Anders Trentemoller is a guy who started off playing drums at 10 years of age who then moved onto keyboards after falling in love with Daft Punk. He admits some of his earlier stuff is terrible but was part of his learning curve.  I personally love his remixes, he turns songs I wouldn’t normally listen to into something I need to dance to, that cant be a bad thing can it? I’ve been listening to Trentemoller flat out for the past 12 months or so…when I discovered his sound it was a sign of the natural progression my music taste has been heading in. Having always been a minimal glitch fan, I had finally found someone that added funky electro to that mixture. Sven Vath, Maurizio, Theorem, Swayzak & Richie Hawtin are others in this genre I admire but none get my groove on as much as Trentemoller.  Bearing all this in mind you could say I went with some high expectations…not something I intended to do, nor wish I had for that matter… 

Entering the Royal Melbourne Hotel, which comprises a Gothic-revival building, and a bluestone gaol block that has been transformed into a nightclub, the first thing that hit me was the heat, then the beat :) Gavin Keitel was on the decks pounding out some funky electro treats in the main room as the crowd came pushing in. Squeezing past the shade tents… yes shade tents they had by the bar. (The only reason I could figure was the high glass ceilings and sun that would glare in around 6am)

I made my way through to the next room which was more like a wind tunnel really, a long narrow room with the DJ at one end and a few people standing around listening to DJ Rowie who had some nice fat tunes.  Next stop was the beer garden for some fresh air and a catch up with friends.  I should interject here that this was a different crowd to what I was ‘expecting’... there’s that word again :/  There were lots of younger crew there; I wondered where they all came from, where had they heard Trentemoller before? Is he being played in the commercial house clubs of Prahran or something? It was great to see some of the trance community there, and of course some electro kids, though not as many as I ‘expected’:D 

Finally, I look up and see Anders Trentemoller on stage with his partner in crime DJ TOM doing some effects and scratching.  First thing I thought was ‘wow, he looks nothing like in his pictures, must be old press…  It was one of those gigs that got off to a slow start and ended with everyone jumping and hands in the air. Did I hear the word cheese?  Hmmm, just whispered I think… It was great to hear Physical Fraction, Royksopp – What Else Is There (Trentemoller remix) and of course Yoshimoto – Du What U Do (Trentemoller remix) complete with scratching over the top to make it that little bit different.  The crowd certainly when nuts at this point, all sweating and jumping together. 

I guess what made this gig so good was that he really turned it into a show, not just a DJ set.  The fact he jammed over his own stuff in a different way to the recordings made all the difference, so as much as I recall having a slight chin stroke buildup/crowdpleaser whinge at one point, I also had a fun dance and a great time and would love to have had the opportunity to catch him again in a less packed/sweaty/hot club environment.  He’s good at what he does and definitely delivered a high energy lively set, regardless of what some people on certain forums might be saying :P