We last saw Sinden on Australian soil for Parklife back in 2009 and it’s a show I remember pretty clearly, a surprising feat when most music festivals involve some sort of memory loss. I was keen to see Sinden maintained the same energy in a club show at Miss Libertines, a welcome clubbing escape from the usual Melbourne CBD mayhem of Melbourne Cup weekend.
My tactic when reviewing is to wait for something to grab my attention rather than searching for it. Sinden first grabs my attention with that infamous screeching hook in Roman Flugels’ Geht’s Noch. I giggle to myself at being taken back to 2006. The feel good tracks just keep on rolling when Sinden blends in the unmistakable Stardust classic, Music Sounds Better With You and I’m beginning to feel 18 again. There was also a really interesting mix of the Paul Johnson classic, Get Get Down, which was released before I was born, but it still felt modern.

Call me a massive wanker for saying that, but music is tied into memories and this is something I think Sinden understands. I like that he’s giving me these fun techno anthems I haven’t heard in ages, like house anthem of the naught-ies, Tim Deluxe’s It Just Wont Do. He’s just having fun with it and I’m having fun with it too, which is all you can really ask for as a listener.

The set takes a slight turn toward the obscure. My trip down memory lane is sharply ended with Adele’s overplayed Rolling in the Deep. Nova has totally ruined this song for me, which isn’t Sinden’s fault, but it shattered the nice little musical masturbation session/trip down memory lane I was having.

The set recovers with a distinct shift toward R&B and hip hop of the same era. By this point I’m actually having too much fun to notice what’s playing. I remember some DMX and Lil Wayne, there some Ciara vocals in there with mashed with Major Lazer and Steve Angello’s club track, KNAS. There’s my memory loss again, but reviews are about impressions; what you walk away thinking.

Sinden has some pretty wide ranging music tastes, which can get difficult. He’s definitely not a prisoner of any musical style and whenever you describe anyone as ‘eclectic’ there’s a danger in implying that the set was disjointed, didn’t flow and too stylistically far-out for any audiences.

Not the case. I’ll be the first to admit, my musical knowledge around hip hop, rap and R&B is basic at the best of times and my appreciation is less than, but I’ll always look for something unique in it. With a soft spot for the ladies of rap, it was great to hear Krayshaun’s Gucci Gucci and the room suddenly feels like a party scene from Skins. Big fat basslines so typical of UK garage and hip hop are rare for most Melbourne clubs and totally under appreciated, but enjoying a popular revival in Nicki Minaj, who’s Did It On ‘Em squeezed in a play, a nice progression.

The set feels like it chills out slightly as the venue begins to sit down and get social beside the Miss Libertine main bar, something I found pleasantly surprising about the whole event. Maybe I just hang out as pretentious venues, but Sinden, the venue and the people bought it all together for me. One of the few occasions I’ve felt really social at a club and spoke to complete strangers, without being totally messed.

I wasn’t expecting a massive club show because it would have seemed out of place for the venue, but I still found myself and my partner-in-clubbing crunking with the same retarded moves we reserve for festivals and having just as much fun. It’s this kind of versatility we’d like to see in more venues, more often. So all we can really say when it happens is: thank you.