- Given the history of rave culture, the location of Ministry of Sound's Annual Festival was pretty ironic. Held in the Supreme Court Gardens—the backyard of Western Australia's highest court—the festival nevertheless attracted its fair share of punters intent on having a good time despite the daunting location.
The first act I caught was Aussie dance duo PNAU. Their new self-titled album did little for me so I was hoping to hear tunes from Sambanova and Again, but unfortunately their set consisted of nothing more than frontman Nick Littlemore practically miming the new album in its entirety. What’s more, he did it in character as some kind of a bizarre extraterrestrial persona, which came off as crass.
Yet it wasn't all bad. PNAU started promisingly—even if they lost it pretty quickly—opening with 'Lover', 'Come Together' and 'Strawberries Forever', some of the better tracks from the new album. Tellingly, these are the cuts which have an electro feel reminiscent of older—and more interesting—PNAU releases.
In terms of crowd interaction, PNAU got good results from 'No More Violence' and set closer ‘With You Forever’, the latter of which was accompanied by the spectacle of Littlemore and Luke Steele from Sleepy Jackson each wearing one white glove from the same pair. Obtuse and self-indulgent theatrics from my perspective, and a fitting way to close a mediocre performance from a group that used to be a great flagbearer of Australian dance music.
It was left to Anders Trentemoller to pick up the pieces. The Great Dane’s productions and remixes are hugely successful, especially with minimal/electro so dominant in the Australian underground scene, and his set lived up to expectations.
Accompanied by a percussionist and guitarist/harmonicist, Trentemoller opened with 'Take Me Into Your Skin' and an improvised take on his own remix of 'What Else Is There?’, which set a delightful early tone. Each track was built with layers of square- and saw-tooth wave, glitch, phasers, drums, live accordion and harmonica—it was a bit like a master chef putting ingredients into a pot. His pièce de résistance? A sensational and emotional performance of 'Miss You' in which he delicately played the xylophone riff himself.
The visuals used in his set were sourced from films made in the '30s, '40s and '50s and craftily synchronised with the beeps and beats.
Kudos must also be given for Anders' Mac-raping renditions of The White Stripes' '7 Nation Army' and Daft Punk's 'Da Funk' in which only their respective, renowned riffs could be heard through the chaotic feedback, Moog and phaser samples. Ear-pleasers 'Moan' and 'Rykketid' also got guernseys and the grand finale of a very bass- and drum-heavy 'Always Something Better' was a great way to finish.
Next was Booka Shade, which I expected to be the highlight of the day. Having heard quite a bit about their live show, I was eager to see what Arno on his electronic drum kit and Walter Merziger with his gizmos could swing. Starting with a new track, 'Unhealthy Pleasures', the Berliners went straight into their Movements album with 'Nightfalls'. Despite the passionate start, the intensity waned quickly and the bulk of the set was a tad drab. Newer tracks 'Tickle' and 'Karma Car' hardly registered with the crowd, but the set took a considerable turn when the recognisable riff of 'In White Rooms' enveloped the tent and the text of the same projected onto the screen. The track lit up the dancefloor, but I felt as though they could have built up the tune a little better, I almost got the feeling that they wanted to get there too quick. (Sometimes, especially for such an anticipated song, the foreplay is the best part.) Either way, it was all up from there with a crowdpleasing trifecta finish of 'Darko', 'Body Language' and 'Mandarine Girl'.
Booka Shade's back catalogue is deep enough to make a great live set, but it did seem like they could have done so much more. It was obvious that the passion was there, but I did not get the sense that the crowd was involved until they hit the three finishers. The true test of a great gig is in the artist's ability to transform tried-and-true material into something new and exciting. In that respect, Trentemoller certainly came out on top of Booka Shade at this festival.