Pardon the dodgy cliché, the first of many I assure you, but wetting the appetite of
those arriving for the first set of the night was Paul Raphael who played a deep house
selection. Easing people into the night is an art which is often underestimated and Paul
demonstrated this by keeping the vibe relaxed and the volume at an appropriate level
for both dancing and conversation.

Next up was Terry Waites who built on Paul Raphael’s sultry vibe with his mix of
Chicago House which stepped the party up a gear with cuts such as Voyage by Kinky
Movement and Jully Black “The sweat of your browe” (not to be confused with bra!).
Closing out his set with one of the best groove based tracks out at the moment; “Go
Mobile” by DJ Homewrecker, Terry had the pot simmering and ready for the main course
the VERY talented, Mr Chuck Love. It must be said that Chuck was seen on the dance
floor during Terry’s set shaking it like a Polaroid – Respect!

It was Prince who once sung “let me show ya baby I’m a talented boy” and he was,
but how many other artists could you name that not only sing, DJ, play the flute, guitar,
shakers and… wait for it…a huka hose/keyboard? (a small hand held keyboard with a
hose the musician blows into to sound much like a saxophone). Answer: Chuck Love aka
Charlie Erickson who, funnily enough, was invited by Prince to audition once.

Mr Love probably caused a few lung problems with his breathtaking two minute flute
solo by teasing the crowd with the hook from his much acclaimed release “Funky Ass
Beat” right before dropping the actual track into the mix. This was met with many cheers
from the crowd as Chuck continued to jam on his Flute and not a Band camp in site. p>

Playing quality music in todays clubbing context often requires DJs not only deliver
variety in their sets but also use effects, tricks, acappellas and stage presence to
entertain a room for the duration of the night. Chucks set delivered this and a bag of
chips as he played sections which had us jackin like crazy but also featured deeper
moments which provided an opportunity for him to pick up one of the many
aforementioned instruments and go to (funky) town – with a few hundred people along
for the ride.

During Chucks set just looking around the full room of familiar faces I was amazed
by how many bloody DJs were in attendance! Having such a concentration of music
fiends in one place equated to a very intimate and very appreciative atmosphere. The
very private nature could be attributed to the show being at The Kitchen – a venue you
could easily walk past located at the side of the Hippy Club and adjacent to Niche in
Leederville. It meant that the people that were there knew who Chuck Love was, wanted
to see Chuck Love and/or hang out with friends with similar tastes in music.

Closing out his set he dropped a remix of “Rock the boat” along with Hardsoul and
Ron Carrols “Back Together” which had many singing along as Joby stepped up to get
ready to follow with some lovin of his own. With much respect shown to Chuck Love, Joby
let Chucks last track play out and led the applause this DJ’ician deserved and Chuck
thanked the party again.

Picking the energy after the headlining artist was just what the witchdoctor ordered
and Joby took no time to tune the crowd in to his own modern day soul train. The crowd
kept on keeping on and by dropping a track sampling Ray Charles classic “Hit the road
jack” he had many ears pricked and booties shaking. Joby handed the reins over to
Adam Kytka just before 4am and he did a great job with the remainder of the crowd who
were not obviously working Saturday (at least I hope not!).

Congratulations to the Soul Project for literally pushing water up a hill with a rake to
bring Chuck Love to Perth and for hosting a great party with crisp sound and good vibes.

Adam Kelly

For more information on this artist visit

www.chucklove.com