The drum n’ bass scene in Sydney certainly has a lot to answer for. Not that I was going to pose those questions on the night. Walking into the back of The Metro, to be graced with non-existent queues for The Lair section of the venue, I was all too happy to stand, sit, dance and be headbutted by a small group of people that were refreshingly, all there for the music. Bionic opened up proceedings at 9pm with a casual warmup set, leaning toward older tracks that saw him drop a little breakbeat and towards the close of his set, and he even slipped in a couple of his own tracks including The Raven.
Next up, locals Boot & Sook took to the stage to progress through a set that mainly comprised of their own self-produced tracks. Regardless of the fact that it was a small but dedicated crowd, they dumped a kick-ass set, with kicks and snares that just would not allow those people to sit down. Props have to be given to the boys for sticking true to their own work, and showcasing it for what is it; possible some of Sydney’s best DnB production. Next up, The Vangarde were playing live to scream, sing and rap their way into impressing the pants off quite a few people at the night. Being relatively little known, a cheeky Google search confirmed my assessment of them as one of the most promising underground outfits to emerge from Sydney. Hard to define and impossible to stereotype, once described as ‘amateurish-well-styled-neo-punk-hip-hop-hooray-don’t-look-at-me-I-don’t-care-ness’. I personally thought that the band, if they ever conformed to that summation, must have come a long way in the past year. Call me naïve or call me ignorant, but I found the energy this band’s show displayed, with the two very vocal and sometimes physical MCs (the female MC jumped down into the crowd and ended up head butting one of the dudes at the front during Ode To Tokyo) gave the night just what it needed. Combining live synths, a guitar and two active MCs, they reminded me what it is to feel the force of a live gig with emotive tracks like Bittersweet, but also they managed to hook you with that elusive power that only hard dance music can deliver.
It was sad to see that after their set ended; the somewhat thin crowd seemed to disperse for cancer-inducing cigarette breaks. Matt Impact refused to let this impact his set, bringing on fresh tracks from his own label Revolution Records that were warming the night into the dark and hard flavour that DJ Storm would pick up and smash well into the early-ish hours of Friday morning.
Now the sole head of Metalheadz, Storm’s career saw her infiltrate what is primary a male dominated music industry, and an especially male dominated scene. Rising to become one of the most respected women in the industry, it’s not hard to detect the passion and conviction with which this lady carries herself. Her set represented the classic Metalheadz sound, throwing in older tracks that were appreciated by a crowd that were there because they knew the woman and her music. Her set was progressive, but shied away from being too abstract. Assisted by MC Darkwing, a relatively fresh face on the DnB scene, the set progressed into the morning, and those that were there showed the pioneer of the respect that she truly deserves. The true integrity of a DJ is tested when the crowd is scarce. DJ Storm showed that as well as talent, she was an inspired DJ, who had the humility and loyalty to play to a thin crowd that made up for with conviction and excitement what they lacked in size.
What did this night demonstrate, and what does the Sydney DnB scene have to answer for? Lack of support? Misplaced priorities (a Thursday night DnB party when you’ve got to work at 9am, anyone?). I was one very happy punter, and can’t complain about the lack of support personally, but it makes me wonder how DJ Storm will be received around the rest of the country and Melbourne in particular. Call me cynical, but I suspect the DnB scene down there is a little more tuned on, and would take the time and effort to make it out to pay their respect to one of the finest ladies of drum n’ bass, and unarguably a pioneer both for the scene, and for women’s place within it.
