I remember, years ago, watching an advertisement for a new mixer brought out by a major company years. The ad featured a DJ, his hands moving in a blur, effecting, fading and switching the controls. This continued until the camera panned out and the magician was revealed to be none other than Sebastien Leger, accompanied by the tagline: “As good as it gets.”

I agree. Leger is as good as it gets.

The Mistakes Music Records owner brought his baby of a label Down Under for a whirlwind tour from coast to coast. Starting in Perth and finishing in Sydney, it was up to the crew at Kink reuniting with their old buddies at The Arthouse to send the Frenchman off in style.

Decked out in flannel shirt, looking quite humble; Sebastien Leger started with his staple techy, groovy and percussive sound that built in intensity with each change-up. It’s very hard to tell what he is playing as he switches from groove to groove rather than track to track. And he has a whole wallet filled with tracks that people absolutely love, and another wallet for the DJ tools and unreleased gems that have people scratching their heads going: “WTF was that?” Hearing tracks like Drunk and his remix of Daft Punk’s Around the World is like spotting a Yeti or Bigfoot – consider yourself lucky.

Leger’s set progressed nicely, reaching a crescendo with his monster remixes of Cirez D’s On Off, and Format B’s, Dog Tag after nearly two hours.

Leger loves the use of his delays and it was amazing to watch the guy manipulate the mixer to create this long tail of a tonal sound, which distorted and twisted the percussion as he built up and dropped the beat. He is a pleasure to watch, and an even greater pleasure to dance to. It was a shame that tracks from his label weren’t prominent on the night, and would have been good to see some of the other artists on the label – but I think some of the supporting DJs were caught unaware of the sound Seb was trying to push as the cohesion between supporting DJs and headliner needed some improvement. I think Telefunken would have done better in the main room, and Ben Morris did a good job of filling the floor prior to Leger, even though there were a couple of rumblings after the show.

Sebastien Leger loves his fans and his Australian fans love him. The Frenchman is the perfect counterpoint to the mindless mainstream jingles getting around, and he is the embodiment of cool. I’m not talking about the superstar ego, but rather a quiet confidence and a belief in what he’s doing; backed up by his fans, who whole heartedly believe in his style and music which is completely unique. Whether it’s a production or a mix, from the moment the music starts, there is something undeniably Leger that leaps out at you and holds your attention.

That’s why it was so disappointing that more people didn’t come. You would think, considering the enormity of Seb’s last couple of years, that it would have been a sold out event. People who had purchased tickets prior to the date did so in anticipation of this one selling out fast, so I can understand why some people then felt a little hard done by when they could have bought a ticket on the night for a discount as the promoters tried to get people through the door. But these things happen, it’s just shame considering that this was his only Sydney show – and who knows when he’s going to be back again? Hopefully, very soon.