- A weekend many have been waiting for had finally arrived, with Sounds looking to put on one of, if not the biggest party of the year at the very sizeable Hordern. There was good news as I arrived as I checked out the main room and was happy and relived to hear that the sound was top notch. It really was a credit to the Hordern and Sounds for getting the setup spot on. The outside room was also quite good and wasn’t as ‘booming’ as the main room making it easy to relax and talk outside. So with all the production issues and sound getting the thumbs up, it was time for the artists to shine…
Ewan Pearson I must say was quite impressive. He really played some solid house with a bit of a techy vibe, and a highlight of the night I must say arrived when he threw down that wicked remix of Depeche Mode towards the end of his set. By this time the excitement was at fever pitch as the Deep Dish lads soon made their entrance.
Well what can be made of Deep Dish. I was disappointed after seeing them briefly on Wednesday night and then for their entire set on Friday at Canberra and again I was disappointed with this set. For parts they are quite solid and they are capable of throwing down some pretty solid tunes but for too many sections of their set they are flat and simply have no flow. It was quite predictable that their more intense remix of ‘Flashdance’ would get a great reaction, so much so that a group of 40 or so rent a crowd fans made their way behind the decks to Sharam’s surprise. Funny and quite confusing at the same time but it was quite good as the vibe really was electric, helped also thanks to some pretty acrobatic gymnasts suspended above the crowd. So yeah, again it must be a taste thing as Deep Dish really kept the crowd going and excited so well done to them for that.
During Deep Dish’s set I also checked out Fabric man Ali B in the courtyard and if you are a fan of drum and bass then I’m sure he would have delivered. It was quite solid and the baselines at time were chunky as all hell. He is obviously used to destroying the massive sound set up at Fabric with some of those low end rumbles I heard.
Paul Harris of Dirty Vegas fame then entered the main room and did OK to be honest. He played some pretty big tunes like the King Unique remix of ‘Ride’ by Chable & Bonnici, ‘Housetrack’ by Alex Neri and of course the festival favourite, New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. His mixing was at times slightly sloppy but it didn’t really show on the massive sound system, and he solid track selection more then made up for that.
Now if the party was to finish at that time I would have said that it was a pretty good night, definitely not outstanding. But things change, and the man behind the transformation, was Danny Howells. He was simply awesome at Canberra on the Friday night and I would even go as far as saying that he topped it here in Sydney despite the short 2 hour length of his set. Again it may have been a taste thing as I am almost certain that the intensity of Danny’s set would not have been to the liking of a few people that were perhaps there for the smoother and more mellow sounds of the previous acts, but for me, Danny showed why he is by far a better DJ then all the acts that were on showcase at Sounds. Sure Deep Dish has made their name with massive single releases, but as DJ’s they don’t hold a candle to the likes of Danny.
As I said his intensity was immense. Starting off with some pretty driving house and finishing off with a flurry of techno loops and rhythms, Danny’s flow and mixing was absolutely flawless. I mean for me there was not a dull moment in those 2 hours. Tiefschwarz’s stunning remix of Freeform Five sounds ridiculously good on a big sound system, and many of those driving records towards the end of his set were the same records that made his Miami gig at Ultra the awesome set that it was. It was just a shame that it had to end so soon, I could have most certainly done with one of those 7+ hour epic Danny sets.
Well there it is. I must say a big thank you to Sounds for delivering a pretty fantastic night. They really couldn’t have done it better. There was a varied collection of diverse artists and the sound, which is quite an integral part of it all, was quite simply brilliant. Time for rest!!