After an amazing performance last year at Gas he was in Sydney renowned producer and DJ James Holden returned once again playing the main set at Sweetchilli. The event was held at Suzie Q’s on Oxford St and also featured Sweetchilli residents and promoters Daniel C and Crispin. With a generous three and a half hour set allocated to the international, Holden will had plenty of time to present a variety of new sounds that both he and the Border Community label have been delving into in months of late. James Holden is known for constantly moving in his own direction musically rather than following the trends and tunes of the moment that are worked by almost every DJ. This philosophy also extends to his label where they are constantly trying to promote and uncover producers with a taste for the more eclectic and leftfield sounding music.

Holden’s sound which used to be more heavily biased towards progressive trance and has now moved more towards a tech, house, and electro hybrid. This sound combined with uncanny his ability to take on quite ambitious mixes and keep them going for what seems like an eternity using creative looping and effects is part of the reason so many fans can’t get enough of his sets. James is also quite well known for the groundbreaking Balance 005 mix CD which was released last year and it was a perfect example of how the material he plays borders on on the obscure yet at the same time has an amazingly accessible feel to it.

As we arrived to a manically full Suzy Q’s Daniel C was belting out some nice rocking prog tunes to warm up the crowd for Holden’s set. The dance floor was already buzzing with activity and the new layout with the second room allowed for almost everyone in the main to clearly see the decks. As 1am swung around Holden kicked off his set to a loud cheer from the eager crowd as the Border Community style acid melodies filled the main room. The sound system throughout the venue was sounding great and belting out the amazing percussive sequences deep into the corners of the venue. The first hour was quite driving and slowly meandered towards big rocking basslines and darker sounding tunes including Michael Mayer – Happiness.

The key element throughout the set was the nice long extended mixes which he kept pulling out of nowhere that sounded simply amazing. The second hour bought with it much more tech and electro flavoured tunes all of which were of the danceable variety. Holden also ensured to please fans of his Balance compilation by throwing in a few huge tunes that many would have recognised throughout the set such as Nathan Fake – Outhouse, Infusion – Natural, and a new tech house mix of Alter Ego – Rocker. The final hour was a mixture of huge tech house tunes and electro amongst some of more Border Community gems such as Nathan Fake – The Sky is Pink (Holden Mix), Holden – A Break in the Clouds, MFA – The Difference It Makes and the classic Kirsty Hawkshaw – Fine Day (James Holden Remix). Unfortunately we were fairly spent after such an intense set from James Holden and didn’t stick around until the end to hear the final set from Crispin but no doubt it was superb as usual.

Overall, it was an excellent night both from the great community vibe of the Sweetchilli night and the non-stop quality tunes. The three and a half hour set Holden laid down on the night was amazing; covering a variety of sounds and ranging in intensity from fairly tame prog to absolutely humungous drops. Some may complain that the set was boring and didn’t focus on some particular element which may be their favourite type of sound however I would have to disagree. Throughout the entire set there was always some great eerie and eclectic melodies to listen to, interesting percussive sequences to keep you moving and the ease with which James moved between sounds was simply unbelievable. Sweetchilli residents Daniel C and Crispin also provided quality sets featuring some storming tunes before and after Holden’s set. It was great to see a good turnout for Holden however many punters seemed to lack the required stamina to stay until at least the end of Holden’s set.

For anyone who thoroughly enjoyed this night make sure to check out the next Sweetchilli night on this Saturday which presents Desyn Masiello as part of the Bedrock OS 01 tour. For more info check out the Sweetchilli website  http://www.sweetchilli.com.au.