- My calves feel like they’ve on fire. My legs are as heavy as lead. I’ve pulled my groin. I’ve even strained my oblique abs. And somehow I’ve bruised my arm and shoulder.
Yup, TransAtlantic was a fantastic party.
Astroboy was the carrot dangled by Hardware to get suckers like me in nice and early, but who was to complain when he dropped the classic ‘Arena’ as I walked in? Astro aka Filter Science proved that he’s not just a pretty face, or wicked producer, but he can spin as well! A polished, technically professional performance, a pleasure to watch.
Dee Dee stepped up next and instantly turned up the intensity. I’ve said in previous reviews that Dee Dee (most often back to back with Slack) has been kicking some serious ass at this year’s Hardware parties, and with another stellar set at TransAtlantic, I really hope he’s winning new fans to Teriyaki with every delicious beat.
Dee Dee worked the still-growing dancefloor into a frenzy with lots of chunky bombs, absolutely sensational hard techno. He dropped the intensity and the ‘underground’ feel of the set to pump out ‘La Rock’, but, undeterred by signal loss (it seemed to be a problem with the stylus), turned the ferocity back up again to finish his set in storming style.
By now, I was tired. The dancefloor was a lot stickier than I remembered from my one previous trip to QBH, but I put that down to the Samsara crew pre-talcing it as all good doofers should :P Still, lubricant was needed, because the banging finish from Dee Dee was only an entrée for the next performance: Dan Langton vs Van Diemen.
There was quietly excited anticipation around the traps for this matchup but after witnessing this set these guys have become ‘must-sees’ on my list. The two complemented each other brilliantly with a bangin’ funky track selection that had the dancefloor in raptures. Van Diemen was all class, as during previous encounters. But it was Dan Langton, a DJ I’d not seen before, that rocked my world. His energy behind the decks and non-stop skills were an absolute joy to behold.
He cut and gestured and bopped like a Mills or a Cromack. He didn’t pause for breath. He was an animal behind the decks and he had the crowd yelling every time he touched an EQ. Dan Langton, you are a genius. Yet another brilliant rising star of 2002.
Then there were the tracks! ‘I Love Techno’ was in there but it was the final two tunes that killed it. Funky techno face-off bliss. One slapped on a rip-roaring remix of Herbie Hancock’s classic ‘Bring Down The Birds’ only to have the other rise to the challenge with ‘Vitalian House’. Heaven. Dan and Mark, you’re both stars.
With a funky finale like that, it could only be time for Mr Ben Cromack.
Ben immediately set about locking the crowd in for another fabulous set, doing so with his effortless style and selection with legendary tracks as varied in age and flavour as ‘Diabla’, ‘Spool 6’ (onya Ben, it’s just not played enough!), and my most pleasant surprise of the night, one of Cari Lekebusch’s 1998 minimal stormers from his ‘Vet Dom Som För Att’ double EP.
It was at this stage that I first ventured to the bar and discovered that Carlton G was a mere three bucks a bottle. A crisp sound system, a nice, spacious venue, the best music and talent in Australia, and cheap beer? Hardware had definitely come up with the goods!
Meanwhile, in the side room, the Urban Assault brand was being launched and DJ Pete was the young gun throwing down some nice, chunky techno. A really nice, meaty beat, not too heavy, not too light. Pete has an obvious talent and is certainly one to watch!
Degenerator was up next and he was one of the DJs I’d been most looking forward to ahead of the party. Following the late change to his set at Kamoflage, I was pumped up to see the man sometimes referred to as Nick Gaff slam out some techno treats.
And slam it out he did! There were a whole stack of favourites in there, as well as some simply bangin’, lush techno. Degen was plagued by some skipping needles and the lack of a monitor speaker, but his character behind the decks lifted the Urban Assault room, and his track selection more than made up for mixes falling foul of the equipment. “See how fucking wet your pussy can get!”
Degen’s finish of DJ Assault’s ‘Yo Relatives’ was received with yelps of excitement (or maybe that was just me) and capped off a triumphant set. But Robert Anthony was ready to step up to the challenge.
Robert slammed in track after track and tore each one apart, cutting and double-beating the vinyl relentlessly. As for track selection, well there were a stack of classics to be heard here. From ‘The Bells’, to ‘Shake Whatcha Momma Gave Ya’ (the lesser-known mix with the extra vocals), to ‘Lost And Found B2’, Robert was giving the dancefloor exactly what we wanted.
Out in the main room, Thomas Schumacher was playing an altogether different brand of techno. His first track had a vocal of “fistfucker” and that set the tone for a deeper, sleazier set. Far more downtempo than previous DJs, Thomas even pulled out ‘La La Land’!
In the Urban Assault room, Serotone provided yet another memorable surprise of the night by starting his live set with a now-familiar ‘Terry Techno’ video clip. The mpegs, appropriated from the ABC’s sketch comedy show ‘Flipside’, have been doing the email rounds in the last few months, and seeing Terry going off to the walk signal at a pedestrian crossing had us geeks in stitches. “Why aren’t YOU rocking, sir?!” Absolute gold.
Serotone then turned his computer monitor back to face him, and proceeded with dishing out a very nice driving techno live set. It seemed to be a more percussive set than I’m familiar with from Serotone, although he did frequently reach over to the keys to inject a bit of melody.
In the main room, Rich:)e Rich had taken the tempo down even further, and was pumping out the classics in his usual style, ‘Papua New Guinea’ and ‘Love Story’ and lots of familiar tunes putting a smile on the punters’ faces.
Following on from that Jayse Knipe would play yet further downtempo, a very deep, twisted soundscape of tech and tech-house.
In the Urban Assault room there was to be no such respite, with Dave Pham hitting the decks. This is a man whose sets swing between punishing industrial strength techno and funky party electro, and this 4:15am effort was definitely more of the latter.
The big electro tunes like ‘Hand to Phone’ were interspersed with lesser-known ones, classic surprises like Jark Prongo’s ‘Movin’ Thru Your System’, and of course a little dash of hard tech with ‘Nervehammer’.
Unfortunately the needle was still skipping and this visibly distressed Dave and spoilt the flow of his set. He also seemed somewhat like a fish out of water without proper EQs to play with, but the crowd netiher noticed nor cared. They love Dave Pham and they loved his set at TransAtlantic. He’s all class.
PDT took over and was charged with the task of taking the dancefloor from the harder end of techno to something closer to house in the space of his set. A thoughtful track selection had the dancefloor jumping around and along for the ride, with ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Minus Orange’ two of the many classics that drew cheers from the crowd.
In the main room Nick Demkiw immediately upped the ante and played out a solid set of chunky techno. A very tidy percussive set that really entranced the dancefloor. It struck me that the tunes were leaning to a more progressive brand of techno – absolutely perfect for six in the morning.
And speaking of entrancing perfection, what a surprise it was to catch a bit of Steve Strangis vs Dave Begic! The Urban Assault room had traversed hard techno, to funky techno, to electro, to house, to finish up with…anthemic trance. In my former incarnation as a Sydney trance addict around the turn of the century, there was never anywhere to go to hear epic hands in the air cheese being played. Ferry Corsten played a ripper set at home in 2000, but as far as locals following his lead, forget about it.
And yet I walked into the Urban Assault room at about 7am to hear Rank 1 – ‘Airwave’. Excuse me whilst I scrape my jaw of the lightly talced dancefloor. Well done Steve and Dave, I loved your track selection and I’m not afraid to admit it! I’m looking forward to another uplifting morning set at the end of Urban Assault from Steve. Who said techno and trance doesn’t mix?
Back in the main room Nick Demkiw played out that solid techno mix until 8:30am, when the MC for the night, the DEA’s Richard Sekesan, led the call for ‘one more’. And what a belter of a tune to finish the night! Hard, raw, menacing techno. I’d LOVE to know what this tune was, and hear more like it. It seemed like a percussion-based version of Underworld’s ‘Moaner’ – that kind of big, stadium sound that envelopes you and punishes you. Nice.
And so that was it. Richard then announced that Thomas Schumacher was now playing at Teriyaki, and I urge all the techno lovers out there to do themselves a favour and see him alongside The Technician and Simon Digby this Thursday July 4.
What a fantastic night! A great club, a great group of friends, and superlatively good DJs and music. Well done Hardware, you’ve been kicking some serious goals this year. And with this preview of Urban Assault going down an absolute treat, I think you’re about to score another winner on July 13!