Perth can leave you feeling a little parched at times, so the crew behind the Funk Club decided to mix a tall, icy glass of relaxed vibes, refreshing sounds and unique flavours to quench the collective thirst. To finish it off, they added a fizzing tab of Dexter.

This was at the Carnivale de Funk which welcomed in the first day of spring. Heading up the stairs of the Leederville Hotel it’s fair to say that expectations were high. Headline billing was being shared by Sydney 9-piece Kid Confucius and the one-man-super DJ Dexter.

The Funk Club House Band made sure that we didn’t walk into an ambush filling the stage and the main room with their laidback flavours. Their sound is tight and true to their title and their set chugged along nicely. As they signed off they remarked that it was always good, “to see so many familiar faces” which is testament to familiar vibe to the night.

Meanwhile room two sounded great. Kit Pop and Golden Tickets gyrated and rotated through their set laying down classics including Babe Ruth’s The Mexican and Apache. Their tasty beats, breaks and loops are a constant reminder that looking at the past is important when heading into the future.

In the main room the house DJ, wedged to the left of the stage, did an admirable job keeping the vibe right and the room well packed while the various members of Kid Confucius unpacked, warmed-up and sound checked. Without further ado they strutted on stage, all nine piece, bobbing, grooving, funkin’ tight packed pockets of groove. They seemed like they were on a mission to teach us in the west what being cool is all about. While the lead singer has Australian Idol written all over him, the horns punched it out over an enviably tight rhythm section. The band’s groupies in the front row – screaming for the JJJ backed single Words – are a sign that their old-meets-new appeal is spreading.

And then came Dexter. Any space in the room quickly evaporated as the chilled out DJ turned up the heat. His trophy cabinet is full of Australian DMC titles and even a World DMC second placing and his innovative style and approach is as cool as it is refreshing. The man who created the psychedelic sound scapes that so defined Aussie band the Avalanches, his set had a laid back feel yet he kept every punter guessing. The mixing was sublime as he chopped his way through genres and beats. He mashed Azzido Da Bass’s Dooms Night (Timo Mass) into Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time and even had the room screaming Roxanne. A far braver man than I would be one who attempted to pick his play-list, but then again who gives a funk? He doesn’t just surprise and mash old with new, he manages to get the vibe just right. Crashing party classics with moody grooves he set the tempo and took the crowd with him… up and down and where-ever he wanted to go.

Dexter can surely fit square pegs into round holes and as the sweaty mass poured out into the night one punter summed it up, “I could hear that every night”.

Fancy a Friday funk fiesta… anyone? Just add Dexter.