the retinas of an impressionable nine-year-old. Lawrence Of Arabia fi lls the obligatory quotient for ‘classic cinema’ on

TV at a time when no one is at home and when advertising companies would rather spend their commercial funds on hookers and pixie duﬆ. Watch Peter O’Toole ride a camel, hang with Omar Sharif, get raped and go mad. That other classic of cinema, Can’t Stop The Music, only exiﬆs on New Year’s Eve. A musical biopic of the Village People’s ascension to glory, all video tape copies of the fi lm were deﬆ royed in the Great Steve Guttenberg Riots of 1993. The ‘fi lm’ burns like a urinary infect ion of the soul, and by the time YMCA hits you would have cut off your ear and let your kittens lick the bloody wound. If culture is your cup of tea, turn to SBS for a screening of the short fi lm, Dinner For One. Played on German TV every New Year’s Eve

since 1963, it is now played on Auﬆ ralian TV because we don’t want to upset the Germans. The black and white farce features a skit about an upper-class Englishwoman, Miss Sophie, who is having a dinner party. All her friends are dead, so her butler plays each of their roles at the party, getting progressively smashed. The skit ends with them deciding to fuck, juﬆ like every year. Personally I don’t get it, but I’m sure that all the people that ﬁnd it funny are very intelligent and well liked. New Year’s Eve television funct ions perfect ly every year, with shithouse programs forcing you to come to terms with all the things in your life that led you to this dire predicament of loneliness and isolation. Launch the party popper – now.

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TECHNO SCAPE

INTHESTUDIO INTHE STUDIOWITH...

SAMPOLOGY

Before taking on the national Big Day Out tour in January, Brisbane’s Sampology journeys away from the sub-tropics, video scratching down south at the Fall’s Feﬆ ival in Lorne. WHAT WERE YOUR INSPIRATIONS FOR EXPANDING FROM TURNTABLISM INTO LIVE AUDIOVISUALS? “I felt like a new challenge and AudioVisual DJing seemed in a lot of ways ﬆ ill really undefined and I could do my own thing with it. I’ve always been into what guys like Hexﬆatic, DJ Yoda plus a lot of other amazing artiﬆ have done with cool technology, video content, big ass screens and lots of people in front of them.” WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN PRODUCING AND PERFORMING LIVE AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL? “That Audio and Visual have to relate together in each sect ion as well as the whole set. There’s no point in asking a crowd to party as well as pay attention to the screen – if you aren’t doing anything engaging or creative with what you’re giving them. It’s always a difficult but extremely fun challenge in the prep work as well as the performance.” WHAT KINDS OF QUALITIES DO YOU THINK LIVE AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL NEEDS, TO WORK WELL IN ON A CINEMATIC DANCEFLOOR? “I try to lace a portion of the set with content that people will know, and then remix it in some way using humor/emotion/ turntablism to try and do something creative. What I like about AV shows is that they aren’t defined to a set of rules and expectations, so I think there’s ﬆ ill a lot of avenues to take AV performances in.” WHAT ARTISTS CURRENTLY INTEREST YOU? “There’s heaps of Caribbean influenced sounds that are exciting me, and I’m heavily into a certain movie genre at the moment but won’t let on as it will give away the theme for the 2011 Super Visual show.” WHAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT? “Moﬆ ly I’m happy with Serato Video-SL plus my truﬆ y MPC!” WHAT’VE YOU GOT PLANNED FOR YOUR SUPER VISUAL SMACKDOWN? “I’ll preview the brand new Super Visual show at the beginning of 2011. Until then I’ve got a really fun Summerthemed feﬆ ival AV set made for Falls and Southbound feﬆ ivals.” @JEAN_POOLE

THE ASTON SHUFFLE

GIVEN YOU’VE JUST BEEN ANOINTED THE NATION’S TOP DJS, WHY THE DECISION TO TAKE THE ASTON SHUFFLE LIVE NOW? Mikah Freeman: “We are DJs fi rﬆ and foremoﬆ but we have always intended to make the journey into the live realm, we never really had the opportunity to do it until the album was near completion.” HAVE YOU COME FROM A BAND BACKGROUND? AND IF NOT, WHAT CHALLENGES HAS BUILDING THE LIVE ACT PRESENTED? “Not really, we both have played inﬆ ruments though which has definitely helped with our product ions. When we fi rﬆ ﬆarted to think about the live show we wanted it to be as much of a natural transition as possible. I think if our fans came to see the show and saw a bunch of musicians and a heap of ‘real’ inﬆ ruments it might not resonate with them as much as two dudes and a bunch of noise machines! To sum up the live show – it will be a live techno rave show from beginning to end with a ﬆ rong visual element to enhance and compliment the music.” WHAT ROLES WILL YOU BE TAKING ON STAGE? “We will both be taking on different roles within each track during the performance. On any given track one of us might be replaying the bassline on a synth while the other is triggering samples on one of the MIDI controllers or freaking out one of the other parts with some new noise machines we have gotten over the laﬆ year or so. It really depends on the track we are playing at the time! It’s scary and really exciting.” WHAT LIVE ACTS HAVE YOU USED AS TOUCHSTONES AND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR OWN TRANSFORMATION? “We always ﬆ rive to be original in our music and performance but if we had to name some artiﬆs that we look up to then names like Soulwax, Chemical Brothers, The Presets, Juﬆ ice, Les Petits Pilous and The Subs are high on our liﬆ.” THE TRANSITION INTO LIVE PERFORMANCE IS COINCIDING WITH CRAFTING YOUR DEBUT ALBUM – HAVE THE SONGS BEEN WRITTEN VERY MUCH WITH THE LIVE SHOW IN MIND? “We’ve definitely written this album with live performance in mind. Maybe if we become super famous, rich wankers we can write a self-indulgent, obscure album, but until then we want people to get up and dance. HOW IS THE ALBUM COMING TOGETHER? “The album is pretty much done, juﬆ a few final additions to tracks and

minor tweaks. When writing this album we asked ourselves ‘what are we trying to say?’ and we kept coming to the conclusion that The Aﬆon Shuﬄe sound is big, fun, happy, at times crazy and a little bit emotional, but at its core its party music. Having said that, writing an entire album has allowed us to show a little bit more depth and diversity in our sound.” AFTER THE DEBUT AT SHORE THING, WHERE ELSE WILL PEOPLE BE ABLE TO CATCH THE ASTON SHUFFLE LIVE OVER THE SUMMER? “We cannot give away any dates as yet, but we are sure you will be seeing our name pop around the summer period.” WHO: The Aﬆon Shuﬄe WHERE & WHEN:

Live Debut at Shore Th ing at Bondi Pavilion (Sydney) Friday 31 December

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S THIS SUMMER HEATS UP, BUDGY SMUGGLERS WILL BE MAKING A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO BEACHES AND SWIMMING POOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE ICONIC SWIMMER BRAND HAS EARNED ITSELF SOMETHING OF A CULT FOLLOWING WITH ITS EVER EVOLVING, FUN AND CHEEKY RANGE OF STYLES FOR MEN, WOMEN AND KIDS. CHIEF SMUGGLER ADAM LINFORTH EXPLAINS THE BUDGY SMUGGLER REVOLUTION. EXPLAIN THE EVOLUTION OF BUDGY SMUGGLERS AND WHAT THEY HAVE COME TO REPRESENT? “Budgy Smugglers are freedom. They represent the opportunity to shed the curtains of shame (board shorts) that have been holding men back for years and give our thighs the vitamin D they deserve.” WHY DO YOU THINK AUSTRALIANS HAVE COME TO EMBRACE TO BUDGY SMUGGLERS? “It’s history. Since the fi rst blokes started rocking smugglers back in the 1920s it’s been an iconic Australian symbol. From Life Savers to Rugby League players in Tina Turner fi lm clips, there’s a fair bit of Aussie-ness about ’em. They’re also practical, which helps.”

DID YOU NOTICE A SPIKE IN SALES AFTER TONY ABBOT SPORTED A PAIR? “There’s been a strong rise over the past few years. Tony’s probably done more for smugglers than K Rudd did for board shorts. Tony’s my local member as well so just a shout out for looking after a local Manly lad. Cheers, Tony. I’m not sure if he reads this. Does he read this?” IF BUDGY SMUGGLERS SWIMWEAR HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “Biggie Smalls – Juicy. I’d just run around yelling, ‘It was all a dream, I used to the Word Up Magazine’ and getting gansta on it.” WHAT ARE YOUR FASHION DO’S AND DON’TS FOR SWIMWEAR? “Do test your smugglers while mowing the lawn before cracking them out at the beach. Don’t mix swimwear with an open flame.”

Converse Green Hi Tops ~ $90.00. www.converse.com.au

Dotti Cropped Tank ~ $25.95. www.dotti.com.au

Arnette Yellow Agent ~ $139.95. www.arnette.com

Taped LIVE Fire Engine tank ~ $68. www.bleeckerst.com Mavi Geneva cut off shorts ~ $99.99. www.mavi.com

Onitsuka Tiger Saiko runner ~ $150. www.asics.com.au Sass butterfly print dress ~ $119.95. www.sassclothing.com.au

WORLD WOR W RL LD D

NAT

Festival Essentials When it comes to festival attire, seasoned attendees will know, that the line between looking super rad and super ridiculous is very fine. First up, head-to-toe fluro is a big ‘no’ (even if you are trying to be ironic), Corey Worthington-styled glasses are out as are Kanye West-inspired shutter frames and intense ‘Oompa-Loompa’ spray tans. These looks will turn heads but for all the wrong reasons. Must haves include: eye-catching hats and sunnies; footwear you can bounce in comfortably (for over six hours); sunscreen; and, perhaps, an emergency poncho. Stick to the basics and you won’t go wrong. And, hey let’s be honest - after a day of moshing in the sunshine your clothes will be drenched in sweat and dirt anyway - chances are you will be way to high (on life) to even care.

LureBriefs

Beyonce

Invisible Zinc airless pump ~ $24.95. www.invisiblezinc.com

Nicki Minaj

Luna Lovin’ Taking inspiration from the carefree girls that stomp the footpath with timeless street fashion, Aussie label Luna’s latest collection represents versatility and sophistication with classic tailoring, simple lines and a little edge. Director Courtney O’Brien has simply wowed us with her fun and experimental use of colours and prints that encapsulate what summertime is all about; looking fresh and having fun. Prepare to be dazzled by Luna’s full range at www.luna.net.au. Fuji FinePix ReaL 3D W1 digital camera ~ $755. www.fujifi lm.com.au

LMFF Finalist L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) 2011 organisers have announced eight finalists including Ellery, Bassike and Arnsdorf who are in the running to win $10,000 cash and a trip to attend either the Premiere Vision trade show in Paris or the Pitti Filati trade show in Florence as a guest of Woolmark. The competition is judged by an industry panel with Australian actress Melissa George being selected as event ambassador. The festival hits Melbourne from March 14 to 20. www.lmff.com.au

Magdalena Magic

Ice Watch timepieces ~ $133. www.ice-watch.com.au

f tto llure@3dworld.com.au d iinfo d t and S d products id? Send Wanna gettllaid? W

A label born out of Sydney’s Bondi and Glebe markets, Magdalena Duma has generated a strong following due to their innovative outfits inspired by street culture, art, textiles, vintage and high fashion. If quirky and wild is your thing, check www. magdalenaduma.com. Magdalena Duma will also feature along with a number of up and coming designers at the Finders Keepers markets in Sydney this weekend. www.thefinderskeepers.com

EPIC:

Beyonce looking bold and beautiful in a svelte white pencil dress and voluminous curls at the launch of the Lorraine Schwartz 2BHappy jewellery collection in New York last week.

FAIL: Niki Minaj rocking a futuristic dress by Manish Aurora and a seriously exaggerated asymmetrical bob with green highlights at the 2010 American Music Awards. Overkill.

NAT NA T

THE FINAL AIR HORN

SIZE MATTERS?

14cm x 6cm x 3cm. 110 grams

FEATURES? Push button which triggers loud noise “just like you hear at the big games”.

PROS? Can make any tune sound like Diplo produced it.

CONS? A fellow partygoer may insert it somewhere in your person if overused.

FOR? Ravers reliving a long past summer of love.

COST? $13.95.

FROM? www.thepartypeople.com.au.

DELUXE FLOWER LEI

SIZE MATTERS? 44cm length.

FEATURES? Fake flowers of various different shades.

PROS? Can brighten up even the drabbest of outfits.

CONS? Kinda pointless.

FOR? Trying to recreate at least some of the vibe of Coxy bringing the new millenium in Hawaii.

COST? $2.75.

FROM? www.partiesonline.com.au.

LIGHT UP PARTY BOW TIE

SIZE MATTERS? 10cm x 15cm.

FEATURES? Lights up.

PROS? Could come in handy if you drop your pingers on the floor of a dark club.

CONS? None at all.

FOR? Wacky and zany types.

COST? $4.50.

FROM? www.partycraze.com.au. 62 3DWORLD

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