Fedde le Grand. He’s Dutch. He’s good looking. He’s been a DJ for a while now, having played in all of The Netherlands’ major clubs, as well as the UK, France, Spain, Russia, Greece, and Israel, having played amongst the likes of Deep Dish, Tenaglia, and Victor Calderone, amongst others. He has produced and remixed tons of tracks, including remixes of ‘No More Conversations’, ‘Party All the Time’, and ‘The Creeps’. He’s had a slew of original productions, including ‘Take No Shh” and ‘I Miss You’.

Oh, I almost forgot, he made ‘Put Your Hands up for Detroit’. Apparently it’s a very famous song.

Friction managed to get the very busy man down to Canberra as part of his Australian tour, including numerous Future Music gigs, and play one of his DJ sets for us. And what a night he put on.

By 11:30pm, Academy was full. And I mean FULL. There was no space to move, check the photos if you don’t believe me. 11:30 is incredibly early, especially considering Fedde wasn’t due to start till 1am. However, those of us who did get there early were duly rewarded, by a great set from Canberra’s Number one voted DJ, Chris Fraser. Chris played his usual set of big room electro sounds, fairly cheesy, yet not in a bad way, driven by guitar riffs, punchy drums, and massive basslines.

It’s Chris’s job, as the warm up DJ to hype the crowd up, to get their heart rates pumping and the adrenalin flowing. A note, Chris’s remix of ‘I Will Have You’ by Andy J is out now on Viscious. It’s a great record, that he played on the night. And it’s number 12 in the ARIA club charts. Get it at www.beatport.com

I was amazed to note that when Fedde started, the crowd was no where near as hyped up as they should have been. Obviously, everyone was screaming once PYHUD was played, and I reckon half the people were there to hear that song, who then left, but the lack of excitement was disappointing. Maybe Chris had played so well that the crowd was too tired from dancing around. Or maybe people weren’t drunk/high on substance of choice enough yet. The energy level did increase throughout the night though.

Fedde’s set was fantastic. There was no cheese, not even the mild, soft variety, either than the obligatory track. His remix of ‘No More Conversations’ is fantastic, much better than the new Mason remix currently doing the rounds. So funky, so sexy, and just phat. That is how his set could be described. It was just high quality house music, which is what the man is known for. It would be hard to pigeon hole his sound, and although people have tried, due to ‘that track’, his DJ sets are completely different. Also let’s not forget that ‘that track’ was a very cool record, until it became the most overplayed song ever.

I would like to make an observation at this point. Fedde Le Grand is so hot right now. His name is everywhere, he has remixes coming out left right on centre, on all the major dance labels. And this is good, as he is a great remixer and producer. But it’s just a phase you know, until the next big act comes around. Remember some time ago Axwell was remixing every track? These days it’s Fedde Le Grand, and to a lesser extent, yet in my opinion, a more high quality, Sebastien Leger and Chris Lake.

The point it that dance music goes in cycles, or waves. The industry chugs along, until someone makes a massive record. Then that person is asked to remix everything. Eventually, another massive record comes around, and the original person fades somewhat, although still big. If they are any good, they will make another massive tune, or re-define their sound. If not, they’ll fade into obscurity. I hope Fedde Le Grand does not fade into obscurity though, as he really is a very clever, very talented, individual.