Friction pres. The Technics InTheMix 50 Party @ Academy, Canberra (1/9/06)
Celebrating all things club-orientated, the Technics Top 50 poll runs each year giving the public a chance to vote for their favourite DJs, clubs and events. Friday was the first night of the national tour, celebrating this year’s poll and showcasing the talents of breaks aficionado Nick Thayer (Mel), ex-Canberran Rob Kay (Syd), plus the usual wealth of local talent.
The Friday night ship set sail under the skilled guidance of Mikah ‘arrggh!’ Freeman, craftily manning the wheel and shuffling through a banging blend of electro, tech house and indie dance.
Giving the Academy system a healthy workout with tunes like Etienne de Crecy – Fuck and the Aston Shuffle’s own remix of Malente – Killer Application, he moved onto funkier territory with Cassius – Toop Toop, before finishing with Digitalism’s epic remix of The Futureheads – Skip To the End.
Like some mysterious dance music manifestation of the Phantom of Academy, Mikah made a subtle exit – bound for another gig in Sydney the same night – solidifying his position in the illustrious Canberra Top 5 this year, and leaving the Academy frigate in prime position to be boarded by Nick Thayer.
Having built a passionate Melbournian following, Thayer’s next step is clearly world domination – winning the award for best remix at last year’s Breakspoll Awards (with partner-in-crime Bass Kleph), opening for the Plump DJs at Fabric and mixing one of the CDs on this year’s Technics In The Mix 50 Compilation.
Proving beyond reasonable doubt that funky breaks are far from dead, Thayer unleashed upon the crowd an energetic volley of breaks bombs, old and new. Just when it looked like the crowd was settling down, Thayer unexpectedly dropped Solid Groove – Din Da Da, signalling a move into nu-skool electro-breaks territory.
Unleashing some monster remixes of Basement Jaxx – Hush Boy, The Streets – Original Pirate Material and Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl, Thayer had the crowd walking the plank – not knowing whether they would get thrown to the angry buzzing basslines or greeted by the busty pop-dance wenches waiving to them from the shore.
The crowd wouldn’t make it to the shore, but they wouldn’t mind. Descending deeper into the sea, they past tunes like Buy Now – For Sale (a crowd favourite) and Plump DJs – Electric Disco (D. Ramirez Remix).
Just when it was looking like the climax of his set, Thayer made a bold move – unleashing some Drum & Bass upon the unsuspecting crowd. A few startled expressions later, the crowd was flailing around in an uncontrollable flurry of drunken excitement, fuelled on by the powerful strobe and Pendulum’s remix of The Prodigy – Voodoo People.
When the lights (and crowd) settled down, a definite ‘calm after the storm’ had decended on Academy. Rob Kay stepped up the helm, tasked with the difficult job of raising the musical sails and building up the atmosphere again.
Beginning his set with the Kenny Dope remix of the classic Switch – A Bit Patchy, he loaded his proverbial cannon with the lovely vocal stomper Sarah McLeod – He Doesn’t Love You (HooknSling Remix), Bodyrox – Yeah Yeah (D Ramirez Remix), Cicada – The Things You Say (Dirty South Remix) and a plethora of acapellas and samples.
Placating the crowd with the lovely soothing melodies of Chris Lake – Changes (Dirty South Remix) and Supermode – Tell Me Why (TV Rock Remix), he finished his set – leaving the crowd happy, dancing and keen for more.
Ready to deliver was the nautical tag team – Chris ‘captain hook’ Fraser and Jeff ‘jolly roger’ Drake. Finishing the night with some more funky electro-house madness, the pair dropped crowd pleasers like BSOD – This is the Hook and Walken – Boy Meets Girl before casting off and waiving farewell.
I hope the crowd appreciated just how lucky they were to have such a treasure chest of talent. Some magnificent mixing, a cheeky acceptance speech or two and a healthy dose of trash made this one memorable night. Arrggh.
Top 5 DJs ACT 2006
1) Chris Fraser
2) Milkbar Nick
3) Mikah Freeman
4) Jeff Drake
5) Kaos
Most popular club night (ACT) – Friction @ Academy
Most popular event (ACT) – Academy Rockstars & Groupies 2nd Birthday
