- Renowned for their breaks parties of epic proportions, Fuzzy have once again put on the 3rd History Of Breaks event after 2 pretty much sold out events. Arthur Baker, the man responsible for making Afrika Bambaataa and New Order sound good, was meant to appear and perform his History Of Arthur Baker set, however due to health problems, he cancelled. Pity, it would have been interesting. Instead, Fuzzy went on a more eclectic route and chose the Avalanches DJ Dexter to fill in Arthur's absence.
Speaking of eclectic, you really can't go past History Of Breaks parties, especially with their DJ set times going from the past to the present taking the crowd from jazz, funk, hip hop, big beat (dare I say it), nu skool to whatever. To start off the night, DJ Kuya's set comprised of tracks from 10 BC to 1986.
I'm not really much of a fan of the Metro's early start and finish times, and it's a pity I arrived slightly late for DJ Kuya's set, so I missed out on what he had to offer for 10 BC. It would be interesting to see what he chose for a 10 BC track considering recorded music only existed in the 17 or 1800's, however he didn't disappoint with his track selection - a mixture of old school funk, disco classics and Janet Jackson thrown in for good measure. Combined with a few scratches and drum breaks cut in throughout, he kept his set coherent with the era he was meant to play. Total surprise to hear the disco track with the flute sample which the Beatnuts sampled for "Watch Out Now".
Mark Walton's turn on the decks next and he was there to cover the 1987-1992 era of the breaks spectrum. All throughout his set, he used cut and paste breaks records with the old skool throwbacks. Think Coldcut, AV8 records and the like taking the basic break beats and looping them with lots of samples thrown in on top. Typical of Wally - keeping things phat and funky.
1992-1999 was handled by Fuzzy's own Jon Wall and this era covered the Big Beat end of the breaks history. The crowd were really into this set as it brought back memories of Fatboy Slim's first album, early Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. Cheers galore as the Freestylers' "Ruffneck" and The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" was mixed into the set, however it was Chemical Brothers' "These Beats Were Made For Breakin'" which should be the track of the night as it's right on the money with it's title and production. It's also been reworked into "Base 6" which is currently doing the rounds on the club circuit.
The current selection of breaks - 2000 - 2002 - was handled by Sydney's jack of all trades, Ajax. Known to spin techno, house, breaks, hip hop and everything else, Ajax was chosen to spin the latest tunes in nu-skool breaks and electro. Few crowd pleasers thrown in such as Jinx's Kutt Free and Dooms Night- with the Forgot About Dre acapella - and you could foresee the crowd going off to the Plump DJ's remix of JDS' Nine Ways. Not a bad set, however I felt that he was losing a bit of momentum and I could see it with the crowd reaction too - they seemed indifferent during most of it and went off on the anthem tracks.
Sporting an afro, goatee, beard and a bandana later in the evening was Dexter delivering his Avalanche Of Breaks set. Seems all that touring and globetrotting has given him quite a tan so he looks like a west coast gangster. I'm pretty sure everyone was hyped up to see this guy DJ, with his interesting track selection and awesome DJ skills - not many people can get away doing what he does without being called a wannabe - totally unfair. If you have heard Gimix and Breezeblock then you know what you are in for - anything and everything mixed in to one. Starting off with some Snoop Dogg, Dexter mixed in Miss E Elliot, Hendrix and Left Eye Lopez with scratch routines incorporated all throughout. Best mix, in my opinion, was Aphex Twin's Windowlicker and System Of A Down's Chop Suey to get the crowd moshing. Finishing it off with Dre and Cube's Natural Born Killaz, you can't help but feel that you've attended your Yr 10 high school dance again. Not a bad set, however you'd feel a little lost on the dancefloor not knowing what moves to bust. If that was his ultimate goal then kudos to him.
In the foyer, Nick Toth and Kavi-R played a history of Hip Hop while Blaze gave us his history of Electro. My apologies to them for not being present to catch their sets, however the vibe in the main room was pretty damn good.
If you love breaks and you're willing to take things further by going back to it's roots, then Fuzzy's History Of Breaks is a nice showcase for all things breaky. I'd be lying if I said it was an awesome night though. Maybe just above average should sum it all up.