I have always thought of Premium as the premier night for UK garage in Sydney, always showcasing a wide variety of fresh tunes for an up for it, no-attitude crowd. Although Saturday’s gig was slightly down on punters (possibly because of Fathers Day being the next day) it did nothing to change the fact that it was, all round an excellent night with a great vibe and a fantastic soundtrack.
After sinking a few cheap beers at the World Bar, I headed down to Zen early, just in time to catch the last half of UK expat Whitelee’s set. Whitelee played a smooth mix of classics and newer tunes which were a lot closer to traditional UK Garage sounds than the harder stuff to come later in the night.
Whitelee was followed by the sounds of Switch who are improving with every gig. Ritual played all the new darker 2step stuff that has only ever been heard in this country by checking out tunes on the internet. Emme played a signature set dropping ‘Bombscare’ by Three Blind Mice AGAIN (does she play this track every Premium?). This track has got to be at least 10 years old but still managed to rock the dancefloor. Antic was a little quiet at first but soon found his rhythm solidifying his reputation as one of the best MC’s in Sydney and bouncing away to the basslines.
By the time Switch had finished I had worn out a nice patch on the dancefloor and was well up for Q45 who played an interesting mix of UK Garage and 2Step that sometimes boarded on breaks. It was good to see him playing some more of the Ragga influenced tunes that are currently starting to come out of the UK.
Being a lover of all things girly, Sheen impressed me with the more vocal tinged tracks that he played mixing it up with the harder darker styles of Garage pretty seamlessly. It appeared that I wasn’t alone in my appreciation, with the crowd really getting into what was a great set. MC Tanzi did a great job but the set seemed to miss the chemistry Sheen has had with K-Note at earlier Premiums.
By this time the crowd was up for something a little darker and Farj did not disappoint, playing the harder darker style of UK Garage that has become his trademark. His set was mixed up with a wide variety of styles swerving from 4 on the floor to 2step and even some tracks with booty and Electro influences. He was accompanied by the young MC Dtech who was matched in enthusiasm by volume. Unfortunately at times Dtech seemed to be getting a little carried away although he did keep the crowd hyped.
To finish off, the decks were given up to DJ Dabnes sporting an ‘interesting’ new haircut (think Vanilla Ice meets Moby). This however did not stop him from playing the set of the night. He started with the Wu tang clan track ‘Gravelpit’ and kept the crowd bouncing to his mix of fresh tunes, tight mixing and scratching.
Premium has an excellent reputation as a night with quality sounds and a fantastic crowd. In a city that doesn’t have a lot of UK Garage nights, Premium is a breath of fresh air that everyone should taste at least once. Thanks to the Premium massive for a fantastic night.
