We’ve entered the final weeks of 2008, and the countdown for our New Years Eve celebrations have officially begun. One particular dance music icon who’s set to enjoy the peak of Australia’s party season is Subliminal Records chief Erick Morillo. He’ll be kicking the evening off with a set at Sensation’s debut in Melbourne, after which point he’ll be hopping straight into a Lear Jet and flying to Sydney to drive it home for Pacha at Home Nightclub. Morillo promises that, not unlike his last legendary visit to Sydney in 2007, he’ll be playing a set that will go well into the late hours of the morning. In fact, Morillo tells ITM that Sydney is one of only three cities in the entire world that gets to enjoy such marathon performances.

“New York, Miami and Sydney. These are the only places that I do it. Those are the only cities where I’ve found the crowd is really geared up for it, and I’ve really developed a culture of doing it over the years,” he told ITM. Pacha in New York and Space in Miami are the two clubs that regularly enjoy extended DJ sets from Morillo, performances that often stretch as far as midday the next day, but he nominates Sydney as the only other city outside the US that gets to see him in full flight.

“It goes back to one of the first times I visited Sydney and I played Sublime,” Morillo says, referring to the clubbing brand’s original home at Pitt Street in the late 90s. “I was meant to stop playing at five in the morning but I just kept going, and the people just stayed. It’s one of those things that doesn’t happen very often, but let me put it this way. If I have a crowd that will stay with me, I love DJing so I’ll play for 20 hours if I can. It’s all about having a crowd that gives you the energy to keep you going.” Who knows how long he’ll play for this NYE?

Stay tuned for ITM’s full-length feature interview with Erick Morillo next week, as we kickoff the countdown to what’s set to be Australia’s biggest NYE ever.