If you’ve ever been to a Picnic warehouse party or club night, chances are you’ve met Adi on the door, or had a groove to one of her DJ sets. Or maybe you’ve caught her surfing the airwaves at independent music haven FBi Radio in the coveted Saturday Sunset slot. In the past year she’s been called on to play at some of Sydney’s top venues, including Goodgod Small Club, The Spice Cellar, The Imperial Hotel, Freda’s, multiple warehouse spaces plus the prestigious Sydney Opera House for Vivid Festival and Town Hall Paradiso for Sydney Festival. Armed with a backpack of deep and percussive house music collected from digging expeditions all over the world, she knows how to get feet tapping both on- and off-air. Keep your eyes on this rapidly rising star!

Catch Sunset with Adi Toohey every Saturday night from 6-8pm on FBi Radio 94.5

www.facebook.com/aditoohey
www.soundcloud.com/aditoohey

Ara Koufax: it's two producers driving to a beach house in the middle of winter to distill a bleak climate into something warmer.

Though Melbourne artists Sam Gill and Luke Neher have worked together in the past as Naysayer & Gilsun, Ara Koufax is new territory; a collection of material covered in a layer of dust ready to be blown off.

The project's debut single Converge was born out of a messy, six-hour jam: the final product of rainy afternoons spent improvising and boiling raw percussion loops and synth lines down to the clarified foundations of songs.

A chugging choir's call emerges in a loop before taking on an ascending, melodic form. Crunching drums urge the track forward under a mile-high vocal sample from mid-naughties clubland. As strings fill gaps and the percussion intensifies, what began as a desperate search culminates in dizzying euphoria. It feels like something close to an answer.

Though there are nods to moments in electronic music that left their mark while the pair were sucking pacifiers for legitimate reasons, Ara Koufax's major focus remains the bridging of nagging pop sensibilities with a love of noise and chaos. 

www.soundcloud.com/ara-koufax
www.facebook.com/arakoufaxau

Ariane, previously known as Perfect Snatch, is a dance-floor miracle. Sharp of mind, wit and wardrobe, her style behind the decks is at once distinguishably focused and exceptionally eclectic, encompassing all spectrums of the party realm. 

After gaining a reputation and travelling around the country during her Gay Bash, Health Club and Shameless days, Ariane now has residences at some of Sydney's best venues, including Ching-A-Lings, Good God and Flinders. Whether she's playing past-era oddities or dance-hit sureties, spinning records to the fash pack at Armani, Adidas and Ksubi or pleasing the crowds at festivals like Splendour, Big Day Out and Playground Weekender, Ariane is always appropriate (or appropriately inappropriate). True versatility is a rarity these days, but equipped with an enviable musical knowledge and endearing charisma, Ariane's sound and stage presence lends itself equally to Mardi Gras, the Sydney Festival, supporting the likes of Horse Meat Disco, and playing Lil Wayne/Eminem after parties (true story).

A former host of Arvos and Sunsets on FBi Radio and currently the Deputy Editor at Oyster magazine, Ariane's got the underground, the overground and everything in-between covered. Her sets will grab you by the hips, invite you to dance, and dazzle. Ariane is one box of magic tricks that will leave you wondering what just happened, and maybe just a little bit shocked that you've never had so much fun.

www.facebook.com/djariane

www.soundcloud.com/dj-ariane

Currently based in Los Angeles recording the follow up to their self-titled debut smash hit album. Expect the new album soon... 

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Bag Raiders are the combined talents of Jack Glass and Chris Stracey. Together, they produce the sparks of light, aural gems and sonic booms that make up one of the most sought-after up and coming duos on the planet. After dropping singles on Bang Gang 12s (Fun Punch, Turbo Love) and remixing the likes Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts and Kid Sister, the two’s reputation internationally grew, and when they released a little ditty titled ‘Shooting Stars’ they reached every dangerous, dark and smokey corner of the world, making them a household name among in-the-know indie kids, the sweaty dance faithful and the DJs across the globe.

A collection of thoughts, ideas and memories, Bag Raiders transcends typical dance and pop boundaries, showcasing the creativity of a band at the forefront of modern production.  The album ticks the right boxes for fans new and old, coming correct with sing-a-long choruses, deep-breath anthems, blissful chill and pure dancefloor energy. In short Bag Raiders debut album adds a new dimension in the cluttered and diluted dance world.

The boys recorded the album deep inside their secret inner-city bunker, where they grew colonial beards and shut out all natural light, choosing only to surface for fine wine and an assortment of snorkeling trips. Amidst the candle light and dripping taps they agonised over structures, waveforms and patterns possessed by a mad desire to reproduce a synaesthesic wonderland they could picture but could not see.

Part of these precise experiments entailed hand picking a slew of special guests including Dan Black, Rhys Taylor (Ted & Francis), Simon Jones (The Holidays), Gisselle Rosselli (Crave You), Martin Solomon (Wim), and putting their vocal chords to work in a union of sweet melodies.

The first taste of the record and sequel to the aforementioned Shooting Stars will be the first single Way Back Home. This swirling anthemic affair is a dancefloor call to arms (or hands in the air), with a beautifully moody performance by Martin Soloman from Sydney band Wim, who broods his way through a poignant display of affection, percussion and ecstasy.

The record spirals into a matrix of colour from the opening second of the house-inspired Castles In The Air. We are then taken through to the soon-to-be festival favourite Sunlight featuring Dan Black, to the soulful crooning on So Demanding, a daze inducing electro-lullaby. Prelude represents a new side of the dancing duo, a slow-burning instrumental centerpiece that takes the album on an express train to Musicality Central. The album then thumps along with one foot rooted in the dance world and the other kicking up pop-dust as we are treated with more delights before wrapping up with the epic closer Way Back Home.

www.facebook.com/bagraiders

www.soundcloud.com/bagraiders

www.twitter.com/bag_raiders

Part DJ, part videographer, Ego is an exciting new breed of artist, consistently innovating fresh approaches to live music performance and visual art, and blurring the line between the two.

Ego’s audio-visual live show is a multi-sensory odyssey - parading herds of pop-culture samples through psychedelic cinema-scapes on-screen, all the while serving up genre-melding, club DJ sets to the dancefloor. An Ego show is an experience like no other and has taken him from clubs and venues across Australia to the main stages of festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Field Day to the amazement of audiences.

A true pioneer in bringing together technology and entertainment, Ego’s hallmark brand of video production has gained hundreds of thousands of online views and kept him in high demand from industry and fans alike. Ego’s signature video remixes — artfully deconstructing and re-composing music videos — have won the acclaim of the likes of acts such as The Presets, while his unique audio-visual mashups have taken Australia by the ears and eyeballs.

Ego’s skills have been enlisted by brands such as Red Bull, Parklife, Modular and Field Day for their marketing campaigns, whilst Clubfeet recently took him on the road to provide the visual backdrop for performances on their national tour.

On the back of his first video mixtape ‘Watch Your Ego’ and the ensuing national tour, 2013 is shaping up to be a big year as Ego continues to break the mould for artists, and wow audiences with his inimitable audio-visual art, in the club and beyond.

www.watchyourego.com

www.youtube.com/watchyourego 

www.facebook.com/watchyourego 

Hailed by inthemix: The New Breed as a “local producer you need to hear” in 2014, Jake Keijzers aka JAWZ is the newest beat-maker to be making a splash in the Australian dance scene. 

He’s the 20 year old Sydney producer with the shark teeth who’s debut EP has already received the nod of approval from triple j’s Nina Las Vegas, The Doctor and unearthed music director, Dave Ruby Howe, alongside FBi Radio and a wave of fellow producers. ‘Bare’ and ‘Need Me’ are razor sharp with layered synths and rolling drums, a sound reminiscent of the big players in the Australian music industry right now. ‘Satisfied’ heads more into the UK garage game with its housey basslines and vocal hooks. 

Elsewhere, JAWZ breathes new life into (the untouchable) Stardust – ‘Music Sounds Better With You‘ with a chugging re-edit ready for the floor. His remix of Phantogram’s ‘Fall In Love’ is another stand out, flippin’ the switch with his brand of N64 club music.

Since his love affair with electronic music first began at the age of 14, it’s been a steady rise for the bedroom producer. With an abundance of new music ready for release and national touring dates set to follow this year, some might say there’s a big new fish in town and his name is JAWZ.

www.soundcloud.com/jawz-official
www.facebook.com/jawzofficial

“Jensen Interceptor. He is the new wave. He’s a little bit west-coast rap and a lot of slammin’ party jams. He’s going to make you sweat. Feel it.” You Only Live Once

Jensen Interceptor releases his latest single ‘System Addict’ on Motorik Records, featuring and co-produced by the Sydney label’s own Frank Xavier. In celebration of the release, Motorik are packing their party credentials and hitting the road as they embark on their first official nationwide label tour this month, with the full Motorik Vibe Council crew sharing the stage with Interceptor himself.

Jensen released his debut EP, "Interception" in September 2012 on Motorik Records, going on to release collaborative EPs with label cohorts CSMNT61 and Light Year. ‘System Addict’ will be his 4th release on the label, with remixes on the package coming courtesy of Jon Convex (label owner of Convex industries, ex Instra:mental) and SCNTST (Boys Noize Records). The original is a portion of straight-up industrial tinged techno intertwined with funk-laced basslines that will wake you up at any given hour of the day. It’s looking like this EP is yet another home run on the Jensen front, no interception.

Interceptor’s sound is influenced heavily by years of touring the world as half of pseudo-kitsch, acid-electro force Light Year, boasting his own vast remix portfolio including re-works for Strip Steve, NTEIBINT, Hoshina Anniversary, Molecule, Eskimo Twins, Nickel (ex-Hey Today!) and Motorik label mates, The Finger Prince and CSMNT61. Take these as prime examples of his raw, unadulterated approach to creating a party-friendly come minimalistic-funk sound – a unique style that is currently being charted, championed and played by the likes of Gesaffelstein, Tiga, Brodinski,The Hacker, Boys Noize, Maelstrom and Black Asteroid. 

Alongside the new Motorik release, Jensen has just given "birth to a new movement" and new record label - INTL.C, It's the creation of Jensen Interceptor, Jon Convex and ViVi. The darker, sleeker underside of techno. Electric, driving, unpredictable.

Jensen Interceptor Facebook
Jensen Interceptor Soundcloud
INTL.C

Jacob Grant appears as your average just turned 17-year-old Aussie, studying in Year 11 and finding casual employment at a local toy store. Yet over the past seven months the young producer, charmingly dubbed Just A Gent, has kept his Soundcloud profile steadily populated with an impressive catalogue of original works and remixes. 

Charting at #1 on music blog aggregator Hype Machine, his remix of American Authors’ “Best Day of My Life” garnered over half a million plays in 30 days prior to being picked up by Island Def Jam. His music has already received support by the largest names in electronic dance music including Skrillex, Diplo, Dillon Francis, Flume and more, whilst having received airplay on BBC’s 1Xtra and Pete Tong’s Evolution Radio.

2014 is only destined to get bigger for Just A Gent with an official remix for Madison Avenue's #1 hit "Don't Call Me Baby" and an intense touring schedule.

www.facebook.com/JustaGent

www.soundcloud.com/just-a-gent

www.twitter.com/JustAGentDJ

You can lead a horse to water but generally you can’t make it mono up on its back legs and dance nobly against the brilliance of the setting sun. One man who can though is Sydney’s Lancelot.

Starting out quite firmly behind a piano rather than a pair of CDJs, the man is a producer/maker/doer before all else. However, it was only ever a matter of time before the club-ready DNA took charge and young Lancelot found himself to be mixing two songs together at the same BPM to the liking of an adjacent dancefloor on a regular basis. 

Musical sell-sword for the corporate man by day, cutting up clubs with the best of ‘em by night. And beyond his native Australia, the 23 year-old has already slain clubs in headlining capacity across London, Paris, Barcelona and principalities yonder. Along the way he’s also warmed the room for the likes of Julio Bashmore, Jamie Jones and Horse Meat Disco to name but a modest few.

Stepping his game up along the way, the Lancelot sound has basslines made to move with a crystalline top-end hitting a signature sweet spot. It’s as immediate as it is considered, lively with a sense of longevity. Without any traces of analog evangelism there’s definitely an underlying preference for performance rather than samples and layered vocal takes over pad-punched stabs.

Since casual music personality Alan Braxe proclaimed breakout Lancelot cut “Spoken Word” to be “an instant classic” [please apply accent] in 2012, it’s been a steady hustle for the young and chivalrous one.

Name the deed and he’s out there doing it. Remixes for Matt Corby, Say Lou Lou and RÜFÜS, an original EP on Goldroom’s Binary imprint and NY’s Nurvous Records, an audiovisual collab with EGO on an SOS Band burner as well as some stellar new work alongside Antony & Cleopatra (bits and pieces of Sparkadia and Thecocknbullkid) – it’s kept him pretty well perpetually up and about for a while now.

It’s not as if it ends there either. The spirited caballero is giving 2014 a spur in the guts right from the get-go with EP Givin’ It Up out on Anjunadeep on January 20th. Not planning on mucking around, it’s jammed to the hilt with remixes from the likes of MK and Isaac Tichauer. Due to the fact that it hits hard and does what it says on the tin, legends like T. Williams and Danny Howells (BBC Radio 1), The Magician (see Magic Tape 38) and Perseus (the French Express don) are already flying the flag for it. The crusade continues.    

www.soundcloud.com/lancelotofficial
www.facebook.com/lancelotofficial

Since 2010, Luen Jacobs has been jetting around Australia, planting groovy seeds all over the country’s musical landscape and enriching the scene with her own Hand Games establishment. Through band management and touring, a heap of successful parties, an eclectic mixtape series and releasing DIY music zines, she’s cultivated a brand synonymous with the best new underground Australian music, from hip hop to electronic to indie to experimental to whatever else is good. Her keen ear and bottomless local knowledge has also landed her work running events for Vice Australia and music editing for Sneaky Magazine.

It’s also seen her spin at Splendour in the Grass, the Big Day Out, Sydney Festival and a tonne of clubs and concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. With a stocking full of RnB, beats and hip hop, Luen is one of the country’s most exciting, talented young DJs in the scene.

www.handgamesmusic.com

www.facebook.com/luenmusic

www.soundcloud.com/luenmusic

MTK OK.

Fun with Techno. 

Parties. Warehouses. International Guests. Record Label.

Home to The Finger Prince, CSMNT61, Jensen Interceptor, wordlife, Louisahhh!!! x Craig Williams, Vivi x Linda Marigliano, Sinden x Harvard Bass

www.motorik.com.au
www.facebook.com/motorikcrew
www.soundcloud.com/motorikrecords

It was dark days, back in 2011. The party was flat, the records had no fizz and the rave had expired. Enter the Motorik Vibe Council. Coming at this game hard, with a mission to raise the level of party discourse. Educated at Bang Gang High, with further studies at the Berghain Institute of Techno and careful post-grad research with legends of the game like Ewan Pearson. One of them even has an ARIA award for excellence in the field of dance. Careful there, these boys are coming in hot! 

Moving their self-titled parties virtually every single time, from basements of abandoned comedy clubs to male strip joints/life painting establishments, constantly pushing the boundaries of style, taste and the law. Eventually, the Vibe Council found themselves inside a warehouse, and, as they say, a legend was born. 

3 years of non-stop lasers, neighbours calling the police due to too much untz, and many half-naked/face-painted rave legends getting heaps wild to the forward-thinking techno/house/whatever you want to call it sounds of the MVC. It’s been emotional. We’ve hosted the first ever Australian shows of Brodinski and Gesaffelstein, had bouncing castles in the middle of the dancefloor in cavernous warehouses, had Tiga play a sweatbox which happened to have more than double the legal capacity crammed inside and - somehow - still managed to get away with it.

To quote the 4 muntketeers themselves: “We like pushing the envelope. We don’t adhere to any particular style, but we do rep hard for Sydney - it’s our home, and we try make it a welcoming place for anyone who shares our views on life, rave and drum machines.”

Their nascent record label has released hits from local boys gone good The Finger Prince, Jensen Interceptor, Light Year and CSMNT61, plus hits from international legends of dance like Louisahhh!!!, Harvard Bass and Sinden (coming in July!). Rumour has it that drum connoisseur K.I.M. of The Presets also has a forthcoming slice on the MTK Pizza of Rave. It’s exciting stuff - absolute seat of your pants excitement.

They are proud to be the point of call in Sydney for legends like the Bromance crew, including family members Maelstrom and Louisahhh!!!, as well as the aforementioned Tiga and his brother Thomas Von Party (of the world famous Turbo Recordings Supermarket), as well as hosting cheeky little numbers with crew like Harvard Bass, Guy Gerber, Cagedbaby and Jon Convex of Instra:mental. 

The Vibe Council continues to play all over Australia, as well as increasing the volume at their parties, which of late have included sold out shows at the Metro with Brodinski and Gesaffelstein (for the second year in a row) as well as their spiritual home at Elsewhere on the Gold Coast, plus the occasional smash-and-grab run down to Melbourne to play at anything Delaney and the Baha Brothers are running.

Most of all, though, they are focused on providing you, loyal reader/listener, with the tools to be a self-contained legend of dance. Anything that makes you reach for the lasers, it’s in the bag, and, most likely, heading your way on the airwaves.

See you at the partee/drive home/anywhere you can turn it up!

www.motorik.com.au
www.facebook.com/motorikcrew
www.soundcloud.com/motorikrecords

Olympic Ayres are Kamaliza Salamba and Nathan Mifsud, a genre-spanning producer / DJ duo who encapsulate the feeling of youth within every song, promising to take you on a blissful ride through the summer airwaves. 2014 looks bright for this Sydney pairing, who are soon to embark on their debut Australian DJ tour to celebrate the release of “Take Flight”, the first official single from their forthcoming EP “Leisureplex”.

Kamaliza and Nathan began the Olympic Ayres journey back in 2011; building songs that incorporated guitar, bass and synthesizers and defied the environment they were borne from (their bedroom). Making the decision to release in Episodes (3 tracks per release) added chapters to the pair’s story, and meant the duo could take time to refine their sound and develop their song writing skills.

Olympic Ayres soon delivered Episode I, which quickly gained attention from producers, DJ’s and fans alike, leading to collaborations with Dann Hume (Sures, Gossling, Alpine) as well as young producer guru Jean-Paul Fung (Last Dinosaurs, Theophilus London) to create beautiful, disco tinged songs that were to become Episodes II & III.

"Magic" the lead track on Episode III, received rave reviews from local & international tastemakers, such as Hilly Dilly, Acid Stag, Purple Sneakers and Triple J, firmly placing it as one of the songs of the summer. The track also caught the attention of world-renowned company EA Sports who featured it in the FIFA 2014 Soundtrack.

Eventually making the move to a 5-piece live act, Olympic Ayres were invited to grace the stage alongside some of Australia’s most revered live acts, such as World’s End Press, Clubfeet, Panama and Van She. To extend their privileges they capped off a great year of shows as Triple J's unearthed winners, performing to an adoring crowd at Sydney’s Field Day 2013.

To add to the duos growing repertoire of music achievements, “Take Flight” will be the first official release off their forthcoming EP ‘Leisureplex’ and is set to feature remixes from James Curd and Acaddamy that will surely take us on a shimmering journey into the sunset.

www.olympicayres.com

www.soundcloud.com/olympicayres

www.facebook.com/olympicayres

www.twitter.com/olympicayres

Growing from beachside house party to landmark club night, Parkside’s regular throw-down has seen Sunday takeovers from legends both local and abroad. Soul Clap, Horse Meat Disco, 6th Borough Project, H.O.S.H, Inland Knights, Tornado Wallace, Touch Sensitive and more have all turned their DIY party into a riotous institution for in-the-know fiends and dancers alike. All nighters at Sydney Tower, Civic Undeground, Goodgod Small Club and the Novotel Rooftop have only cemented their place as experts on both sides of the party, with a consistent reputation for late-night crowds and sunrise kick-ons. 

As snipers behind the turntables, Parkside have earned their cred DJing gut-busting sets on rooftops, beaches, skyscrapers and landmarks around the country. Bridging the gaps between underwater house, crashing techno and deviant disco, the crew bring the worlds great dance locales together in a heaving mess of grooves – called upon to support names like Bicep, Omar-S, Claude Von Stroke, Jimmy Edgar, Shaun Reeves and Tiger & Woods for friends at Future Classic, Astral People and Falls Festival. Holding down a monthly residency at the notorious Spice Cellar, the boys continue to wreak havoc on unsuspecting dancefloors and excitable audiences across the states. Mondays have never been the same.

www.facebook.com/parkside.events

www.soundcloud.com/parksidedjs

Introducing Roland Tings, the alias of Melbourne's Rohan Newman. Tings joins a cast of international bound Australian electronic producers. After releasing his debut EP last year on 100% Silk, 2013 saw Tings release a 12" on Modular's Club Mod imprint with remixes by Maxmillion Dunbar & Jeremy Greenspan. This year sees the release of a full length LP on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label.

Tings is currently putting the finishing touches on a brand new live PA show combining live drum machine programming, modular synth madness and on the fly rearrangements of his tracks for maximum dancefloor combustion.

2013 saw him play a set live on The Boiler Room, Croatia's FOR Festival, a full European tour and share stages with Jamie XX and the legendary Optimo. Closer to home Tings closed played some significant events - closing the Friday night at Meredith Festival, joining Juan Atkins at Sydney Festival, The Orb at MONA Foma and top billing at Melbourne Music Week. He also played key clubs around the country including The Spice Cellar, Sugar, Boney, Survivor, Get Weird and a 3 date tour of NZ.

www.rolandtings.com

www.soundcloud.com/rolandtings

www.facebook.com/heyrolandtings

Freshly escaped from an intergalactic flight through the multiverse, he is San Holo.

This future beats to trap connoisseur made his debut on Heroic with the single Hiding (ft. The Nicholas), also via Point Point’s Filet Mignon compilation. A true head turner, it garnered the support of major tastemakers in the scene, including LessThan3, Earmilk, Trap.NET and more.

And the rumors were true. Jedi’s truly got nothing on him.

That’s why he’s dropping his debut EP ‘COSMOS’ with Heroic Recordings, on September 18th.

A four track journey through the cosmos, covering bass ridden territory - innovating on future beats, trap, chill trap and melodic levels. Ripe for the clubs, but just as ready for the radio. Already supported by Diplo & Friends, GANZ, Deon Custom and GRMM (who is also on remix duty). Mastered to perfection in the Red Bull Studios Amsterdam.

Swirl Out.

www.soundcloud.com/sanholobeats
www.facebook.com/sanholobeats
www.twitter.com/sanholobeats 
www.youtube.com/sanholobeats

A radio presenter, master of ceremonies, party promoter and one of the countries finest DJs. Shantan does it all.

Holding it down at triple j, Shantan Wantan Ichiban has been the go-to guy when the national youth broadcaster has needed someone with great music selection and microphone presences to bring the party to Australia across the airwaves. He has built a name for himself filling in regularly for Nina Las Vegas on ‘House Party’ and Linda Marigilano on Good Nights, and has just recently taken over Saturday Nights after Mix Up playing a wide spectrum of club music. Joining the dots between hip hop and house to get have you raving well into Sunday morning.

In addition to triple j and for several years now, Shantan has had a significant presence on Sydney’s FBi 94.5 FM. Not only does his show ‘Stolen Records’, play the broadest selections in urban and world music, but it is also one of the most popular shows airing in their Wednesday 6-8pm Sunset slot.

Similarly as a DJ, Shantan has proved to be one of the most versatile on the circuit. He has created some of Sydney’s most successful party nights across a wide range of genres. Through brands such as ‘Dutty Dancing’, ‘Player Haters Ball’, ‘Pop That’ and ‘Pineapple Republic’, he has built a reputation for fun parties turning even the darkest and dankest of rooms into a ‘queue-around-the-corner’ night club. Not surprisingly, Shantan possesses the uncanny ability to transform the quietest and most introverted party-goer into an ass-popping ratchet on the dance floor (just look at the Dutty Dance photos!). Some say this ability was learned but the legends have it as he was born with it.

Shantan’s gift to put together energetic sets across different genres has made him one of Sydney’s most sought after DJs. With an arsenal of Hip Hop, R&B, Trap, Indie, Dance, Throwback Pop Anthems and electronic music to pick from, his sets often obliterate any given dancefloor due to the sheer amount of dancing. He can be found playing festivals like ‘Splendour In Grass’ and ‘Secret Garden’ and is a resident at club venues such as ‘Goodgod Small Club’, ‘The Ivy’, ‘The Standard’, ‘Kit N Kaboodle’ and more. 

Adding to an arsenal of already impressive talents, Shantan is also a master of ceremonies extraordinaire. With a personality and voice that commands attention, he has hosted stages at Festivals including ‘Field Day’, ‘Parklife’ and ‘Foreshore’, plus numerous concerts ranging from Mix Master Mike to Presets to Armand Van Buuren to MF DOOM.

A modern day renaissance man. A radio presenter, master of ceremonies, party promoter and one of the country’s finest DJs. When he does have free time, Shantan partakes in elbow modelling and breeds champion snails – which he races. What a guy.

“Shantan is a bonified rude boi party starter! I would get down on his dance floor any day.”
Anna Lunoe (DJ, Producer, Singer, Legend)

“Shantan Wantan Ichiban is the physical embodiment of 3 million lolcats who escaped the internet. Each one of them is desperate to play a new song that’s wildly different to the one currently playing but Shantan makes it happen and keeps the lolcats (and the crowd) happy for his entire crazy and diverse set. He can get the whole club moving with just one well chosen song, and can keep them moving for 5 hours without playing one shit song.”
Levins (Twitter Celeb, DJ, Hot Dog King)

“Australia’s number 1 DJ, if not the world”
Shantan’s Mum

“Every time I see Shantan he always kills it. This one time when he wasn’t looking I plugged a USB drive into his laptop and stole a ridiculous amount of musical weapons to DJ with. He hasn’t found out yet though..”
Sampology (Lord of di Dance)

http://shantanichiban.com
https://twitter.com/shantan_ichiban
https://www.facebook.com/ShantanWantanIchiban
https://soundcloud.com/stolenrecords

Softwar represent the new wave of electronic artists sweeping through Australia’s dancefloors. Tipped as “ones to watch” by Time Out magazine, the Sydney-based pairing of Myles Du Chateau & Jeremy Lloyd are making some serious noise on the global house scene. The boys’ next foray down the musical rabbit hole is the Believe/One Day EP, due for release in May on Club Mod.

Believe is a late night ode to the time when music was the answer, a true moonlight-maker. With all the elements of what was good about the sounds from the underground, it thumps from here to Timbuktu and back again. It’s backed with a remix from Melbourne’s Francis Inferno Orchestra who turns it into his own dark workout.

On the flip, they serve up something a little lighter in dynamic but no less gritty. One Day is Softwar in their finest, finest form. A kooky excursion into the outer rhythms of mind body and soul. A reach-for-the-sky moment that will become a staple for festival sets as much as it will for those long cruises on the Mediterranean shores. Remixing duties come from Amsterdam up-and-comers Detroit Swindle.

This follows releases on DJ Kaos’ Jolly Jams and Future Classic, earning respect from dance music bibles Mixmag and Resident Advisor alongside exclusive plays on BBC Radio 1 and high rotation spins and live mixes on Triple J (Australia), FBi Radio (Sydney) and Kiss FM (Melbourne). Their rework of Two Door Cinema Club was hand picked by Kitsune, scooping RCRDLBL’s ‘Remix of the Week’. Their remix discography reads like a dream festival lineup including 2 Bears, Azari & III, Temper Trap, Bag Raiders, Groove Armada, RüFüS and Clubfeet.

As DJs, their Slow Blow residency in Sydney continues to dazzle and draw crowds, whilst you’ll find the guys lapping Australia’s leading clubs. They’ve been asked to play for Vivid Live at the Opera House for 2 years running and have supported James Murphy and Pat Mahoney (DFA/LCD), Mark Ronson, Juan Maclean, Prins Thomas, Benoit and Sergio, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Horse Meat Disco, Greg Wilson, The Revenge, DJ Hell, Prosumer and Canyons, not forgetting the Splendour in the Grass, Parklife, Field Day, Playground Weekender and Secret Garden festivals.

The ongoing ‘Colour Flight’ free mixtape series showcases Softwar’s trademark brooding house, sassy disco and upfront party jams. 

www.soundcloud.com/sof-1

www.facebook.com/softwarpage

Iconic Byron Bay personality, dancer, TV sensation, and spokesperson for healthy living.  Model, actor, public speaker and children’s dance teacher.  Tommy Franklin is all these things and more.

Whether he’s rocking the party in a club, dancing on the street, talking with young people or teaching kids to dance, Tommy Franklin lives to inspire others.

  Tommy is an internet and real-life sensation who recently touched countless lives through his performances on Australia’s Got Talent.

Who Is Tommy Franklin?



If you’ve holidayed in Byron Bay, chances are you’ve come across ‘dancing man’ Tommy Franklin.  Even in this town famous for it’s odd patrons, Tommy stands out amongst them.  You see, Tommy likes to dance.  Anywhere he feels like dancing.  Have legs, will dance.

 

Tommy became a Youtube sensation when a group of holiday-makers filmed him dancing in the rain on the main street of his hometown.  The clip went viral, and from that moment Tommy has danced at Australia’s biggest music festivals, appeared on National TV, radio, video clips and film.  Tommy dances his way into the hearts and lenses of everyone that encounters this unique and free spirit. 



Tommy Franklin’s story is much more than a feelgood tale.  Tommy had to come dangerously close to death in order to appreciate his life, and he now expresses that gratitude by dancing, and lives to free others to be themselves.



Yeah, So Who Is Tommy Franklin?



Tommy Franklin has come a long way since drugs and alcohol ruled his life.  At 16 he was an alcoholic and drug addict.  On his darkest day, the keen skateboarder almost lost his life when he met with the bonnet of a car at high speed.

“I came home from work in a really dark place,” he says.  “I hated life, I rode my skateboard down a driveway onto a really steep hill, a car came screaming up the hill and hit me head-on.”

Tommy’s kneecap was shattered, leg broken and lung punctured, and it took eight months of rehabilitation for Tommy to walk again.

“This car knocked some sense into me,” Tommy says, speaking of the life transformation that occurred. “I’ve done a 180, I was heading one way and I got hit by a car and came back the other way.”

Now completely clean, Tommy is frustrated by the idea that people who see him dance assume he is on drugs.  “It’s sad because people think you can only dance if you’re high on something.”

But who is Tommy Franklin?

Tommy is a dealer in smiles.  He expresses the child that hides in all of us ‘grown-ups’ - the free spirit not yet caged by fear or social barriers.

  Above all, he is simply himself, and he brings this message:

“I’m free to be me and so is everyone else.”

www.facebook.com/thomasleonardfranklin

Total Giovanni is an experience. It is a feeling. It is the most sexually charged discothèque this side of the tropic of Capricorn. Earning notoriety from their visually unique and highly energetic live shows Total Giovanni create dance music to enable collective psychic liberation. 

With sets that move from smooth boogie to shamanic disco and heartbreak house, TG have built a reputation on whipping small music venues into wild bacchanalian frenzies. Now they seek to bring their poly-rhythmic jams, strange clothing and liberated masculinity in to your living room with the release of 'Human Animal' and 'Can't Control My Love' on visionary Melbourne label Two Bright Lakes

With a host of festival and club shows on the horizon this summer, Total Giovanni are sure to be making the walls sweat somewhere near you. Free yourself...

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You can try and break Van She down into some kind of premeditated post-post-modern actualisationist art rock milieu but you’d soon regret the time you spent devising that first half of the sentence as really you have missed the point. Absolutely dripping with the ability to warm hearts with one hand and then break them with the other, Van She are a synth-pop band sex-wave quartet dishing out gems suitable both under the moonlight with the one you love and on the mixtape for the one you’ll never have.

More DMSR than PLUR, Van She are your entry point into the infinite looping algorithm of romance and melody. Pop songs about love, love songs done pop, however you look at it there’s no denying the emotion at stake here. Thankfully it’s sincere without being naïve and direct without being cheesy. There’s no race against time to rhyme lady with baby before the fade but rather an air of desire permeating the tracks like dry ice from the drum riser. Heartfelt from the first glammed out chord through to the dying moments of the reverb trail, there’s an undeniable substance that banishes any thoughts of earnestness or irony.

A four piece that seemingly came out of nowhere but were probably always going to happen, the band broke out of the gates and into hearts in 2005 with their self-titled debut EP. It was this Nick Littlemore (Pnau, Empire of the Sun) produced recording that not only introduced the world to the stadium air punch of “Kelly” (and its moderately evil twin “Sex City”) but also a broader sense of the light and shade the band were working with; a glazen-pop facia with a driving energy behind it and some passion noir in the middle. At this point the band went hammer-drill and tongs touring locally and overseas, showing festival crowds and backroom fiends alike that what they were doing (a frontfoot ultra-prom soundtrack) worked and was only getting more mindblinding each time. In between all the stunning and touring came the birth of Van She Tech, an offshoot by 50% of the band that saw them fill floors from the booth rather than the stage. Not content just dropping other people’s jams, the pair churned out a mountain of remix work including some highlight moments for Tiga, Klaxons and Feist in addition to a UK #1 with their take on Utah Saint’s all-time mega classic “Something Good”.

Van She’s neu-wave heartsleeved pop tracks from a faded postcard of the future weren’t going to write themselves though, so the band went into lockdown in regional NSW for what may have been a moment or maybe longer. Here they laid down the majority of what would become their debut album then packed up, took it to London and pieced it together with Jim Abbiss (Massive Attack, Ladytron, Kasabian) to form V. The result was somewhat a departure from the EP but still very Van She – massive and fun but still personal. The band then got matching varsity jackets, remixed the album as Ze Vemixes and went on the road, postmodernising audiences all over with their own idiosyncratic brand of Van She party. Since then it’s been a bundle more touring, some side projects, late nights, later mornings and a stack of new gear. The contextual sum of which has eventuated in the bands hotly anticipated sophomore long player, Idea of Happiness. A post-tropical voyage across the plains and through the dreamstate, Idea… is absolutely jammed to the coconut bra with poolside shaman vocals, an alternate universe Compass Point rhythm section and synths caught somewhere between French Touch and late night FM dedications.

The last seven years have seen Van She go from strength to strength, supporting the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk, thrusting themselves upon a myriad of festivals, headlining their own tours and racking up an abundance of fans along the way. Noteworthy above all else though is the band’s sound, a constant plasmatic evolution into what’s next and could be. From the anthemic proto-wave nestling up against synthetic lovers’ rock to the Ocasek-house fleshing in and out of midnight daiquiri funk, it’s all Van She. It’s the skewed memory of the past and the glistening promise of the future but crucially it’s four idealists putting all the best bits of everything together to make their own slice of another dimension that weirdly nobody else has figured out yet.

www.vanshe.com

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Sydney electronic duo wordlife make music for life - sometimes it's happy and positive and others it's time to get dark and dirty in the club but whatever the mood it's always cutting edge. The wordlife sound is constantly moving forward looking to set new trends instead of following old ones combining their love of techno, ghetto house, rap, r&b, positive rave music and futuristic Synthesised sounds as evidenced on their first two singles 'Vision' (Motorik) and Breakthrough (Club Mod) which received significant radio play on Australian national youth radio station Triple J.

Acclaimed Remixes of Claude Vonstroke, The Presets, Rufus, Safia, Crooked Colours, Anna Lunoe, Yolanda Be Cool amongst others have seen wordlife's stock rise as one of Australia's most sought after remixers. Collaborations with Daniel Merriwether, DJ Funk, Anna Lunoe, Beni and Joyride both released and forthcoming should help further hook the world in to the wordlife sound.

wordlife's Live Show sees wordlife reconstruct their own tunes and remixes using live drums, samplers, keys, vocals and the ableton push to create a captivating and infectious vibe that has seen wordlife support the likes of Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, The Presets (full national tour support), Ryan Hemsworth, Brodinski, Gessafelstein and many more plus festivals such as Splendour In The Grass, Future Music, Field Day, Parklife, Secret Garden, Mountain Sounds amongst others.

With releases already on top Australian labels like Modular's Club Mod, Motorik, So Solid plus L.A.'s Dim Mak records and Chicago's seminal Dance Mania imprint the future looks bright for wordlife.

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