From the moment I entered the venue, it was clear that it was going to be a night to remember, and this was suitably reflected by the stamps used at the door of the Oxford Art Factory. If you’d arrived to see Señor Diplo from Americana, and his trusty sidekick Boy 8-Bit, then you’d have been marked with a big 2Pac stamp down the side of your arm. Now that’s gansta!
For the readers who haven’t ventured to the Oxford Art Factory yet, you should do yourself a favour and head out there ASAP. The venue is classy without being unwelcoming, and the staff are friendly, not the type who try to milk every last dime out of you. The crowd that usually hang out at the venue are also a very lively and unique pack as they hail from all sorts of different genres and trends, and most importantly, paths of life. I was hanging out with these cats who’d just finished year 12, and thought damn I wish I was as cool as them that age, going to Diplo and everything. Personally, I chose my Year 12 formal over Roni Size. Worst decision ever!
The sideroom was simple, and had a more chillout feeling to it. The DJ there was also playing a whole completely different set compared to what was being heard in the main room, and I’m pretty sure I heard C.R.E.A.M by Wu-Tang Clan dropped at one stage, which I classed as pretty gnarly. After killing a few brain cells and catching up with some old friends, I traveled to the main stage where GoodGod Small Club were finishing up their set and playing their last tracks. It was pretty tight, but nothing would have prepared anybody for when the headliners came out
Not a moment was lost, as Boy 8-Bit hit the stage and immediately dropped some dirty electro beats laced with Nintendo-esque samples. The crowd kicked in to full swing and the dance floor started to pack out. The set was beyond words as the 8-Bit master kept dropping in his tracks, backed up with some progressive percussion. The set went on for two hours and somewhat fittingly, Boy 8-Bit was sporting a Dawn of The Dead t-shirt that could actually be used to describe the crowd – everyone was starting to fade in terms of energy levels. At about 12:30 though the crowd was rejuvenated as the Boy 8-Bit started dropping his big hits including The Suspence is Killing Me and Fog Bank. The main attraction was about to come out…
And then everything changed.
Diplo hit the stage with the sounds of a siren, and then began dropping in some fat club classics. By this point the crowd in full swing and hitting hyper drive, as Diplo dropped some of the biggest hits from the past 20 years. What can I say about Diplo other than him being a DJ’s DJ, as he galvanized tracks ranging from Satisfaction to Smack My Bitch Up to Smells like Teen Spirit Together, fusing them together perfectly. After showing his respect to his Australian crowd with Thunderstruck, he proved himself to be a security guard’s worst nightmare by calling everyone on stage. Kids went crazy and the guards were stressing, but hey, if the main attraction says so, then I guess everything is A-OK.
Every second was filled with anticipation as nobody knew what to expect next, and at around 2am Diplo jumped genres from electro and house to hip hop via a DJ Funks Bounce Dat Ass remix. He then took the crowd soaring with on Paper Planes and supermanned them with Crank Dat. Nearing the end of his set, Diplo metamorphasised hip hop into reggae with the help of Ziggy Marleys’ Welcome to Jamrock. The set ended in a full circle back with electro house, and after his final ‘Adiós’, Hoops came on with J-kwons Tipsy. The crowd dispersed at this point and I bailed it as I was out of energy, but I later found out that Diplo came back on and played a few more tracks while throwing sugar at the crowd. Damn I wish I hadn’t have missed that.
All in all, both Boy 8-Bit and Diplo offered a totally different and amazing experience, and you could easily tell they love their work. My only hope is that by the time I’m old and grey, and Diplo is too, he’ll be the DJ chosen to compile our generation’s club music on those shitty ‘retro’ CDs that you see for sale at Woolworths. He might even be able to bring a bit of credibility to the format…
