people were queueing round the street for that last Optimo from the middle of the afternoon, it was unreal
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Those X-Press 2 sessions at Cream were mega. Seeing the three of them vibin on six decks blew my 19 year old mind. All too short though. I believe they got the elbow as residents after a couple of months for not being handbag enough
Remember going up to them at end one night and Ashley signed my pals plaster on his broken arm
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My mate tried singing a lyric from a tune he was looking for in Hard to Find back in the day, to which Ozzie Osbourneās boy replied, āis that the Muppet song?ā Harsh, but funny 
The Prototype Years whole album is all fire.
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Wobble. My 18th Birthday. AvH remix of Sugar is Sweeter. I know it got hammered to death and became totally passĆ©, but that bassline through a rig when noone had heard it before was one of those eyebrows raised and mad cackle moments at the sheer audacity of a record sounding that good. Cue everyone going nutsā¦
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A few memorable moments:
Bondi Pavillion 1994, stinking hot Sydney summer day, dancing to United Future Organization, DJ Krush, Norman Jay, and more. Giles Peterson starts his set with āWhat Is wrong With Groovingā by Letta Mbulu and the vibe is just heavenly - the real moment occurred when the heavens opened up mid set to deliver a full on sunshower and he dropped āMatharā by The Dave Pike Set. None of us had ever heard it before and lets just say, that when those heavy drums kicked in after the long sitar intro, we lost our motherfucking minds. Hereās a photo of that exact moment:
2 other big moments include hearing DJ Abel playing Orbitalās āHalcyon+Onā in itās entirety at the Underground Cafe at 2 am on a Monday morning in 1992. I almost melted into a puddle of delight hearing that for the first time. Also, NYE morning 1991 at the massive Horden Pavillion RAT Party, one of the DJs dropped the extended remix with the āTibetan Serenityā sample at the intro of Black Boxās āGet Down (Fantasy)ā - fucking pure magic.
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Great pic!
Definitely too short-lived for me too Joe. That was the time Cream completely sold out IMO
Great picture. Is that Dan at the front?
Went to a RAT party at Darling Harbour I think, 1990, I went just āthinkā it was at Darling Harbour, memory hazy.
Coogee pool boy vibes, long hair donāt care.
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Yes - the one of a kind Dan the Man - RIP
That vibes was a killer. Norman played upstairs the next year and killed it again. Back when he was interested in that kind of set. Gillesā closing set with all the batucada drummers trailing up onto the stage and then continuing out of the the pavilion like Brasilian pied pipers. One of the best dooās Iāve ever been to.
Had so many great nights in Sydney 91/92.
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June 1993 first time hearing Laurent Garnier play here in Ireland from the minute he came on it was just magic. House, techno, his Wake up track all played and it was my first time hearing I Feel Love other than on the radioā¦
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I never approved of Sasha playing it at 45rpm ( pitched down)
Question: show of hands - when a dj plays something unexpected/off script - how often do you as a crowd dancer feel āthis is a test, Iām staying for the pay offā versus āwhat the fuck? This is shit, Iām off somewhere elseā?
depends on a few things, if thereās anywhere else to go, what point in their arc it is/ at what point in mine. I also take strange pleasure/ amusement in other peopleās disgust of weird stuff, so if things veer towards bizzaro land Iāll usually stay and see whatās upš
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Sometimes it works, sometimes it comes off as too cheesy depending.
Earlier this year I saw Chancha Via Circuito, he played a lot of digidub and digital cumbia. Finsihed his set with Wimoweh. It felt a bit forced for about 15seconds and couldāve gone down as on the nose, but when those falsetto vocals pierced through over the big soundsystem it was delightfully off script. The crowd was definitely there for it.
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I wish more people did take risks. I mean imaginatively not as novelty fodder like throwing in the Grange Hill theme alla Tom Middleton. Years ago I remember endless parties in London with everyone on the circuit playing Tensnake Coma Cat or Jacques Renault Beam Me Up for the trillionth time and quietly thinking christ youāre all such sheep. I found the really interesting curveballs only came out once we were safely back at someoneās flat/studio, and suddenly the leash was off and whoever controlled the music would be going full classicaldiscoprogrock weirdnesss eg something like Michael Quattro Rollerbach which just felt so twisted at 10am
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Totally agree. But that said, I heard Holding Back My love again for the first time in years when the spotify algorithm kicked in the other day and it stopped me in my tracks. Fantastic record.
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