'Acid House Forever': Aural-visual techno feast Seladoria - the brainchild of Dave Seaman and Steve Parry - is coming to is coming to Cult Nightclub in Sydney and Bourke St Courtyard in Melbourne.
Renowned British DJs Dave Seaman and Steve Parry run Selador Recordings, an underground house and techno imprint that counts the likes of Rodriguez Jnr, D-Nox & Beckers, Whitesquare and Victor Ruiz among its latest releases, just to name a few.
As highly-regarded industry powerhouses, when they announce a live series you tend to sit up and pay attention…especially if it’s as weird and wonderful a concept as Seladoria.
What you need to know
Sydney Date: Friday 29 April
Venue: Cult Nightclub
Time: 8pm – 4am
DJs: Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson, Steve Parry, Just Her & Steve Marx
Melbourne Date: Saturday 30 April
Venue: Bourke St Courtyard
Time: 1pm – 9pm
DJs: Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson, Steve Parry, Just Her & Jamie Stevens
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“Seladoria as a concept was something we’d been working on for a while but unfortunately just as we planned to launch, Covid hit and we were forced to put existing plans on hold,” Dave says.
“So we thought the best thing we could do throughout lockdown, to get the idea out there, was to showcase the concept through live-streams. So once the initial restrictions lifted and we were allowed to hire a studio, Steve and I set about recording, filming and streaming exactly what a Seladoria event would look and sound like. It worked really well.”
With more than two years of planning, rehearsing and live-streaming in the bank, attendees can expect a highly-polished, professional and totally ethereal day party that will transport them into another world.
“What the pandemic allowed us to do was to realise some of those ideas and focus in on the fine details and get everything in order, ready to unleash as soon as we were allowed,” Steve says.
“It felt like we were waiting forever to get out there into the real world with it, but we did finally manage to launch at E1 Club in London last last year and now, this trip to Australia is the beginning of much more to come.”
After a highly successful European run, the veteran pair are bringing their enigmatic adventure to the inside-outside, semi-industrial CBD techno destination of Bourke Street Courtyard. “We know it is one of the oldest venues in Melbourne with a unique look, real character and a big clubbing heritage,” Steve says, “so very much looking forward to adding our own little piece of history to that.”
After highly-anticipated shows in Melbourne and Sydney, Seladoria embarks on a world-tour, with tours planned across the USA, South America and Europe.
With a largely unparalleled array of audio-visual effects and a hallucinogenic, even menacing mise-en-scene, Seladoria harks back to the all-encompassing raves of yesteryear.
“We wanted to create an events concept that was truly memorable,” Dave says. “A return to that old maxim of clubbing being something of an escapist adventure, where you go down a rabbit hole and come out the other side the morning after wondering ‘Did all that really happen?’
“The visuals are very much a part of that. They’re intended to sync with what we do musically to provide a sensory experience that will live on in the memory.”
“The words ‘mind-bending’, ‘trippy’ and ‘otherworldly’ all spring to mind,” Steve adds.
One isn’t likely to forget Seladoria’s totem Harvey, ‘the enigmatic Rabbit King’, either.
“He will be there leading us all a merry dance,” Dave says. “He’s the perfect ringleader. Come take a trip with us to the Naughty Forest where a kaleidoscopic world of sound and colour will engulf you, nourish your soul and then spit you out the other side. After this, there’ll be no turning back.”
For more information go to the Ripple Presents website. For tickets head here.
