In the midst of his first ever tour of Australia – proudly presented by Civil Society and inthemix – we’ve got this recording of his set from the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney, Saturday January 12th for ITM-FM. Playing for a mammoth 5 hours, here you can hear an exclusive excerpt. Stay tuned for part 2!
“I’ve still got that kind of childish glee about seeing the look on people’s faces when they hear something for the first time,” says Andrew Weatherall of his approach to DJing. “I’m what you might describe as the classic underachiever. I tread that fine line between boffin-dom and the grand amateur.”
What can be said about Andrew Weatherall that that hasn’t been said already? The swaggering original moody DJ? The pop star producer? Bastion of the underground?. Peerless explorer of the minimal techno sound? Arch grumbler? Londoner? Honorary Yorkshireman? All these notions have been bandied about by punters and critics alike in a bid to pin down Weatherall’s role in music. None of them quite fit the bill but one thing is for sure – the guy is a legend, plain and simple.
From his early production work with the likes of Primal Scream (he was responsible for their groundbreaking ‘Screamadelica’) and My Bloody Valentine to his remix work with the likes of New Order (‘World In Motion’) and Happy Mondays (‘Hallelujah’) to his recorded work as Sabres of Paradise and Two Lone Swordsmen he consistently blurred boundaries and made incredible, inspirational music.
Whilst his DJ sets at the Chemical Brother’s seminal Heavenly Social nights and more recently at clubs like Fabric prove he can still cut it on the dancefloor – he also teaches many of the young tech house turks how to make ‘dark’ dance music funky.
And whenever Weatherall starts feeling like he’s had enough of techno, he goes back to his roots in rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll and dub, understanding that the visceral energy of any good dance music is the same as in a good rockabilly song. It’s about making music WITH machines, not by machines.
