This week, Kink gave Sydney a great night of house from virtual resident DJ Falcon and current tourist, Alan Thompson of the Defected label. Not only did the halls of the Arthouse get vibrated by these two, but with the Broke’n’Beats room and the Soda Room upstairs one gets a wider selection of genres to cater for various tastes and energy levels.

On arrival, my clubbing troupe and I found a seat in the Broke’n’Beats room for a drink and to hear local DJ Meanjean. The music he played got our feet tapping and the heartrates up a few beats as we planned taking over the world. Playing tunes such as Finest Dreams by Richard X (featuring Kelis) put Meanjean into the list of DJs i’ll look out for when choosing nights out in future with a fine beat and nice sounds throughout his set.

The Soda Room upstairs is a fantastic feature of Kink. Whether your legs are beginning to fail you, the cocktails have lured you or you’ve gone one level too far and missed the toilets, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at yet another high ceilinged room that is smaller and more intimate than those downstairs. Mike McGrath who, around Kink, can be seen playing at Clean and Serene and World Bar amongst others began spinning at 11pm in the Soda Room.

Our group relocated to check the sounds he’d be playing and weren’t disappointed, in the end spending half our night upstairs. On query Mike happily answered my question on one track to tell me it was by Bini & Martini, the note I took fails to give me the track name. The music played upstairs while warming up to a more driving beat was almost loungy with a funkier bite to the melodies. Later on, during Tom’n’Terri’s set, the beat kept driving and the tunes kept your body rocking and moving.

The intimacy of the smaller room with the turntables set up at ground level kept those playing in tune with those around them and made for a relaxed, funky and with it’s many beautiful couches, definitely comfortable space.

By this point downstairs was shaping up for a night of jumping, singing, smiling and hand-waving. Shamus had the floor of the main room mostly filled with a crowd that was beginning to sweat. With no standout tracks that I can name, suffice to say that Shamus is a DJ with a sizable following in Sydney and he really knows how to work a crowd into more and more of a frenzy.

Shamus, handed over the reigns to Alan Thompson at 1am and the walls began to shake. Not having heard his playing before, this reviewer had no expectations and was almost danced into the ground by the halfway point of Thompsons’ set. The music played was house, no doubt about it. The beat was driven relentlessly into the crowd as the vocals and melodies got the arms waving in the air, though at times some may have been slightly confused as to whether they were waving to the music or the cameras. Partway through Alan Thompsons set my legs gave way and I retired back to the Soda Room for a rest, only to be accosted once more by the funk of that Dirty Vinyl Pusher, Mike McGrath, still smiling, still spinning a treat.

Legs rested it was back to the Main room for DJ Falcon. Having seen him at Kink six months or so previously and being mightily impressed once again by all that is French House music I was keen to see and hear what Falcon had to play. One month before he had returned to play Kink again, and this time around was a mid-holiday gig for the Daft Crew member. Reports of last months show are very excited, garbled and some even incoherent, but all positive so all fared well for Falcons’ return.

Kink has a solid group of supporters and for a good reason. The music Falcon played was not going to allow you to stand and chinstroke all that much, it was made for people to dance to, to jump to, to sing to and to smile and laugh to…and that just seemed like that bloke in the white tie on stage behind Falcon! The set was underpinned by solid percussive rhythms, catchy melodies and the feeling through the room was Big Smiles, thank you very much for coming. Hearing So Much Love to Give, the song that Falcon co-wrote was a given, but part way when the decks were somehow jolted and the song stopped, it only took a few moments, the track was restarted and within 20 seconds you wouldn’t realise it had just happened, such was the crowds roaring enthusiasm. And if you’re over So Much Love to Give, look out for Call On Me (tentative title, tentative release I hear), again by Falcon and Thomas Bangalter. This time, a very clear sample of Steve Winwoods’ ‘Valerie’ is repeated over a strong, simple backing of bangin’ ‘ouse, almost as if they had carefully followed the steps of ‘How to Make a Number 1 Hit’ by the KLF. Reports tell of Jackster playing a blistering set after Falcon that had those still standing trembling at the knees by the end of the night.

With many friendly faces and great tunes. If you’re relatively new to dance music Kink gives you choices for varying tastes and if you like your house and like to jump around to it then where better to do so than Kink.