Club Club feat. Steve Bug & Elite Force @ Chinese Laundry, Sydney (01/03/08)
Arriving at Laundry shortly before midnight, we made our way past a growing line outside of punters; I had my sights set on seeing Berlin legend Steve Bug. Also playing this evening was Elite Force, a man pivotal in the genre known as ‘Tech Funk’, so it was set to be a massive night. It had also being several months since I had been to Laundry and it was the first time I’d gotten the chance to check out newly re-branded Club Club night, so I was keen to see if they had made any changes since my last visit.
Making our way inside, the club was already bustling. Outside in the courtyard, I took in my surroundings. DJ Hugga Thug was playing a wide selection of party mash up tunes including one of this ITM reporter’s guilty little pleasures, a dub remix of the absolutely atrocious song Crank Dat by Solja Boy. Shortly after midnight we ventured downstairs into the Cave, the club was now very busy and I sneaked a peak outside the door on the way down to see quite a big line had formed outside going up the stairs. Making sure we got close to the front of the Cave so we could get a glimpse of the man, we had arrived just in time to catch him setting up. The sound subtly changed, and I knew he had arrived. And when it comes to the Berlin sound, ‘subtlety’ is a word that can fairly aptly be used to describe it .
Bug started his nicely, easing into it gently with some soft and warm sounding tunes. I’ve noticed at times tech can be quite a cold and unfriendly sounding genre of music, but Bug managed to play tunes that were warm enough to suck everyone in. Several clicks and bleeps later, Bug increased the tempo ever so slightly; he slowly built the set while managing to keep a nice groove and flow going, as any great DJ should. By this stage the room was packed and the crowd was loving it. The set continued to rise and then drop in tempo as the set varied through different peaks and troughs, but all the while maintaining a beautiful flow. Getting a view of the man, he looked very focused on the job at hand.
During the set I ventured into the opposite main room that is the Laundry, to see what else was on offer for the punters this evening. The laundry was almost as packed as the Cave and to my surprise, I noticed they’d done some renovations since I was last there. They’ve moved the stage right to the back of the room now, a shift that I felt was long overdue. One of my pet hates when going clubbing is getting stuck in the section of the crowd that has constant thoroughfare moving through it, I absolutely can’t stand it. With the old setup it was near impossible to move anywhere through the crowd, but the renovations have alleviated that to some degree. When I entered Sydney favourites Jamie Doom and Gus Da Hoodrat of Bang Gang fame playing their usual mashup style set; while the music was good, I could see that just about any weekend in Sydney, so I headed back to the caves to see the rest of Bug.
Once back in the Cave, his set went from strength the strength, with one of the highlights being his own track Wet: it’s a perfect example of the sound coming out of Berlin at the moment, so do yourself a favor and track it down.Around 2am I noticed a sudden change in the music, and Steve Bug’s set had finished. He received a round of applause and cheers throughout the room, as he’d played a set that had showcased the epitome of the quality sound that is coming out of Berlin. What’s certain is that it was very different to anything you hear in most clubs in Sydney on a regular basis!
The second international for the evening Elite Force stepped up to the booth to begin his set, and began by dropping a song that probably encapsulated the style of the ‘tech funk’. It had a much larger sound and very heavy bass, while still heaving a nice underlying groove that gives it a unique touch – in this case his remix Dan F Right On. After basking in minimal sounds for the past two hours, we were greeted by a wall of sound. Sharply building already with a big rolling bass line, this was a definite change from what we’d just been hearing. About 10 minutes into his set he dropped a song that truly got the party started, a personal favourite of mine in the form of Oliver Hunteman’s remix of Depeche Mode Everything Counts. Anyone who knows Huntemann knows just how hard his music is, and the track was no exception.
The place erupted, and the vibe in the room was electric. Elite Force didn’t let up, continuing to drop the heavy tech funk tunes as well as many of his own productions. I noticed that the air conditioning in the room had seemingly being improved, at times it can feel like a bit of a sweaty dungeon down there but on this occasion it didn’t feel like a sweat box at all.
Around 3am Elite Force changed it up a bit to some very bottom-heavy dub music which I hadn’t heard before. I loved it, I noticed there was a slight trend emerging in Sydney a few months ago with some Sydney DJs dabbling in dub, possibly due to the emergence of styles like baile funk and Baltimore house. But nothing quite like this… It was being very well received and during this time he dropped a remix of an absolute dub/breaks classic Doom’s Night by Azzido Da Bass. The instantly recognisable “womp womp womp” led to cheers and whistles from the crowd but just as the beat was about to drop he changed it to a different song. What a tease! I noticed a wry smile on his face as he looked around the room, before shortly dropping a techier remix of the song that wasn’t quite the same, but still very enjoyable.
Last Saturday night, the promoters at Chinese Laundry showcased two very different, but equally amazing DJs with two very different musical stylings. And both delivered an amazing performance for the punters. Walking up to the station to catch the dreaded nightride (for those who catch it, you know exactly what I’m talking about) I looked back over my night: seeing Ben Watt, Steve Bug and Elite Force all in the space of 24 hours left this ITM reporter feeling pretty privileged, but at the same time disappointed that the wait has begun again for them to bring their beautiful sounds back to Sydney once again…
ccombe says...
was truly an awesome night with a few over zealous bug followers getting in my way. Its important people know how to have a good time but not at the expense of others. Bug's set was awesome plain and simple, I brought a mate along who doesn't normally go to Laundry type nights and he can't stop raving about it. Amazing what a good dj can do to convert someones music tastes :) Great review, great night! I thought Elite Force sounded a little too harsh, perhaps he was running his stuff to loud for the equipment or maybe I am getting old.. Bug's set was much more precise and crystal clear.
ticketsplease says...
mmm Azzido Da Bass switch remix