...There’s something about standing on a carpet behind a thick rope closing you off form a club that’s a little thrilling!  It builds your anticipation for the night before you.  ‘Ambar’ has obviously picked up on this as they had the whole ‘exclusive’ thing going last Saturday night for the A Skillz set, the feature for the night.  It all wears off though as you step in to find a rather sparse club at 10:45 pm, and realize it’s all just a gimmick for the people that consider themselves ‘up-class’.  It was all good though, because the set the 23 year old producer/DJ played was quality and the anticipation was met and exceeded…

Jumping into the limelight last year with his “Tricka Technology” album, co-produced with Krafty Kuts, A Skillz has been on the go and in demand internationally.  In Perth last Saturday for the last show of his first Australian tour, A Skillz filled out Ambar for a hip-hoppin/breaky set. 

An appropriate venue for the night, the city-centre club wasn’t packed, but still crowded by the time the young DJ kicked off.  Everyone seemed to be up for a good night, boogying Saturday night into early Sunday morning.

Starting the set with some introductory beats, A Skillz jumped into album singles ‘Tricka Technology’ and ‘Simple Things’ which got Ambar’s little, but crowded dance floor moving.  The first part of the night was all hip hop. 50 Cent with Mary J Blidge and a cool mix of a Missy Elliot beat with Wu Tang’s ‘Shimy Shimy’. 

All the tracks were quality both in choice and in the way they were used.  He chose to mix lyrics over beats that I wouldn’t even think of (that’s why he’s the DJ not me!) and he executed them fantastically. 

The Beastie Boys song ‘Intergalactic’ over the Rappers Delight beat was a delightful 5 minutes!  Another crazy mix was the Chemical Brothers beat of ‘Rock Rockin Beats’ with the new Beastie Boys song ‘Check it Out’.  Ugly Duckling, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Curtis Blow, Freestylers… more tracks used.  His 2hr (ish) set rounded of with some smooth breaks.

Thumbs up to the people behind the bar too.  Fast, friendly service all night made it even more enjoyable.