Top Notch Sets; Mattt & Tomas

Last month saw Top Notch rooftop party debut on the Home roof terrace with some very speical local and international guests. Luckily sydneylovestechno was there to record the action and I'll be releasing some of the sets over the next couple of weeks.

To kick things off with the first set post of 2010 below is a set from local duo Mattt and Tomas who played early in the afternoon. Dishing out their mixed style of funky, bassy tech-house and some lighter techno tunes for the afternoon the two young-guns have firmly established themselves in the techno DJ scene in Sydney, holding a residency at Chinese Laundry, where you can often catch Mattt on warmup/closing duties, as well as playing numerous times at Spice and Bunker. Perhaps one of more well known names in techno for their age group in Sydney, their sets are often grounded around more techno and house rhythms rather than prog-house like many of their older counterparts. A great set, stream it or download it below.

Mattt & Tomas afternoon set @ Top Notch Rooftop Party Sydney

Next Top Notch is this Saturday the 9th of January, with Claud Von Stroke and a raft of local artists.

Laurent Garnier with live band & Stereosonic among other things

Weekend is at close here in Sydney with the relatively new festival, Stereosonic, kicking off its nation wide tour.

While many opinions of the festival have already been thrown around(mostly through facebook comments it seems) it was an interesting mix of fairly 'big-sounding/big-name' DJs, think Deadmau5, Fedde Le Grand, as well as big electro DJs, Crookes, with a dash of techno heavy weights thrown in for good measure.

Sneakerpeeps stage, what perhaps was 'techno-central', headlined Umek, alter-ego, Marco Carola and Laurent Garnier's live band gracing the stage along side respected Sydney locals Ben Korbel, Simon Caldwell (check the recent RA podcast) and young guns Mattt and Tomas. While the stage worked well for most of the day with stand-out set from Mr Korbel, near to the end, when Marco Carola and Laurent Gariner started to play, the pull of the more advertised headliners definitely took away quite a few punters from the stage which, was a pity for two acts like these. However in my opinion this was always going happen in a festival that seemed to try and dip its fingers into too many pots at once, and in doing so 'scaring' away perhaps some of the core fans of the two latter artists.

That said, there were still a large amount of fans that came and witnessed the awesomeness that is Laurent Garnier and his live band.

Honestly it is easily one of the most impressive live acts I have ever seen. Effortlessly switching between pulsating industrial techno, to dubstep, jazz-styled drum and bass as well as blues, it was more a true jazz improvisation session mixed in with the stylings and sounds of Laurent Garnier.

His band set-up consists of a Saxophone player, apparently one of the best in the world, Trumpet player, synth keyboardist and a main keyboard and guitar player of which Garnier can be seen as the 'conductor' often coming in and out from behind his mixing desk to direct each member. For example at one pinnacle point in the performance his keyboardist was told to drop some blues after a rather heavy techno song from before. Taking on a blues riff and improvising Laurent comes in after a little bit and tells him to repeat once specific chord, then going over to the saxophone player he brings him in with a similar style directing what he wants with some vocal cues and hand gestures, along with the trumpet and secondary keyboard player. As I said before Garnier is quite like the conductor guiding each member in a way he sees fit. After letting the improvised melody sit for a little while with all members Garnier, out of no where, drops this Jazz-infused drum and bass styled bass and beats to which the watching crowd erupts into a frenzy of hands-in-the-air and dancing action.

I think perhaps the most astounding element is seeing how well true instrumental improvisation goes with live 'techno' or electronic styles and the raw energy that flows from it. And for that matter how well true instruments, or real instruments go with techno. An element that is still seriously lacking. One only has to look at his famous Man with the Red Face in which the lead sax takes the song and perfectly complements the pulsating techno drums, synths and bass.

When Man with the Red Face was finally dropped closer to the end of their performance you could really feel the energy that each band member seems to contribute to the overall product, which for techno and dance music often being a one man affair, is a rare thing. Laurent Garnier and his live band are truly an innovative and original performance that is executed exceptionally well. It has, without a doubt, progressed the definitions of live electronic music performance and set the bar to a completely new level. If you are lucky enough to have the chance to witness it you would be nuts not too!

I'm putting the call out there, Laurent Garnier and his live band should perform in the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House, a world renowned artists for an equally world renowned venue. Please add a comment if you think so too!

Update: I'm trying to secure an interview with the man himself so stay tuned for upcoming article. If you have something you would like to ask him please also forward it to the email.


Laurent Garnier with live band at Matter in London, exact same set up and band members as in Sydney

SUP - Sydney Underground Podcast (with Walka)

Walka 'SUP'n' it at Shrug, Civic Underground

There has been a wealth of podcasts cropping up from Sydney peeps recently, Reckless Republic, Beef Records, Space Cadets to name but a few. However these are all in a 'DJ-Mix only' format.

In comes SUP! The Sydney Underground Podcast, arguably in true podcast style. That is, embedded linked artwork and selection of tracks with commentary usually followed by a guest mix. I spoke with Walka the man and DJ behind SUP and someone, if you reside in Sydney, you've probably already heard play in the infamous Cave of Chinese Laundry.


Q: What would you say is the idea behind your podcast, Sydney Underground Podcast (S.U.P.)?

The idea behind the podcast is to play a short mix each week of my favourite new tunes that I’m rocking at the time, and to also feature short mixes of other Sydney DJs doing the same.

Q: Anything inspired you to make a 'Sydney Underground Podcast'? Or has it been something you always wanted to do.

I got the inspiration a couple of months ago. I love making mixes and getting them out for people to listen to so podcasting seemed like a great way to do it. It’s a great medium and doesn’t require much effort on the listeners part because all they really have to do is subscribe and then they just come automatically. The idea to feature other Sydney DJs came about because after having clubbed for the past few years I’ve found that Sydney has some genuinely great DJs who I really dig. There hadn’t been much done in the way yet of a localised specific outlet for Sydney underground DJs to feature their mixes, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’ve met quite a few DJs in my time out and about so already had some good contacts to hit up for mixes. I’m hoping that it’ll get to a stage where Sydney DJs will approach me with mixes to put on the show! And yeah, as soon as the idea came into my head I got onto making it happen. So I learnt how to podcast, which when you’re first learning is pretty complicated! But I got the hang of it now and am enjoying it. Have reached a couple of hundred subscribers and there’s listeners from America and England so Sydney sounds will be reaching far places!

(it has) reached a couple of hundred subscribers and there’s listeners from America and England so Sydney sounds will be reaching far places!

Q: What can we expect from a typical Sydney Underground Podcast?

Musically, it will mainly be a blend between deep and tech house sounds from myself, what the other DJs play is entirely up to them! I guess a lot of it comes down to what tunes are coming out that week. My mixes will usually be like what I play in a warm-up set, so good for home listening and to chill to. Labels like Viva, Plastic City, Cadenza, Cocoon, Highgrade, Kina Music, Pokerflat, Soma Recordings, Night Drive. I like deep music, and dance floor stuff which is very rhythmically focused. So tribal elements, groove, catchy vocal hooks, hypnosis, depth and soul to sum up!

Q: You've held a residency at Chinese Laundry. Has that influenced your style of DJing and any particular highlights from playing there?

I’ve been lucky enough to play in the Cave at the Chinese Laundry on a fairly regular basis over the past almost year and a half. It’s influenced my style tremendously and in such a profound way and I really owe a lot to Paul for showing the faith in me to get me on (I had only just turned 20 when I first played so I was pretty young). When I first began my style was a lot more peak time and hard, but I’ve found the more and more I’ve played I’ve really learnt so much about the facets of playing a club set at all different times. Since I got a lot of opening sets, my sound has gradually moved that way and I am very happy it has. I now really enjoy opening and playing nice deep tunes to get the night warmed up and into the groove and ready to roll for the next guy.

Having said that, I’m at Laundry almost every other week so a lot of my style has been influenced by the other DJs playing in the club when I’m there, whether they be international or local. Guys like Matttt, Wowk, Club Junque and Mark Dynamix all really know their shit behind the decks and it’s given the place a really solid flow of music year round. I’m stoked to have been part of that, it’s the best club in Sydney in my opinion, and I will die a happy man because of it.

I’ve had a few standout highlights. First, was my first time playing there (of course!), I built a good crowd and was so relieved I didn’t clear the room. Playing on the night of Hybrid with a huge crew of my friends there and things getting pretty loose. Playing the Good Vibrations afterparty where in about 10 minutes from opening the room was full and I got to smash it to punters who had just been partying all day. And warming up for Satoshi aswell at the Renaissance gig, that was wicked and I got to meet him too :D

Q: There has been quite a few new podcasts of late. Any particular quality podcasts you would like to mention or personally listen too?

There used to be one I was a big fan of called Beatport Burners but it seems to have stopped. I found out a lot of great tunes because of it. I am subscribed to the RA podcast, which can be a bit hit and miss, but that’s because they feature such a wide selection of genres which itself is a great thing. I’ve discovered a lot of cool new dudes through it. Apart from that, nothing else really unfortunately.

Q: Finally, name one track you've been diggi'n over the last couple of months (cruel I know).

Tough question. There’s so much music these days, most tracks are out of my mind in a few weeks. I guess one that’s done me pretty well is Desmond by Yosa. I first heard it on Steve Lawler’s essential mix. It appeals to me a lot and is a perfect example of the type of music I’m really into at the moment. It’s a tech-house tribal dancefloor bomb, which has a really classic vocal hook in it that comes in about halfway through the track which always captures the crowds attention and puts the dancefloor in a good space. And the chicks dig it too which is a big plus. Mladen Tomic and Joris Voorn tunes have also done me well. One that I’ve just come across which I’m really into is Vehemence Of Silence (Motor City Drum Ensemble Perspective) by Andre Lodemann, I expect it to be warping a few minds in the months ahead. [and so do this blog!]

Subscribe to S.U.P

Episode 5; Sydney Underground Podcast ft. Mattt
Episode 4; Sydney Underground Podcast ft. Club Junque