- Like, say, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Sydney and Melbourne are rival cities. Where Melbourne has always been credited a greater share of culture (reflected in a larger amount of record stores and community radio stations), Sydney has been dubbed by some as an empty party shell where people care less about music than about flash looks and ways of living.
But things have changed in recent years, not least due to the hard work of organizations like Future Classic and Sydney Festival. This January, the festival's Keystone stage—squashed between the centrally located Domain and Hyde Park—saw performances by acts as diverse as Shangaan Electro, John Maus, Andrew Weatherall and Deerhoof. Opening and headlining the festival's final night was Prins Thomas, whose own output has covered every genre between gypsy disco (as Major Swellings), Loft style downbeat mellowness (with Lindstrøm) and—more recently on his self-titled debut album—Krautrock.
Photo credit: Katie Willmett
Playing for an empty dance floor at 8 PM had its merits for the Balearic bohemian, as it gave him a chance to play it slow. And tiny crowd or not, Prins Thomas enjoyed himself, throwing lots of delays, dramatic guitar solos and vintage sci-fi effects at his dedicated audience as he poured himself several glasses of whiskey. As he went back and forth between stomping house, buzzy, Lindstrøm-like material and feel good disco, more and more people start getting into the Prins Thomas groove, which results in a cozy atmosphere with plenty of people making conservative moves and wiggles.
With the arrival of Koze, the off-kilter house producer and dedicated German DJ, careful boogies turned into fanatic jumps and powerful fists pointing in the direction of heaven. With his clean kicks and snappy snares, it's easy to see why Future Classic reserved the second slot for him. It's turned out to be the best choice for all parties—Koze did what he came to do, Prins Thomas got to play around for three hours and isn't it just cute to see a cosmic Norwegian poor himself after-work-bubbles while offering the same to his hard working German colleague? It's the end of a simple story about two drunk hippie DJs smashing it at the Keystone bar on what must have been one of the best early evening parties of the entire Sydney summer.