by Taran M
When it comes down to brass tacks, we all know which city in Melbourne will forever hold the title of Australia’s electronic music capital and it is of course…Melbourne.
From the very first times I started going out, on reflection it was always clear to me that there is something special about the Melbourne scene. Whether it be Progressive, Tech, Psy, Hard trance, electro, drum and bass our beautiful city carries its flag highly on our mantelpiece.
So why does Melbourne work? Why is it possible? Who wrote the book on love and why does the toilet flush when I haven’t even pressed the button; I think I am digressing a touch.
From the time I first started going out late last century (no really 1997!) the thing even as a newbie party goer that I noticed was that the different genre’s of electronic, majorly techno, House and trance/ hard house all intertwined in some way. Whilst purists and pundits did exist there was co-existence and intermingling between all factions. From its inception Hardware insisted on blending tech and house, there CD releases on Shock Records would be split into a house disc and a techno disc. From the onset of both Hard Kandy and Bass Station, Hard trance and house music and electro was always paralleled albeit in a side room. Hard Kandy went as far as having two house DJ’s playing on rotation for warm up sets. The much famed and missed NRG parties run by smile Police always encouraged a plethora of music styles and whilst very much a “rave” spectacle never failed to mix genres on any stage at any time. This establishment of diversity and working together basically galvanised relationships and genre based promoters. And while at any given period a genre can hold popular demand it has never been seen to issue “coup d’état” amongst the others.
All you have to do is look at the festivals that Melbourne holds to understand exactly how deep Melbourne’s scene runs. Since the hallowed Days of Every Picture tells a story, Belfast and the early years of Hardware there has always been an “Enjoy Music” at major events. Rainbow Serpent, Summerdayze, Welcome, Good Vibrations, Stereosonic, Hot BBQ, and Future music are festivals that Bred from Melbourne promoters and have become state and even national success stories. At grass roots smaller scale promoters have been encouraged more than discouraged by the bigger promoters. More so Melbourne has bred promoters to appreciate the party more than the cash. It is amazing how quite a few of the middle tier production companies run at next to nothing budget’s just to throw a party, just to get people shaking it…like a 35mm picture.
There has never really been any such “stand over” tactics by larger scale promotion companies to undermine smaller event organisers. There is a healthy buffer and intermingling between the likes of lower, middle and upper tier promoters that helps breed a pro active approach to maintaining and growing electronic music. There is always going to be the fuckwit promoter who doesn’t pay his DJ or the arrogant, self absorbed money hungry promoter/ rapist that springs up from time to time. The only problem is that us promoters all talk to each other in one form or the other and sooner or later the evangelistic, fly by night promoter is found out, I can think of a few that have all to quickly sunk under their ego’s own mistakes.
It’s always going to be about the talent and in the words of Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing “We’re chock full of that!”. Australia’s first two early superstar DJ’s came from the Melbourne scene, Will E Tell and Richie Rich. I think sometimes we are spoilt to the point of under appreciation of the amount of talent around in Melbourne. Whether they be DJ’s or producers the quality of the gene pool in Melbourne cannot be under estimated. Whether you’ve loved Hard trance/ house, love it now or hate it with a passion; you cannot ignore the talent we have in Melbourne. The original Kandy crew of Scott Alert, Ajax and Krash are still some of the most talented producers and Dj’s you will find. NFX is one of those producers that can only be truly found once in a blue moon (I think we can claim Dr. Willis as well!).
Producers of all genres whether it be the Progressive/ tech stylings of Blinky (Beat Geek Records), the tech house/ electro antics of Kalus, Trance extraordinaire Steve May (5am/ Armada) showcase the depth of Melbourne’s talent. So much so that many of the above names have featured on the set lists and podcasts of such international stars as Dubfire, Armin Van Burren, Tiesto and Carl Cox. We can’t forget our biggest national dance music export, TV Rock who also hail from our beloved city. We have even thrown a major contender into the ever popular “Mash arena” in the vein of Substance’s own Mouka. Seriously this guy makes Girl Talk sound like a poor man’s Bob Hope. To list the talent in Melbourne in terms of DJing would require an almost dictionary like bible. Melbourne is “Spin city” a haven for the master of the pioneer, mac and now the almost extinct 1200’s.
Finally this article would be a miss without giving praise to the Melbourne crowd. I have partied in every city and played in most of them as well and I can easily say that WE ARE THE SHIT! You won’t find a friendlier crowd on a dance-floor than in Melbourne. More so Melbourne’s regular punters don’t just go out, they live and breathe the scene. Not so much as scenesters, but more as crowds that love their music, support their cause and promote our city for what it is, the centre of Australia’s electronic music scene.
It was on a cramped and especially humid Sydney nightclub where the initial concept for Substance was born in my head. Sitting on the side of the stage behind the side curtain I watched an ambient figure cut through a crowd like hot butter. You have to remember this was before Boys Noise, Justice and The Bloody Beetroots had made banging electro sound like a Yamaha home organ had slept with a 303 and ate two spoonfuls of Jacked. Electro house was still very much an upcoming genre, with more basic synth arrangements and less abrasive bass kicks. Right now I am justifying my own reasons for being a fan of electro house, but it was heading out and listening to electro that prompted me to consider re-igniting my passion with the decks and more so my own event…..
