- LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad play a style of drumnbass unto themselves. It’s a style that we Australians are familiar with thanks to their frequent visits to our shores. So when a tour is announced, the fans start salivating.
This edition of 33&1/3 was even more highly anticipated with Melbourne getting its first taste of Makoto, a producer held in high esteem by enthusiasts of melodic dnb.
But as I entered, just as Sean aka Terrain began, the local contigent were threatening to steal the limelight. Playing a mixture of lush chilled classics and storming newer material this set really grabbed my attention. Classy, tight, extended mixes saw the dancefloor slowly filling and the crowd appreciatively cheering him on. He even took a leaf out of the techno DJ trick catalogue when he sent a record spinning backwards as the next took flight.
Makoto was next to take the stage and at this point he had a lot to do to supersede Sean. Despite my love of Makoto’s discography I was a little apprehensive as too often a producer is toured on their name alone, and whether they can actually DJ or not is secondary.
But more on that later, because as Makoto cleared off Sean’s last track with some lovely one beat cuts, another figure took to the stage.
Now, not much had been said about the MC Shelley aka Deeizm prior to the event – she was a late addition to the bill only a week before the gig. But afterwards she would be the performer everyone was talking about.
Belting out a few notes with a powerful singing voice, she then gave us a taste of her fine MCing – all before Sean’s track had been dispensed with!
The ensuing performance also featured some incredibly good rapid fire spitting, with Shelley bopping her way around stage to win many hearts with a full-on two hour show. I’m not just talking about the shredded Producer t-shirt draped across her body, this girl has talent. Her MCing style was a all options inclusive package, and of a style that perfectly complimented the music and appealed to the Melbourne aficionados. So much so that I’ll stick my neck out and boldly make the hyperbolic statement that Shelley gave the best MCing performance I’ve ever been witness to.
With Shelley taking centre stage the limelight was slightly shifted away from Makoto. Whilst he certainly struggled to cue up a few mixes until the previous record was almost spent, his track selection was spot on. As with Sean’s set I was impressed with the amount of new material showcased. Here it was both on the melodic and slightly tougher tip.
Makoto played very few recognisable ‘hits’ but special mention must be given to his penultimate track, the notoriously special remix of Ils - ‘No Soul’ that decimated the dancefloor.
I was already well and truly exhausted, but now it was time for the main attraction.
Since Bukem and Conrad’s last trip the ‘chillnbass’ room at Fractured @ Seven has provided a weekly fix for fans of, well, chilled drumnbass, but as stated up the top, Bukem’s style is quite unique. From his first track the dancefloor was transformed with the sound that only Bukem can provide.
Conrad took over on the microphone but he seemed to have some issue with the sound system, gesticulating at the foldback speakers and frequently stomping off stage to harass someone or some equipment. I’m not sure what the problem was as Conrad sounded pretty good and Shelley hadn’t had any complaints with the same setup.
Conrad’s style is also a unique one, but this performance seemed slightly more inflexible than previous appearances, a little more wooden or perhaps rehearsed. The almost melodic flow of his lyrics was still there in parts but now there was almost a style of, as it struck me at the time, a ‘spoken word’ recital.
Bukem, meanwhile, was busy mixing it up. Lots of one beat cuts, a couple of rewinds, and a diverse selection of tunes. Harder records gave way to lots of that Earthy ambient stuff that Bukem’s fans had come for. Interestingly there were a few dnb covers on offer, with both ‘Fever’ (as in “you give me fever, fever all through the night”), and was that ‘Tubular Bells’?
Bukem’s set had it all, even some giveaways, when Makoto and Shelley emerged on stage to fling Makoto t-shirts at punters – this was, after all, the launch party for his album.
I eventually pulled stumps shortly before 5.00, Bukem still weaving his mélange of many dnb styles. The duo eventually closed off the party around 5.30.
So another 33&1/3 came to an end, and what a satisfying addition to the brand’s history. Locals that kicked ass, reliable international guests that never fail to impress, and a newcomer who blew us all away – full marks!
It would be remiss of me not to also give due praise to Agent Mad who kept their promise of restricting ticket sales. The dancefloor was never overly full, with room to groove along to the lush sounds at every stage of the night. A promoter respecting its paying punters – it doesn’t happen often but well bloody done to Agent Mad for this much-appreciated gesture.