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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! |
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Macey’s Oz + Thailand Tour – Feb/Mar 2005
Reported by Macey
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Submitted 26-04-05 10:14
Willesden legend Macey has been an active player and keen scene party animal for years now. His djing just keeps getting better and better, as do the line ups for his promotion Torque. Resident at Willesden's Warped on Wednesdays, he's played for some of the best parties in the capital, including Addiction, Heat and Twisted, and if he's not behind the decks you can usually find him giving it loads on the dancefloor with his crew. As well as having played for Heat in Ibiza, Macey is also responsible for the notorious Torque boat parties, which HarderFaster highly recommends.
In February Macey took a break from London and travelled to Thailand and his native Australia. In typical Macey style, he had an absolute blast. Fortunately for HarderFaster, he kept a travel diary, which he now shares exclusively with us...
February 17th
The party tour begins like all others—a sleepless night before I get on the plane to Bangkok. Not sleepless as in too excited to sleep, rather no time to go to bed as I am flat out getting my shit together so I have everything I need to help make the tour a success. Am still burning/labelling promo cds, as I’m packing my bags before getting to Heathrow early so as I can check in early hoping to avoid the possibility of being charged for my excessive baggage.
From Bangkok I catch a flight to Koh Samui where I arrive at 9pm. I check into a lush resort in Chaweng for the night as the ferries to Koh Phan Ngan have long since finished for the day.
I decide to take a stroll down the infamous Chaweng main strip which is bustling with tourists at 11pm looking for bargains in the many shops and stalls selling the usual t-shirts, cds and dvds. There are also heaps of bars and I am constantly accosted by local thai girls and the odd lady boy wanting me to join them for a drink.
Next morning I’m up early and check out of resort hoping to catch midday ferry to Thong Sala. However the receptionist at hotel failed to tell me it’s a 45 minute drive to the pier where the ferry leaves from, so I can’t make the ferry in time, and the next ferry is not for 2.5 hours. There is another ferry that goes to Haad Rin, which is on the other side of the island, so I decide to catch it as I need to get there before sunset, as I don’t want to miss the wedding ceremony.
Whilst waiting for the ferry at The Big Bhudda Pier I am fortunate enough to run into a couple of friends, Steve and Kat who have been travelling overland from London back to Australia. It is great to catch up with them and hear of their travels.
After a bumpy, dusty taxi ride I arrive at a beautiful beach surrounded by Thai bungalows. My friends who are tying the knot, Sarah and Troy, have been flat out organising their beach side wedding. Along with the usual headaches involved with organising a wedding, they had the difficulties of the language barrier to overcome. And overcome they did, to put on a magnificent wedding for over 60 guests. They had some turntables shipped out especially from Koh Samui so I could play at their reception. So after a wonderful ceremony and wicked feed I had a mix and the revellers stayed on the dancefloor until nearly 5am and the police who’d been paid to stay away, did.
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After another few days of chilling out I headed back to Haad Rin for The Full Moon Party. I was hoping to be able to organise a gig at this world famous party. I managed to jack up a set at The Vinyl Club but unfortunately they didn’t have any turntables, only CD decks so I had to pass as I only had vinyl to spin.
The Full Moon Party is definitely something to experience, with the whole beach full of revellers. There are about 8 or 9 different sound systems on the beach, most of them about 20K or thereabouts and they try and blast each other off the beach. Subsequently, unless you’re standing in the right place, two or more sound systems clash together and it sounds like a bad mix. From the Full Moon it was straight to the ferry then a flight to Bangkok. A few hours of people watching at Bangkok Airport, before catching a flight to Melbourne.
I arrived in Melbourne on Saturday 26th February and had a gig lined up for the same evening, so it was straight into it. PHD has been a hugely successful weekly after party operating on a Saturday morning at a venue called Altitude for over 3 years. To celebrate this they decided to throw a Saturday night party. The theme for the occasion was a Pyjama Party and was held at the Hi Fi Bar on Swanston Walk. It was great to see the best part of 1000 punters going for it on the dance floor, many of them sporting a variety of styles of pyjamas.
There were two rooms in operation and the main room had some good lighting and lasers. There were also several large screens featuring some fine vjing by Calvinator and company. The line up consisted of top line local djs and was finished in style by PHD promoter Soul-T.
The following Friday, March 4th, I was fortunate to be asked to play at BPM’s 3rd Birthday @ Altitude. I had been lucky enough to play at their 2nd birthday last year when I was back in Oz, and I had a great time so was keen to get amongst it. I was well looked after by BPM promoters Craig Jon and Will. But missed catching up with BPM guru, Ben Kakosche who was touring out in Sth America at the time.
BPM has a harder edged sound than many of the Melbourne clubs, and it was interesting to see very few shufflers on the dance floor. For those that haven’t been clubbing in Melbourne before, they have their own distinctive dance style, known as the Melbourne Shuffle. It is a style that is great to watch, but from a dj’s perspective you need to keep an eye on your BPM’s, as the shufflers prefer it around or under 150bpm. If you smash it out for too long at high speed, then you risk burning the dance floor out.
So as I said, there were few shufflers at BPM this evening, and before going on I’d had quite a few requests to really bang it out. So never one to disappoint I did just that and the crowd loved it. Taking over from Benny Drohan who had the floor shakin with his hard trancy numbers I had a most enjoyable 1.5 hours serving it up to an eager dancefloor, before handing over to Craig Jon, whose darker edged beats had them screaming for more when the lights came on at 6am.
The following evening I had a gig of a different kind, something I hadn’t done for quite a few years, a 21st birthday. Krystle, a friend who I had met on one of my visits back home a few years ago, was celebrating hers and wanted me to come and throw a few tunes on. I was quite excited as we were driving to the party, as it had been a good many years since I’d been to an Aussie 21st.
I was initially a bit taken back as unbeknown to me, it was a semi formal do and I certainly wasn’t kitted up in what could be called semi formal attire. Not to worry, there was—as you’d expect at a 21st—plenty of piss to be drunk and heaps of food on hand if you wanted to attempt to soak it up.
I was due to go on after the most entertaining and enlightening speeches. Taking over from the previous dj who was grooving them with some funky house I pushed the tempo up a bit, which I think might have shocked a few of the older relatives, but seemed to get a good reaction from most of the crew in attendance. Unfortunately had to cut it short as had to head to another party, had great fun, cheers Krystle.
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From there me and my able bodied driver for the evening, Matty Lawry, jumped into his $25 a week rent-a-wreck bomb and drove back into town, heading to one of my favourite clubs in Melbourne, Krankin.
Krankin has been throwing parties at a small underground venue in Geddes Lane (underneath Inflation) every Saturday night for the past 3 years. No mean feat given the volatility of the scene, but main man John K’s simple philosophy of throwing parties in an attitude free friendly environment rings true and there is always an up for it dancefloor @ Krankin… This time round was no exception. It was great to look out into the crowd and see so many familiar faces, including plenty of the London crew who had come down for a bit of a stomp. I enjoyed sets by evergreen Nick Compound, and caught my first set by Jestar, who was getting right into it behind the decks. I’m looking forward to playing my last gig there on the 26th March before I head back to London.
The following weekend (11—12 March) was Labour Day, which meant a public holiday on the Monday, wicked. The weekend kicked off on Thursday evening, where I was lined up for a spin at Elevation @ Altitude.
Altitude really is a popular venue on the Melbourne hard dance scene. Its compact size (about 200—250 capacity) seems to make it popular with both punters and promoters.
I had checked out Elevation the previous Thursday and was amazed at the friendly up for it vibe there, especially since it was a Thursday night. This time round there was the same vibe and plenty of crew keen to lash it midweek. It reminded me of a Warped on Wednesdays crowd but, instead of finishing at midnight like we do in London on a Wednesday nite, the longer licensing laws in Australia allow the party to kick until 6am. And I mean kick, with around 100 punters still going strong when the lights came on.
Elevation has been running every Thursday for over 3 years and is headed up by promoter and dj Andy Golden. Andy has built a loyal following during this time and is now a regular at many of Melbourne’s hard dance clubs. His set accompanied by a bit of back2back with O-Tek had the place heaving.
Friday night came round all too fast after yet another crack on session kicked into the hot summery afternoon. Tonight was Hard Kandy’s first foray back to its original home Billboard, so it was shaping up to be a big one. Hard Kandy is a bit of a Melbourne institution having run every Friday for just over 5 years. They’ve recently had a change of format and now do a weekly Friday party called Trauma @ Brown Alley and Hard Kandy is held every couple of months at its traditional home, Billboard.
When I arrived the place was already packed and buzzin along nicely to Richie Braic’s set. I caught up with some old friends, great to see ya briefly, Davina. It was the second time I’ve played there and the refurb the place has had since last time was definitely noticeable. I really enjoyed my set and reckon my mixing was the tightest it had been so far on the tour.
I handed over to Melbourne legend Jeremy K who kept em jumpin and was followed by Andy Golden and the evening was finished off in style by Hard Kandy godfather Scott Alert.
We then all headed across the road to party on @ PHD. From there a pleasant afternoon was had cheering on a few nags at the races at Flemington.
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On the Saturday night I didn’t have a gig so it was great to be able to checkout a slightly different sort of club and catch up with one of my good London mates, Electra, who was performing at a fetish club called Abode in St Kilda. This is a private members’ and their guests only party. Fetish wear, however, was not compulsory and it was strange seeing some people fully kitted up in fetish gear amongst those in street wear. There was a very friendly vibe with the floor grooving to dirty funky electro beats. There was a separate chill lounge and a whipping room.
Upstairs it was very much like what I have experienced at Torture Garden and the layout was similar to Sahara Nights in King's Cross, where TG have done some parties. With another room playing mainly funky house and a series of playrooms. From what I saw it appears the fetish scene is very much alive and kickin in Melbourne.
Sunday was to be spent at my mate, Timmy 2Cool’s warehouse style pad in North Richmond. The early afternoon was spent setting up the decks on the upper level looking out to the large outdoor deck area which had awesome views of the city. We also had the BBQ, which we never got around to cooking anything on, and the obligatory London blow up paddling pool to keep the crew cool and refreshed, as it was a 30 odd degree day.
Had a great turn out with people coming and going all night. Many to the massive Two Tribes party, which was being held up the road at The National Tennis Centre. Was a great catch up with many London and local friends dropping round. I kicked on til about Monday lunchtime, those still standing took off for the pub and I got some well earned sleep.
The following weekend (March 19-20) I had been booked to play a gig in Sydney. So on Wednesday arvo, Keg, who had recently arrived from NZ and myself caught a plane up north and started what ended up becoming a big London reunion, which lasted til we flew out on the following Monday.
Now the gig in Sydney wasn’t your standard club gig: it was in fact one of my favourite types of parties, yep a boat party. Frantic Sydney is a well established integral part of the hard dance scene in Sydney and they proudly host a boat party on the harbour at the start and finish of the summer.
The two days before the party, the weather was ordinary to say the least, grey skies and rain. The forecast for the Saturday was for more of the same, so when I awoke find blue skies and sunshine I knew we were in for a big day out on the harbour.
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The crowd was 350-400 strong and keen to get on board the party boat. The vessel which we were partying on was magnificently laid out over 3 spacious levels. The lower level was the deck room with plenty of dance floor space, middle level operated as an enclosed chill zone, and the top level was an open sun deck.
I was on second and taking over from Josh Van Alst, whose opening set had the floor packed and raring to go as they bounced to the beats and the roll of the ocean. I had an absolute ball playing as the crowd was so enthusiastic, following on from me it was a hard trance fest, with sets from Micky D, Steve Hill and Yoshi.
The 5.5 hours just flew by and before we knew it we were docking for the final time. Big thanks to Marty Hector and Paul Doran who run Frantic Sydney, cheers boys, was a top notch party!
So from the boat it was on to the after party, which was held at Trance Junction, a fortnightly free Saturday night party which has been doing good things since it kicked off several months ago. It’s run by Rhys and Krazy Joe, both of whom have spent time djing and promoting in London. They have a similar operating procedure to what we use at Warped on Wednesdays in London, in that if you submit a demo that shows you can beat mix to a satisfactory level, then you will be offered a set there in due course. This provides an excellent platform for new comers to get gig experience in a scene which is hard to crack.
There was an excellent turnout from the boat party and that combined with Trance Junction’s usual crowd meant the dance floor was jumpin and the temperature rising. Once again had an absolute blast playin my set, got to play it a bit harder to an appreciative floor, so it was all good.
From there it was back to 3D Clyde’s place until the early morning. Then it was back to the Hostess with the Mostest’s flat—my friend Phoebe (one of the original Torque promoters), who’d been putting me up at her pad, as she always does when I’m in town. It just so happens that her back yard leads to the harbour and provides wicked views, the perfect place to spend a lazy Sunday arvo chilling out and talking shit. A fitting way to cap off a wild weekend in Sydney!
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The following weekend was to be my last in Oz before heading back to London. Plus being Easter there was gonna be plenty of parties happening.
Thursday night (24th March) and I have another set @ Elevation. All was shaping up nicely until I locked my keys in the car with my records still in the boot, 45 minutes before I was due to go on. Fortunately, my brother in law, Hans came to the rescue with a spare key. I was playing back2back with fellow Warped resident Keg and I think he was hoping to get a bit of extra playing time, had I been late but I made it with a few minutes to spare.
Being Good Friday and a public holiday the next day, the place was packed. Had a great time playing back2back really getting into it with the crowd. We kicked on til stumps, then it was once again back to Timmy 2Cool’s for another crack on session.
On Friday night after dinner on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda with some friends we headed to the legendary Esplanade Hotel, or The Espy, as it is more fondly known as by locals. We were out to catch a few beats and were witness to some top turntablism by some of the top names in the scene. The main drawcard was world champ DJ Dexta who was ably supported by the local talent. I had a good time grooving to the hip hop style beats but was too far from the stage to be able to see what was really going on.
Saturday (March 26th) morning already, so its time to head to PHD one last time, in its usual habitat this time, @ Altitude. I had one of my most enjoyable sets of the tour, its great when it all falls into place and you go into the zone, where it all works perfectly. It is here that I realised the number of new friends I have made on this trip as I look out on the dance floor I see so many familiar faces. PHD has a real family atmosphere which is enhanced by Jill (Soul-T’s wife and partner in PHD) cruising round the dance floor with a tray of flavoured ice blocks to replenish the punters and keep em on the dance floor. Many of the crew, myself included, have been going for it since Thursday night and are starting to feel the effects.
Saturday night and the last gig for this trip is looming bright. Its time to hit the floor again @ Krankin. As I said earlier this is one of my favourite clubs in Melbourne, and the big news tonight is that Krankin is soon to be on the move. Plans are in place to move to a 2 roomed venue which is more luxurious and will give them the scope to keep growing. John K also reveals that they will be starting a Friday night party, Slam in Frankston, which is one of Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, with the aim of showcasing up and coming local talent alongside established names. I had a great time as always catching up with Jacinta, Vlad, Ade, Sim and Breno, met plenty of new crew. Hey Carlz, great to meet you and have you rockin in the booth with me. I love the smoke machine there, the dj controls it from the booth. It aims straight onto the dance floor, and is quite powerful, so you can really smoke it up, they also have excellent extractor fans so the smoke is gone as quick as it arrives.
Sunday afternoon arrives and it's time to get a dose of AFL action in before I leave. It is the opening round of the new Aussie Rules footy season, so I catch up with some mates and we head to the MCG for the big Easter Sunday clash to see Richmond V Geelong. Although the weather and conditions are great, the game ends up being very one sided with Geelong trouncing my side, Richmond. My beloved Tigers were not so mighty, let's hope they improve as the season goes on.
We head to the London Tavern to drown our sorrows and then on to Revolver in Chapel St to get on down to some funky grooves until the wee hours of Monday morning.
Tuesday (March 29th) evening and I am joined by family and a few mates for a BBQ and last catch up before I scarper back to London. The next day as I sit in the plane high up in the sky and look out the window at Uluru on the ground below, I can't help but smile at the wonderful memories of the past 6 weeks. Yet again, I’ve been out having the time of my life.
Big thanks to all the promoters who had me play at their parties, I had a ball. And to those who I partied with, and there are many, thanks for making it such a wild time. I am planning on returning to Australia for my 4th annual visit again in March 2006.
In the meantime, those of you in London can catch me at Torque @ The Spotted Dog this Sunday 1 May for our Mayday! Bermuda Triangle special.
TORQUE -MAYDAY! BERMUDA TRIANGLE SPECIAL
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On:
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Sunday 1st May 2005
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At:
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The Spotted Dog [map]
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From:
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6pm - 1am
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Cost:
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£8 On The Door : £6 Paying Guest List
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Website:
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www.torquelondon.com
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Ticket Info:
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£8 On The Door : £6 Paying Guest List
Guestlist names to
info@torquelondon.com or 07753 660 523
Full names must be received by midnight Fri 29th April
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More:
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Mayday, Mayday …….. Red Alert status has been reached and we are at critical mass….
This long weekend, TORQUE will be releasing the pressure valves and serving up the hard beats you’ve been searching for.
You’ll re emerge from the depths of the dance floor transformed having seen the dirty funky Techside or perhaps you be bobbing amongst the sea of happy stompers in the HooDoo Hard Dance Hanger.
Either way don’t miss it or you could end up stuck on the limbo of the lost dance floor, listening to your Dad’s Neil Diamond collection.
Kick off is at 6pm and we stomp til 1am
@Sindrome, The Spotted Dog, 38 Willesden High Rd,
Willesden Green NW10
Nearest Tube: Willesden Green ( Jubilee Line )
Buses: 52, 98, 266, 260, 302
Toolbox Productions
e-mail: info@torquelondon.com
web: www.torquelondon.com
Info: Macey 07903 231 808
Claire 07753 660 523
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Flyer:
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Other Features By Macey:
Dean Holley gives you the lowdown on Tribal Dance
UK djs provide SoundTrack for parties in Brazil
Celebrating Spin's first birthday with Dan Andres
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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