The Word on EDM/Dance Music with AEGIPAN SAMARAWICKRAMA
G’day dancefloor denizens! Chief Lunatic and Ordained Bass Minister Pan ‘ere, back with another low-down on Canberra’s burgeoning EDM scene.
It’s been a wild couple of months in the ‘Berra, hasn’t it? The temperatures have been low, but our spirits have been high, and there hasn’t been a shortage of solid gigs to stomp our feet to.
Those keeping up with underground goings-on would well know that Headz are Rolling threw two Royal Rollers free gigs at Reload during July, featuring a slew of local talent, including Baxter, Crooked Sounds, Killadon, Notes N Keys and, of course, Tidy & Samwise themselves.
The beauty of these pay-free parties is that you get bass-curious folks walking through the door as well as all of those beautiful, familiar faces that we love, and the money that would have been spent on a ticket can go towards a couple of extra drinks or even a feed next door at Token.
With another Royal Rollers in late August and again in early September, it’s shaping up as a significant boost for the scene’s vitality and growth.
Headz Gigs
Speaking of Headz gigs, how nuts was Mark N? It’s damned cool seeing selectahs spinning good ol’ fashioned vinyl.
We were also treated to two stages jam-packed with homies’ killer beats. Burley Bassweight kicked the night off with a most delectable set, up-and-comer Baxter followed up with his dependably grin-inducing styling, and Loose Cannon shook things up following Mark N’s legendary performance.
Believe it or not, the Headz crew have another absolute cracker on the horizon, this time in the guise of UK’s Bailey, who will play the Pot Belly on Friday, 18 October. One of the world’s most in-demand drum and bass selectahs, Bailey’s career reaches as far back as the movement’s early days. Do not miss it!
FKING HOT was… well… fking hot! Took me a good couple of days for my body to recover; holy smokes what a workout that was. The night featured a great diversity of genres, from house to techno to drum ‘n’ bass. If you enjoyed Symonston Greyhound Club as a venue, hit up the Vision Music Festival there on Saturday, 14 December. Line-up is still TBA, but with Vision at the helm, it’s sure to be a ripper of a party. Keep your eyes on their website for announcements and register for pre-sale tix!
The Times Music Festival
On Saturday, 14 September, the old Canberra Times building along Pirie Plaza in Fyshwick is being repurposed for The Times Music Festival.
This one’s an absolute blast from the past, as we’ve got Sneaky Sound System, Bag Raiders, Mousse T., The Potbelleez, Nick Skitz, Kid Kenobi and a heap more coming to town.
Reliving times past while making new memories sounds like a damned fun time if you ask me. Last min tickets are still available via Intix.
Subterranean Soundscapes
Finally, on Saturday, 2 November, we’ve got Subterranean Soundscapes at Transit Bar, celebrating Halloween with a night of dark techno. Yxshi, Jordos, Mules, Bebn, and Sersh are set to take us through a spectacularly spooky night. Tickets start at 10 dollars via Eventbrite.
Amsterdam Dance Event
Here’s one most will be unable to attend but deserves a shout-out nonetheless – former columnist and seriously talented dude Kazuki, along with seven Australian and New Zealand artists on the Late Night Music label, are a part of this year’s Amsterdam Dance Event. And they’re bringing an incredibly creative project… They’ve stripped the music from the iconic Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and created a reimagined soundtrack for it, both of which will be played in a cinema decked out in designs inspired by the film. I reeeeally wish I could jet over to that part of the globe to check it out! Such originality deserves to be celebrated.
Dragon Dreaming Festival
Finally in show news, it is my great honour to give a big shout-out to the international and interstate female DJs, producers, and singer-songwriters performing at this year’s Dragon Dreaming Festival.
- LUCIDREAM, Producer Winner
- VIXXIE, DJ Winner
- Amelie Ecology, Performer Winner
- Zuki, Visual Artist Winner
- Obsqura, Cultivators of Nonsense & The Woosah Space, Handmade Winners
- 30.5mm, Photographer Winner
- Emrys McNamara, Art Install Winner
The Hatchling Competition is an innovative way to kickstart newcomers’ careers and get fresh blood at the festival. You love to see it. [edit so much we did a whole story on it on pg 31]
New Music!
With gigs touted, it’s time to feast on some new tunes!
United Beats Records released the 2nd instalment of the Next Generation comp back in July, featuring a stack of psytrance artists with tracks set to wreak havoc on many-a dancefloor.
Most notable among them are local duo Biscuit Bytes with their Pantastic tune The Lost Soul. We’re all super proud of this first release from our wonderful homies. Less than a week after release, The Lost Soul sat at #27 on the Beatport charts, so clearly, they’re doing something right!
At August’s end, Soliq Records release Humanizm’s The Collective Singularity EP, featuring three original mixes and three remixes of those tracks by Lightcamo, JNTN, and Synaptic (IN).
Everything Soliq is worth your time, mustering up serious talent for its releases and parties.
It’s been seven long years since the first Kosmological Conspiracy comp came out, but the second has arrived! Kos.Mos.Music presents a subgenre showcase, incl. atmospheric, techstep, liquid, drumfunk, jungle, and deep drum ‘n’ bass. AND it’s the first of two carefully curated volumes, so no seven-year itch this time.
D’ya like your drum ‘n’ bass filthy? Gnarly? Brutal, even? Then Leaf’s SOUNDCLASH EP is right up your alley. This is MY kind of drum and bass – ripper breaks and thick, thick bass. This one’s going straight to the car stereo to further rattle the speakers’ screws.
Chomping at the bit for the extra hypnotic? Look no further than Ritual Resonance by Porat. This deep, proggy psytrance is emotive and full of tribal energy. Porat’s been developing quite the signature sound, once again delivering pulsating grooves and massive atmos.
Honourable mentions for shorter releases go out to Artmis track Goblin Land, bringing back the old-school psytrance sound with modern energy, and Electric Universe, with their powerful-as-hell, Mongolia.
Non-EDM Earworms
As with the previous column, I’m also gifting a couple of non-EDM earworms for extra sonic diversity:
Fresno band Farooq is an all time fave. Lovers of angry, groovy, metallic hardcore simply MUST check out their Heat LP. It’s a wall-to-wall masterpiece of frenzied riffs and meaty breakdowns with fiery, poignant lyrics from highly talented frontman Daniel Dominguez.
Dark Nordic folk group Heilung released their second live album and accompanying concert film Lifa: Iotungard. This music is engineered to alter your consciousness with hypnotic chanting, powerful rhythms, and lyrics pulled from dead, ancient languages. They’re touring Oz in November, too, and I can happily attest that there are few live shows that are more transcendental and thunderous.
That’s all from me for this issue. As always, drop me a line if you have any juicy leads for me to cover, and I’ll see you on the dancefloor! – AEGIPAN101@GMAIL.COM
