- I had been absent-mindedly checking the listings as I prepared for a whirlwind trip to Sydney. This trip was strictly business, and to be honest, I didn’t really feel like going out.
That was until I read that Kazu Kimura was in town.
A DJ hero of mine, Kazu holds a similar place in the esteem of many Melbournians. Many regard him as Australia’s #1 – and we don’t need a preposterous Dance Music Award loss to Kid Kenobi to come to that conclusion!
But Mexico is too far a trek from Kazu’s Brizvegas home for us to see him with any high frequency. So when I spied his name, understated and innocent amongst the listings, there was no way I was missing this treat.
I pieced together a ragtag group and we headed down to the Slip Inn. I had been warned about the crowd but I was not fazed because of the promise of good techno. So, not even the unprofessionalism and pretensions of the door staff and security dampened my spirits.
Biz E was making short work of the mixer as we entered, a chunky and melodic traipse through Detroit influenced techno. Eventually, the funkier side took over, Biz drawing screams of delight from this punter when he played all-time favourites such as ‘Compound’ and ‘Sunshine’.
Unfortunately the screams seemed slightly out of place. A gaggle of groupie girls around the booth were trying to get the DJs’ attentions all night, but apart from that noone much seemed to realise or appreciate that classic techno bombs were laying waste to the dancefloor. But more on that later.
Biz was, as ever, tight as a nun’s you know what, but the arrival of the Japanese vinyl sensei meant the real show was about to start. Even moreso when Kazu pulled out a laptop and went about setting up to play FinalScratch!
Hold up. I hadn’t read about this in the listings! Needless to say, I was pretty damn excited about what was about to be lavished upon the dancefloor. I’d never seen FS in such close proximity, so I peeked at the monitor as Biz wrapped up.
Kazu was scrolling through his loops and tracks, the names whizzing by whetting my appetite even more. Here a Stigmata, there an Advent...by crikey this was going to be good.
Biz finished by playing a few DJ Rush anthems to absolutely no response. ‘Freaks On Hubbard’? ‘Look And See’? Come on people!
Then it was Kazu’s turn and my jaw was on the floor from the first beat. Moving in loose phases, it struck me that his set progressed through a variety of big name sounds, with stop-offs for some favourites.
His first section, then, was very much like Surgeon. I was already lathered in sweat but Kazu was just getting started. This was the engaging intelligent minimalism that he is just so damn good at.
Then came a couple of huge tunes, ‘Sunshine’ again and Rue East’s monster ‘Birmingham’ remix. There was more Mark Broom on the way as well.
From there Kazu moved into a phase that contained a lot of the industrial sounds, shrilling and open hats of a Speedy J set. I ate it right up, before Kazu continued his catalogue of 2002 classics, with ‘Pontape’, possibly the most overplayed, most instantly recognisable track in Melbourne of the last six months, again getting zero recognition from the crowd.
Then it was time for some quirky funk, a kind of Dave Clarke sound, minus the mixer annihilation. The channels on the Allen & Heath mixer were being seductively fondled by Kazu, whose smooth mixing was a joy to watch.
But this section was about as far as Kazu got towards Detroit, and soon he changed the vibe up again. Latin percussion worked its way in, giving the dancefloor new energy. Even Kazu was dancing, shakin' and boppin' behind the 1200s.
Another of my all-time favourites, ‘Ipanema’, was dished out as Kazu ploughed through a truckload of delicious European techno. And just when you thought it was over, in came a Gaetano monster to really cap off my night.
Presently, Kazu wound up with the E-Dancer remix of ‘Dirty’, neatly summing up the night with the killer vocal: “Obscene. Dirty. Filthy. Immoral. Aw yeah!”
Kazu animatedly clapped and cheered with the crowd, giving himself a pat on the back he richly desrved. Kazu, my son, you are still my number one. Australia’s best. KAZU KNOWS.
This was the best set I’ve seen this year, but unfortunately witnessed amongst the worst crowd. People had no respect for dancefloor space, pushing into you instead of neatly skirting around, or, my favourite, pushing in front of you and staying there to dance in your face (thankyou Mr Mohawk!).
It was depressing to see such good music wasted on a crowd that were clearly not there to enjoy the best techno in Australia. Don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends from both Sydney and Melbourne rocked up to see Kazu at work – great minds think alike, eh? But after being pushed around by bogans, groupies, suits, and more fashion victims doing the Sydney House Prance than I’ve had hot dinners this millennium, I pulled stumps as Jimmi James started.
The music was bar none and the sound system held up relatively well (and wasn’t cranked up to distortion levels – in the main room at least). But on a night that included everything from ‘Diabla’ to Drumcode, I wonder how many people appreciated what a brilliant show they were witness to?
10/10 musically, but overall...