It’s been a few months since we last delved into the career-defining records of a DJ we admire, and who better than Sean Quinn to bring this feature series back?

Melbourne’s reputation as a dance music capital was forged by DJs like Quinn, who also had the auspicious honour of mixing the first edition in the now-iconic Balance series. While he’s an accomplished producer, it’s the man’s attention to the dynamics of a DJ set that have made him a local hero.

This weekend in Melbourne Quinn will headline Darkbeat Local Sessions 004 with three hours of his latest weapons and one hour of classics. It’s fitting, then, that he would tell us about some of the time-honoured tracks that define his love for electronic music. Here are ten classic records in the DJ’s own words.

New Order – Ceremony

“The first New Order single but was actually written as Joy Division. Ian Curtis hanged himself so Bernard re-sang the vocal and it was released under the New Order moniker. The progression of this band would ultimately lead me from British guitar-driven indie music into the world of electronica.”

FPI Project – Rich In Paradise

“Anthemic piano infused Italo house with a huge diva vocal. This was my first introduction to the euphoric big room style of vocal house music. A timeless tune.”

Quazar – The Seven Stars (Dragonfighters Remix)

“A gigantic, all-encompassing slab of brooding techno that shaped my appreciation of the genre. This was one of the first records that I was originally introduced to in a rave environment that then crossed over to the clubs, wreaking havoc everywhere it was dropped. It has all the hallmarks of the day, from 909 percussion to ever-evolving, analogue modulation synth madness.”

Moby – Move (Kid Paul Remix)

“An iconic fast-paced mix of slamming percussion and gigantic sweeping synth chord progression that never fails to make hairs stand on end. The minimal, stripped-back breakdown builds to a crescendo that will extract a scream out of even the most well-behaved audience.”

Sunscreem – Perfect Motion (Boy’s Own Mix)

“A genre-defining progressive house record. Another one lifted from the seminal Sasha & Digweed Renaissance mix, this piece of Farly and Heller audio chocolate fused an indie vocal with prog beats and emotive strings that effortlessly shift into a sublime key change at just the right moment. Guaranteed to have you singing “if rhythm’s a drug I’m hooked on you” as the sun breaks through the Perspex roof at Savage.”