It’s a big few weeks in Melbourne for electronic music, with Pitch Festival and Golden Plains Festival coming up (plus Babylon last weekend) so there’s a ton of quality international artists floating around the country. Even if you’re not heading along to any of the festivals, there’s plenty to check out and no doubt some familiar faces will pop up at clubs unannounced. Keep your eyes peeled.
On Friday at Hub301 Records on Johnston Street, local techno producer Chiara Kickdrum is having a little party to celebrate the release of her 12” on the much-loved underground Melbourne label Temporal Cast. It’s a chilled-out 6pm-9pm affair with Kickdrum DJing instore and the odd beer being served. And of course, the record available on the evening to buy.
If you’re thinking of a more wine and cheese type Friday evening, then maybe this week’s Zoo Twilight session is a goer with Hiatus Kaiyote and Harvey Sutherland. These acts are all class when it comes to the stage, masters of their instruments. Sutherland’s had an incredible run with his live show recently, his band Bermuda, comprised of an electric violinist and live drummer joining him on keys, have pushed his nostalgia-leaning disco-boogie synth dreams onto the stage with style and panache. And no doubt Hiatus Kaiyote will deliver a masterclass in avant-garde jazz-funk too. Kicks off at 5.30pm.
Later in the night over at Boney, Autosea is hosting the Hong Kong-born/Canada-raised master of deep soulful house, Basic Soul Unit. Since his first release way back in 2003, BSU has been steadily dropping records on labels across the globe, such as Ostgut Ton, Dekmantel, Skudge, Dolly, Philpot, and plenty more. Li’s also put together sounds that swing from lush and soulful to crunchy and jacking for his own label; Lab.our Music. Local support comes from PWD, Paul Lynch, Mitchell Gee, Van Oasis, String Theory, Test Pattern, Josh Wain and Eskapet.
On Saturday Belfast duo Bicep are ready to rip with the Australian debut of their live show that’s been talked about extensively after their 2017 world tour that included Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Melt, Dekmantel, Lovebox and Parklife. Bicep released one of my favourite albums of last year, the self-titled debut explored the evolution of dance music with an output that spanned genres and time-periods, all in a way that somehow sounded distinctly ‘Bicep.’ An incredibly solid lineup of locals rounds out the bill: Mic Mills, Albrecht La’Brooy (Live) and Millú. It goes down at Max Watt’s from 10pm.
