When Mike Callander and Seven Nightclub approached residentadvisor with the idea of a techno roundtable, I jumped at the opportunity. With the upcoming Fokus vs Fractured event drawing talent from so many different crews, why not get a bunch of them together to chat about the state of Melbourne techno?

So, the idea was rubberstamped, other media were invited to sit in, and the comfy couches were arranged...

The panelists

Mike Callander – One half of Fokus (with Luke Rivett), 2002’s pin-up boy of Melbourne techno.

Simon Slieker – Yeah Fuck Yeah frontman. Also at Teriyaki since the beginning 6 years ago.

Simon Coyle – Wet Musik and Liquid Bookings rep, and a local DJ with a huge fanbase.

Simon Mark – Mr Ishtar. Passionate about his warehouses and sound quality.

Kevin Karlberg – One of the creators of War of the Worlds and promoter to the stars. Has his finger in every techno pie around town.

I start the discussion with Mr Callander. Earlier in the year he was rather outspoken about the decline of techno in Melbourne. Fokus was forced to close due to a poor turnout. The passion may have been there but it wasn’t enough to get people into his club on a weekly basis. Now he says there’s a techno “Renaissance” (his term). But what does that mean?

“Techno crews seem to be really pushing together and working together,” says Mike. This unification is a refreshing change from what was a very competitive scene “at the low point, which I think we’ve passed.”

Simon Coyle has a different viewpoint in that he was formerly with big gun Agent Mad and is now trying to emulate his achievements there with Wet and Liquid. He details the history on a more general scale.

“Around the turn of the millennium, there was a massive market change,” he recalls. The global nascence of NRG and hard house gradually forced its way into Australia’s techno stronghold. Coyle reckons that the techno crews didn’t work together. “There were a lot of underhand tactics,” he says.

In the last twelve months, a lot of people have dropped off, or turned their attentions to more profitable sounds. Coyle affirms, “The guys still doing it are in it for the right reasons.”

The unification of techno crews manifests itself in his work with groups cooperating to move tour and event dates to fit in with each other. Coyle highlights the ideal of “working together” for the good of Aussie tech.

Simon Slieker’s interests have always been somewhat more underground. I ask him if he has felt the Renaissance at his end of the spectrum.

“I’ve felt it strongly,” he says. “Once it would’ve been other promoters coming to check out the competition.” These days, he says, they come along to have fun with their mates.

Simon Mark says there is a very strong “close cluture” of DJs supporting DJs in Melbourne. Callander smiles at Simon’s modesty, interjecting, “Simon is the pioneer of all this: whenever we all go to each other’s events we all pay.”

Slieker’s in on the caper, too. “Promoters will come and pay at each other’s events. That has never happened in this city before.” It’s another product of the Renaissance, he says.

So too is the way crews gladly highlight members of other factions on their bills. Forklift DJs play at Fokus, Fokus DJs play at Teriyaki, Teriyaki DJs play at Wet Musik events, and so on.

We talk for a bit about the demise of club culture on a worldwide scale. In Melbourne many clubs are going monthly. Big events catering to a younger, hype-infused audience are ignoring techno. Perhaps when the dust settles on the Renaissance we’ll have a mid-sized monthly branded techno event every week. That’s where the internationals will play.

Coyle says that agencies like his “always have to concentrate on bringing out new talent.” I put it to him that people like Heiko Laux and Alexander Kowalski wouldn’t be seen downunder if it weren’t for big events like Welcome. Events like these are a good way of introducing new acts and sounds, agrees Coyle, and the consensus is that after such an introduction acts like these will make a return downunder at one of these smaller events.

Simon Mark and Kevin Karlberg aren’t too keen on putting on parties with more than a 1200 person capacity. They talk about the need for quality production and intimacy, which scares them off bigger events. Karlberg has recently put on a capacity War of the Worlds event at one of Melbourne’s very few large-capacity venues, Altona, and notwithstanding the party’s success says smaller is better.

Which brings us to a stellar local lineup at Fokus vs Fractured. Although it didn’t enjoy long-lasting success as a weekly club, Fokus as a brand has a fantastic reputation and is enjoying bumper crowds at special events on a more-or-less monthly basis.

And as for the talent they need look no further than Melbourne. Local parties like Fokus’ special events, Wet Musik’s ‘East Coast Playaz’ (Callander’s own idea), and the brilliance of Teriyaki week-in week-out (still!), are working a treat. Expect to see more of this in 2003 from promoters big and small. Slieker is as passionate as ever. Whether at a low point or Renaissance, he says, “Melbourne has always had a great depth of techno talent - DJing and live acts.”

It’s starting to make an impact on a global scale, too. For years many Melbournians and international pundits have bravely touted this city as the next big thing, as a global techno mecca. This panel is too modest to talk it up to that extent, but Coyle hears very positive murmurs through his work. Wet Musik have enjoyed attention from the Asian market. Coyle names Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Japan as a few of the South-East Asian audiences that have cottoned on to the talent on their doorstep. Asian interest, he says, “is really building Australia on a global level.”

“Australia has its own sound,” Coyle says proudly. “That’s why it’s starting to make an impact overseas.”

And back home too, by the sound of it. Lean times have stripped Melbourne techno of the pretenders and the profiteers. Now in command is a conglomerate of promoters – friends – working together to get the crowds back. Spend an hour at a panel discussion with these guys and you’ll feel enthused simply by their passion.

Fokus vs Fractured is another event at the forefront of the new school of Renaissance promoting: build your brand, have a monthly event, keep it special, the punters will come. But will the Renaissance pave the way for a second golden age, of regular 6000-strong warehouse parties?

The answer from Mike Callander is a resounding “no”. Melbourne techno might be an amicable place to be right now, but that doesn’t mean they can stop innovating. The problem with the old-school mentality, he says, was that promoters were able to cut corners and still fill warehouses on a weekly basis. And that complacency, he says, is why no amount of nostalgia is going to make him want to go back to 1995.

It’s 2002, it’s a new way of thinking, it’s Melbourne techno, and it’s alive.

Fokus vs Fractured is on this Friday November 22 at Seven. Main room techno action will come from the very impressive likes of Mike Callander, Disko Pussy, Ben Cromack, Simon Coyle, Slieker, Simon Mark, Finn Whitla, Dave Rankine, Dallas, and Dave Pham.
Click for full event details.