If you missed him perform his DJ set at WOMADelaide this year (as I did) then you would have enjoyed the special guest appearance at the Persian Garden. Playing with Sydney’s Deepchild for a measly $5, Adelaide was very grateful to his hosts, the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. This was the second of three chances to catch three very different performances of Talvin’s in one week.

Announced the day before as a ‘Special Guest Artist’ our main man took to the outdoor stage to the surprise of some punters celebrating the Arts in Adelaide, and those clubbers waiting to hear Sydney’s Deep Child. Then there were those who were in the know as the rumour spread via email and word of mouth earlier that day. In some ways, this publicity stunt did Talvin a disservice, and the venue wasn’t anywhere near capacity (unlike many other nights). There were plenty of people there though, making it tough to nab a cushion on the Torrens riverbank or enjoy space on the small dancefloor. Accompied by the visuals of VJ Soi from Japan, this proved to be a fitting preview for Talvin’s main Festival show, Tabtek at the Thebarton Theatre.

Mixing through many musical styles seamlessly you could hear why he is a very talked about world music and electronic artist. From traditional sounding instruments to eclectic electronic sounds, Talvin’s cultural crossovers of funk, rock rhythms and sitar through to evocative ambient chill, percussion and even drum & bass strangely worked. Chanting and Indian singing made the mix, while later in the set things became far more electronic from Trentemoller’s minimal techno to quite dark and nasty d’n’b. There is more to Talvin than meets the eye and his music could be best explained metaphorically or philosophically like wise words from a world music guru: ‘like taking a walk into the beat-mixed mind and memory of Talvin’s travels.’

Sydney’s Deep Child appeared after Talvin, ready with his variety of suitably deep tuneage, from deep house, funk, downbeat, dub and drum & bass. Decked out in an Aussie bloke blue singlet behind his decks, Deep Child strutted his stuff with a deep underground sound that had no trouble keeping Talvin’s dancefloor on their toes. Showy, but with the talent to back it up, Rick often scratched for scratch’s sake, not to just mix into the next record- an unusual treat from a club DJ. This DJ/Producer throbbed his way into girls’ hearts and the floor drew more and more bodies, despite the late slot on a Thursday night. Deep Child’s selections turned the Gardens from outdoor lounge into jacking nightclub making this a $5 very well spent for those who wanted a night of deep music, and a bit of a boogie.