One name played a big part in my musical evolution over the years from r&b, soul n funk into deep house and all its derivatives. Miguel Migs, now known the world over, is viewed as a demi-god of sorts when it comes to house music. If trance heads go apeshit over Tiesto, then house heads go…well, not exactly apeshit, but a cooler and relaxed version of apeshit over Migs. Regardless, the reaction to both is the same: that of cemented respect, because this is someone who helped push a certain kind of music onto the world, was an unofficial ambassador. And over the years, having seen the man play live MANY times, going to his gigs has become more of a duty than a choice. Really, there IS no choice. When Migs come to town, you GO SEE HIM. That is to say, it’s not all peaches n’ cream anymore (this is me foreshadowing some slightly negative comments that are still to come in the review…stay tuned, won’t you?).

On yet another beautiful Australia Day (he was here for Better Days couple years ago), Migs was here to run the celebration (cos what’s more Aussie than dancing to…house music by a DJ from…the United States…?), but first came a set by other out-of-town ‘special guest’ DJ MFR. Migs, who was supposed to be on from 7-9pm, didn’t hit the decks til after 8ish and didn’t stop til close to 11. He kept it on a party vibe, playing classics like The Bomb! (by The Bucketheads) mixed in with some newer-ish stuff. The forever boyish-looking Migs (What? I swear the man doesn’t age!) certainly is a master of his craft by now, but I can’t help but think he’s hit a creative ceiling in the last few years. His output on his own Salted Music label has been pretty good, but there’s this nagging sensation I feel that there’s something missing from the music. A feeling which has also surfaced during his live gigs.

For a long-time fan such as myself who has been grooving to Migs’ tunes since his Petalpusher days with Naked Music, it’s always a treat to see him keep coming back to Oz and giving us a show. But it’s also a little sad for a long-time fan, as the quality of the music played by Migs slowly seems to be declining with each return visit. A Miguel set always stood apart from the rest. Whether he was playing at a festival or spinning at a club, the priority was always to keep it DEEP. He was a real ambassador in making a case for deep house being a viable option on the dance floor, and us deep house heads out there loved him for it. From 2002 til 2007, he kept delivering on his own self-proclaimed promise of playing what he wanted, and what he wanted to play was mostly deep house. It wasn’t until the afore-mentioned 2008 Better Days (also at Alumbra) that I started to notice something was missing. His cohort Julius Papp played before him, and ended up playing a much deeper set than Migs did. His selections weren’t engaging me like they used to, and a lot of it (much like the majority of Salted’s output) was heavy on the tech. Sure it’s a sad decline of a deep house mastermind, but I don’t mean to be negative for negative’s sake. These are pure thoughts that have been running through my mind for a long time, for you when you’re growing with the artists and musicians you idolise, you tend to notice the changes that occur either for better or worse (may they be overt or subtle).

Yes, I do think a lot (perhaps overly-so), but then again that’s why I write. And as I did on the night, these thoughts crossed my mind while I was on the dance floor grooving to Migs’ set with drink in hand. Because in the end your favourite artists will change and move in directions that may not exactly appeal to you, but that’s just part of the journey. Perhaps it’s time to shed the old deep house idolatry I’ve associated with Miguel Migs, and respect the next stage in his own musical evolution? So while I quietly mourn the loss of yet another agent of “deep house”, I can still respect, admire and go to see Miguel Migs. Why? Cos he’s a goddamn legend. I can’t think of a better way to spend Australia Day than dreamin’ & dancin’ the day & night away to the sounds of the mighty Migs.