With the weather preceding the day it seemed Summer was well and truly over and that this event would be an event to remember more for soggy reasons than treasured ones. The third Delirious Summer Festival, using the strictly limited capacity grounds of UWA for the first time, was a much smaller and more intimate affair compared to previous years. However when most woke up to the pleasant surprise of a fine day last SUNday it seems the smiles lasted all day. ITM’s team of rogue reporters were there to catch the action and report to you stage by stage. A mammoth effort by all three and well and truly worth the wait.

Loaded Dice Drum’n’Bass & Breaks Room featuring Mampi Swift & IC3 and Laidback reviewed by Peto

Finally Delirium had secured the UWA as a venue for one of its large summer festivals. The Oak Lawn and surrounds looked good and was setup very nicely with some small re-arrangements downsizing the 4 planned stages into three. This left Laidback wedged in between Mampi Swift & DJ Probe in the Loaded Dice DrumnBass & Breaks room.

Mampi Swift provided a slamming set to kick off the early vibes with the help of IC3 on the mic. Apologies to Concept, who warmed up the midday crew that woke early to catch the Sunday sun. The UWA Refectory aptly held the DrumnBass presence early on. Though what kept out the light, held in the heat and the early sets felt the ‘Summer’ in this Festival.

With a 5pm flight pending, Mampi wasted no time and spared no one as he seemed eager to impress with ample Dubplates and devastating double-drops for the Perth Crew. The ref filled nicely with the heat level high as Concept handed over to Mampi Swift with IC3 on the mic for the intro. Tearing through dark and techy sounds Mampi had the room rocking in no time.

Mixing through heavy Bad Company pressure he couldn’t escape the first rewind of the day. Mampi did not hold back on the dubs, sensing the Perth Crew knew their stuff he let lose with Dynamite & Origin Unknown’s massive new Hotness which went down well enough to be played twice. This tune will be on the forthcoming Dynamite LP when he sorts a new Label to release on after his recent split with Talking Loud.

Mampi rinsed through his own Trippin’ remix, blended with Dillinja’s Nitrous re-remix. Mampi was in the zone with IC3 giving strong support, he let fly with his double drops, cutting up classics like the Nine with fresh Dillinja flavours building to a crescendo with another tearing Dub, Play Me. His own collaboration with Fresh of Bad Company this tune devastated the dancefloor and IC3 knew there was no avoiding a rewind. This gave some time for breath as IC3 joined the crowd with the party really rocking. Mampi wasn’t about to let up the pace with more seamless mixing contrasted by skillful fader use that Ray Kieth would have approved. Parts of Bad Company’s Hornet and Planet Dust rinsed mixed well with Mampi Swift classics like Jaws II.

Mampi HAD to let it up for just a touch, pulling up the brakes on the frenetic pace and giving some time for air and a reduction of heat. In his final onslaught he mixed it up little more with Electro Meldody and even the strings Papua New Guinea, albeit heavily overlayed. Mampi finally spun out of his zone dropping the pace out the mix which could only mean, one last tune. A newer faster beat pattern ensued, losing the breaks somewhat, but after such an impressive set even an undanceable tune like this went round twice. IC3 and Mampi Swift showed their appreciation as the Perth Crew let them know how much we wanted the Swift and IC3 to return.

Greg Packer stood up for the applause given the unenviable task of backing up to Mampi, or holding a dancefloor in dire need of a breather. It was around 4PM and Mampi left us wondering where the time went, but Greg Packer used his experience and his diverse crate to tempt the dancefloor back into full swing, with MC X-ssesive working well alongside on the mic. With a slamming Phuturistic Bluez mix on the front of this month’ s Knowledge mag, Packer is pushing the soulful sounds of drumnbass and this provided some nice flavours to contrast the heavy vibes of the previous set. Packer rewound the catchy High Contrast remix Its come to this, as the dancefloor started really moving again. He rolled on through a new Its Love Bootleg remix before taking it dark and rolling via the stabbing new Virus Recordings tune Goodfoot, fighting for release on Ed Rush & Optical’s new LP The Original Dr. Shade LP. Truly rolling through the tunes, Packer, and the dancefloor, seemed taken by surprise when Laidback stepped up and promptly scratched through the outro.

Giving himself a funky, scratched up intro Laidback shifted the vibe with no hesitation giving the breaks fans a vocal workout. The vocals aided in filling the room quickly as the breaks crew were jolted into action. My specialty being dnb, Laidback gave me some quality rest time and an escape from the heat inside, but the two hour slot left time to appreciate the lower BPMs. Laidback’s set entertained the breaks crew and got the dancefloor moving in different ways than it had previously, he found time for some more well known tunes blended well with some heavy breakbeats and some squeaking acid lines. A White Lines breaks remix, Shakedown’s massive Get Down, and Green Velvet’s La La Land all funked up the dancefloor before Laidback took things more downbeat. I was completely surprised to hear him play Nelly and Push It and though some on the dancefloor thought they had died and gone to commercial heaven, it left me longing for a drumnbass beat (& Considering why I could pick a Nelly song? wtf?).

Dazz K with the help of Ruffkut on the mic took control from Laidback, as things rearranged themselves and the punters were second guessing to the sounds of a Ring da Alarm garage-breaks remix. Dazz K did well considering the set time re arrangement and slightly restrictive door policy necessitating a queue for entry. He kept the dancefloor moving as his sound blurred between garage and breaks.

Frantik stepped up around 7:50 to take back the drumnbass control. He left nobody with any doubt about what they would hear from him, with the dark and nasty onslaught coming in like a freight train. Frantik was in the zone with relentless quick mixing, and at times overpowering, amen pressure. He left the tag team behind deciding to go right through, who could stop the man, leaving Mystique to drop her set after he was done. MC Assassin provided some support on the mic. Franitk lashed out Mo Fire, which got the inevitable rewind, and Distorted Minds controversial smash T minus 10. Frantik kept the tunes rolling until he handed over to Mystique for a shorter than usual set.

Mystique mixed it up some more liquid flavours, helped by the ever-present MK1 with a watchful eye and the touchy finger. MC Lurch tag teamed it with Assassin and Xssesive, though this was a day for the DJs with the sound system up so loud. Mystique rinsed through J Majik’s new Brazilian tinged Capoeira, as the crowd demanded a rewind. She kept up the mixing and again moved down deeper and darker with Dillinja’s new South Manz for the hand over to DJ Probe.

DJ Probe wasted no time keeping the darkness rolling, while the local MCs shared to the mic. Probe filled the spot left by DJ Fierce well, a KoolFM jock he is by no means inexperienced and his mixing and tune selection kept the dancefloor full and the weary crowd moving. His selection stayed more underground before opening up with some heavier, well known Dillinja tunes. Pushing it till the 11PM close, DJ Probe impressed the punters in attendance and printed his name into the local Perth crew’s minds.

A top day for drumnbass & breaks inside, with the perfect chilled contrast in Kruder and Dorfmeister outside. Being lucky enough to hear 4 drumnbass tunes from the main stage made my night with Mampi Swift easily taking the honours for the day. Those that missed the early set from the Swift & IC3, don’t make the same mistake next time.



33 1/3 Main Stage featuring Kruder & Dorfmeister and DJ Sneak reviewed by Calis

Sombrero’s, rather than umbrellas, were taken to Delirious since the sun was shining in stout defiance of the weather predictions. The UWA oak trees were barely rustled by the light wind. Perfect weather and excellent music made for a memorable end to the summer festivals.

Amongst the first to walk through the gates, we firstly familiarised ourselves with the layout of the various arenas and made our way to a shady area near the main stage under a beautiful oak tree. While contentedly sprawling out on the cool grass, local breakbeat DJ Koosh wrapped up with a fun mix of Cypress Hill’s Insane in the Brain.

Adam Kelly, a local favourite, stepped up to the decks and to my initial surprise played a tech house set that often diverted the attention of the DJ’s within our group away from flicking acorns at each other. A teasing remix of Opus III’s It’s a Fine Day, suggested that that Adam was planning on treating us with a few tracks from leftfield to enhance the fun atmosphere of the afternoon. The driving bassline relented briefly with a delicious sojourn into the ambivalent with Sasha’s Wavy Gravy. Entertainment was rife with Adam making us laugh with an intentional arms akimbo ‘DJ chicken dance’ over the mixer, but was also keeping us smiling with enjoyable tracks such as Sunscreem’s Perfect Motion. We could have contentedly listened to him dropping funky tracks all day, but Law had sidled up the decks ready to take over.



Having never heard Law play before, it was uncertain as to what direction he would take the music. He immediately sped up the pace a notch, keeping to the tech house and introducing a very slight tribal feel that faded occasionally to a synthesized piano. Merging these piano intervals with soft vocal overlays signposted a move into more vocal based tracks which provided excellent background tunes for the slowly expanding crowd around the main stage. Law ended with a flourish by dropping Audiodrive’s Remember When (Dirty Skankin’ Sounds), that ensured everyone was keen to check him out again in the near future.

Shortly after two o’clock, not to mention much anticipation, Clint W stepped up to the decks, and started with aplomb with Chief Rocker’s funky Gonna Make A Change, which immediately elicited applause from the crowd. Earlier on in the day the stage crew had looked dubious at their efforts to rearrange the right hand deck and CDJ 1000 so that it all rested on the stone base, and the reason why became apparent when Clint went to cut between records which had the unexpected result of the unbalanced mixer jarring the right hand deck. The impracticality of the setup was affirmed when a later, and gentler, cut caused the same unfortunate problem. However, to his credit, Clint forged on despite the bad setup significantly cramping his style and finished triumphantly on Blackmarket – That’s fareal.

Our House, comprising the Melbourne duo of Sean Quinn & Kasey Taylor, then opened for business with fairly easy paced progressive house that suited the afternoon mode. The lengthening tree shadows were hugged by expanding groups of seated groups, and when around two thirty a distinctively trance inspired edge and synths were introduced to the mix, a wide assortment of people started getting up for a relaxed dance at the front of the stage. There was a clear synergy between Sean and Kasey as they played, with Kasey occasionally Emu dancing behind the decks to the spiraling tunes such as Depeche Mode’s Only when I lose myself. After the Stanton Warriors Break me with you they dropped the tempo to fairly minimal progressive house with a focus on percussion which caused the dancing crowd to lose interest and thin out. Interest was piqued with Sasha’s Magnetic North being dropped, and again the fickle crowd was again in dance mode. The entire Oak Lawn resembled a giant chessboard with alternating patches of dancers and seated groups taking it more sedately while chatting to friends, which created a distinctly relaxed vibe as people did what they felt like.

Junkbeats (live) came on around five thirty to initially serenade the crowd with simple but enjoyable basslines with pan flute synth overlays. After both the crowd and Junkbeats warmed up, the pace was quickened and the music morphed into more intricate structured soundscapes that introduced a mellow vocal samples. Then the music dived into a yet faster bassline that had the majority of the crowd up and dancing along to. During the end of their set, DJ Sneak came onstage to checkout the setup and shook hands with the Junkbeats guys, and had few words of obvious compliment to Dave Basek in particular.

This signaled that DJ Sneak, a house DJ heavyweight who consistently is in the DJ Mag Top 100, was about to assault the crowd with his unique flavour of Chicago house laced with hip hop and disco filtered vocals and a large dose of dance inducing funk. To say he had a large ‘stage presence’ would be an understatement. He loomed over the decks, like a ghetto Godfather – effortlessly manipulating the mixer and vigilantly observing his dominion. He started with panache, moving through artists such as Prince to Missy Eliot, and then hit a crowd pleaser with Skee-lo’s I Wish. Progressing to a deeper house sound with a cymbal focus, with porn ‘ooh oooh ooohh!’ samples that led up to Underworld’s Two Months Off. This anthemic track had the crowd applauding and jumping in the purple and gold lights that tracked over the crowd.




However the exuberance within the crowd during Two Month’s Off quickly died when Sneak moved on to more tech orientated tracks comprised of simple melodies with electric piano and a soft saxophone as counterbalance with the occasional spoken word vocal. This proved too dry for most, but Sneak read the crowd well and switched both media and direction and kicked off the CDJ 1000’s with more vocal tracks. This achieved an immediate resurgence of dancing and the crowd continued to thicken as more people on the sidelines started dancing in earnest and in response to the palpable anticipation in the air for the appearance of Kruder and Dorfmeister.

As soon as Sneak finished to modest applause from the crowd, the stage crew hurriedly moved in to clear the stage and wheel the entire deck setup offstage. While this happened the barricades that had previously stopped people from dancing right up next to the stage were opened by security. People inquisitively crowded forward, wondering what was going to happen since the stage appeared empty.

The haunting echoes of Roni Size’s Heroes (Kruder’s Long Loose Bossa remix) teased the cheering crowd until the red velvet curtain that had hung behind the original deck setup opened revealing K&D’s imposing stage setup. Encircling the entire stage was an impressive visual display that Fritz Fitzke controlled via laptop on the left hand side of stage. Richard Dorfmeister was behind the central setup of decks, CDJ’s, and efx units, his passive demeanour belying his attentiveness to mixing all the elements and smoothly progressing onto Count Basic’s Speechless. In front of the decks was a lamp and couch which provided the feel that you truly were in K&D’s lounge room. However this intimate environment was soon upstaged by the mustached and bearded MC Sugar B, whose peculiar shuffle dancing and facial expressions drew the attention of the crowd. Not even the psychedelic visuals of flower shapes that merged in a kaleidoscope of colours over the top of animated speakers synchronized to the bass could divert from MC Sugar’s dancefloor antics.

Sugar soon pulled a girl up from the crowd to dance with him onstage, and then proceeded to pull a succession of dancers, including our very own irrepressible Frenchman Nvautier, up to join him on stage. It was an entertaining diversion from K&D’s regression into bland minimalist soundscapes and digitized warblings from MC Sugar. However the originally well intended idea of having people dancing onstage turned sour when some of the dancers started pulling their friends onstage. Inattentive crowd control by the lax security meant that this continued unabated until the stage was flooded with sweaty exhibitionists. Organisers finally rallied security into clearing the stage. After a while, approximately ten people were selected from the crowd by Sugar in another attempt to create an involving atmosphere. The sight of members of the crowd dancing onstage was heightened by the intriguing visuals of flickering 50’s video clips in purple sepia tone, outlines of old men talking, random flashes of the logo of K&D’s record label G-Stone, surfboarding, collapsing kaleidoscope squares and many other apparitions which seductively lulled you into the music.

Along with regaining control over their stage, Richard Dorfmeister also reclaimed control over the music with delicate vocals over a more involving bassline that firmly put the crowd back into the groove. Dorfmeister started with a mesmerizing Chicane-esque melody loop that was then added to with a myriad of sound layers. First a lone saxophone, then synth chords that pierced the darkness that then climbed in urgency till a harpsichord relieved the musical tension. Then the entire sequence was ruthlessly deconstructed till the jarring change to Jobim’s classic The Girl From Ipanema. The familiar lyrics softened the change from the hypnotic soundscape and inspired some of the onstage dancers to pair up and twirl in the spirit of the music. This brief sojourn into Latin America was ended with a spectacular Tennessee mouth organ sample that the crowd applauded.

While MC Sugar handed out Easter eggs to the delight of the front row audience, Peter Kruder appeared onstage and took over the musical reigns. His skill was evident in the intricate soundscapes frequently peppered with female vocals that flowed effortlessly while visuals of acrobats swinging on ropes attached to the initials ‘K&D’ alternated with a postcard picture of the Marx Brothers. A water escapade soundscape erupted with the luscious sound of a filtered Spanish guitar that was reminiscent of the Conversions album. Punters were then rewarded with a drum & bass mix of Goldtrixx Trippin that then merged into Daft Punk style filtered vocals urging the crowd ‘shake it baby!’. The crowd definitely was shaking their booty.

However it was the finale that had us kicking off our shoes, relaxing our feet, and rolling up our sleeves for the lyrical treat Bomb the Bass’s Bug Powder Dust! Everyone went wild and the stage lights flew out over the crowd creating a wash of colour, while Kruder mixed in various small porn vocal samples (akin to the end of ‘Gotta Jazz’) to create a unique version of a classic K&D remix. The last sample echoed out and then silence heralded the end of a truly memorable three hours and forty minutes of Kruder & Dorfmeister.

It had been a very memorable day – eleven hours of great music that on the main stage had ranged from tech house to drum and bass. However it was time to reluctantly go home and pack away the sombreros till they would be required next summer.

Can’t wait.



Plastik House and Techno Stage featuring Anthony Rother (live) and Stanny Franssen reviewed by Nutty


It was time for another party at U.W.A. Oak Lawn for good times, friendly people and a sweet sound system in an intimate setting. Easter Sunday saw the day in at “DELIRIOUS SUMMER FESTIVAL” for a magical day and night. Blue sky’s and sunshine plus a great line-up in the PLASTIC HOUSE & TECHNO STAGE kept many tekkers happy and energised.

As I entered the event it brought back similar memories of Sunshine People and Ministry Chillout Sessions. There seems to be something about outdoor dance events that makes you feel like a little kid going to the Royal Show. Hugs were exchanged with what seemed like an endless stream of familiar faces.

To the left side was the Loaded Dice DnB & Breaks Stage, set up like a nightclub. Indoors, dark, hot and full of bright lights.
To the middle the 33 & 1/3 Outside Stage, what an amazing aura it had, with a large grassed area surrounded by trees.
To the far back was the Plastic House & Techno Stage. Although small it reminded me of an amphitheatre set-up with a dance floor in the middle and steps all around the sides. It seemed to lack on presentation, I felt that more colour & possibly some visuals would have given the stage a more party like atmosphere.

Early in the day James A vs Nic Tan had things moving along very nicely. Blending in some funky Detroit house and percussive techno.

Warren 10 Vs Adam Kytka played a favourite house track of mine Blair Neccessities Life remix.

Puff kicked off next pumping out some delightful techno. His selection was definitely upbeat but unfortunately the dance floor was going to waste. Two thumbs up for the small crowd of groovers that were dancin’, shakin’ & boppin’. Some tracks played by Kane – Adam Beyer Signal 9, DJ Rush Spare Man, Renato Cohen Pontape.



Commander Tom was up next and to be honest this guy rocked. I found my feet starting to move as he provided us with a nice selection of beats. He played a hardier, doofier style that most certainly got the dance floor PUMPED. Dropping a track Tomas Krome Shokabuku, a nice warm up to get us excited about a night of techno.

Cee Vs Tamar provided up with some great sounds like Nitzer Ebb – Let your body learn remix and Yoshitoshi. The numbers were looking good & everyone seemed to getting caught up in the happy vibe. Closing their set with Chiapet – West World.

After several hours of delicious techno Chad D Vs Boy played us some funky Tech House. I was quite impressed by some of Chad’s track selections which I recall hearing at DC’s BLOODSUGAR on 12/4/03.

At this point I decided to take a quick peak in the Outside Stage at DJ SNEAK. The House pioneer certainly had a large audience, perhaps the largest of the day & night. After a boogie on the grass I returned to hear Troy Vs Mrw.

By now it was starting to get dark and the Chinese Lanterns placed around & above the stage were lit up. There seemed to be an ambient feeling out back with Troy getting the crowd excited with some hard-hitting techno. Playing some melodic selections and good use of the faders to chop & cut across tracks. MrW kicked off from where Troy left, mixing away enthusiastically. He played some thumping tunes for the true sweaty believers and kept the ball rolling nicely for the much awaited Anthony Rother.

As the German pioneer of Electro appeared on the stage I noticed him wearing a headset. I was amazed to see all his equipment that he was about to use. From what I could see a
· Laptop running Cubase 3.0.5 – his sequencer
· 3 x Level Stand consisting of
1. RZ-10
2. Roland Alpha Juno 2 – synth used for basslines et al
3. Clavia Nord Micro Modular – Midi control keyboard
· Another Micro Modular – a second sequencer
· Yamaha Pro 01V-24 channel mixing console
· Drum Controller
· Access Virus – analog synth
· Pioneer EFX-500

Wow – now that’s impressive!!!

Music is a conversation with Anthony Rother. It’s a conversation with him and the crowd, made with the body talk that he has with all his machines. He is responsible for some of the most influential electro records such as Little Computer People remixes like Sven Vaths Schubduse.

His live set consisted of laidback electro sounds as he talked through the headset with live vocals & the Micro Modual was used for vocoder effects. This was truly an interactive experience and definitely emotional. There was something about this guy that gave the crowd MUSIC on a personal level. A huge applause to ROTHER for playing an extended LIVE set. It was definitely the most interesting set in this room all day & night.




Lucky last for the day was Stanny Franssen who cranked out some thumpin, pumpin techno. He was pushing the techno boundaries mixing & scratching away like a MAD MAN. I spent most of this set with a large energised crowd, which I can only describe as dance floor mayhem. This was techno in the raw, just what the punters had come for. A few tracks noted by the man himself VOODOO AMT - FRISBEE, TERMINAL M 021 - STANNY FRANSSEN, BAZZ 2 VOCAL22 – STANNY FRANSSEN.

As I looked around there appeared to be many sweaty & tired tekkers who Franssen did not let down. Just when we thought the night had come to a close, not one but two final mixes were in store. It was here that everyone jumped for joy for another groove.

An outstanding effort from Stanny Franssen for not only playing an extended set but for giving us the rapturous beat of techno. I most certainly hope this man comes back to our shores again.