ONION - 10 ADL CLUB CLASSICS

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10 ADL CLUB CLASSICS

14.01.10

Adelaide was always ahead of its time when it came to club culture in this country. Once known as Australia’s Detroit, Adelaide has almost two decades of club classics brewed locally and then exported to the world and we look at 10 of these tracks. If we've missed out on some essential tunes and you want to add your two cents, feel free to do so in the comments section. Please note that the tracks are not listed in order of preference but by the release date.

VITAMIN/HMC – LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM (JUICE) 1991

A pioneering cut of acid techno. Released locally on Juice in 1991, the 500 copies quickly sold out. It was then released by European label Music Man a year later. It marked the start of the Adelaide dancefloor conquest pioneered by HMC, Juice and Dirty House who would be the ambassadors for Australian underground house and techno on a global scale. Glasgow’s Optimo (who are massive HMC fans) included it on their 2005 mix Psyche Out for Eskimo Recordings.

HMC – PHREAKIN’ (DIRTY HOUSE) 1995

The first Dirty House release was a classic and reached number one on the German Dance Charts. Though it is still an absolute catchy piece of booty shaking party techno, it hasn’t held up as well as other HMC tunes such as his perfect piece of acid tek Acid Trax Three, his banging Marauder or his sublime house cut Rapture but you can’t deny the impact and the beat (sampling Zapp’s It Doesn’t Really Matter, which Freestylers also used for Push Up) of his most well-known track.

HMC – ACID TRAX THREE (DIRTY HOUSE) 1996

Along with Rapture a personal favourite. Simple yet seriously effective, this acid tek number just glides in, building up with a devastating groove before gliding out and in until the track’s end. Would still blow any techno dancefloor away if played today.

DJ BOLD - LUNCH CUTTERS (HIGH OCTANE RECORDINGS) 1999

Smashed by DJs such as Dave Clarke and Laurent Garnier, Bold’s peaktime techno cut from his Supermarket Dirties EP showed the talent that has now seen Bold apply his trade in Europe. Bold is now a popular techno DJ in the northern hemisphere showcasing the harder styles of techno to much success.

SKYVER & D JON KNOCK OUT (TECHNIQUE RECORDINGS) 2006

A stomping D&B number from the guys who were repping Adelaide D&B on international dancefloors for a few years with tunes such as Justice and their remix of Broken N Twisted. This comes in with a cinematic vibe before getting seriously nasty – great tune.

SIA – BREATHE ME (FOUR TET REMIX) (ASTRALWERKS) 2006

Many including Mylo and Ulrich Schnauss have remixed Sia’s breakthrough track but it is Four Tet’s remix that is the best of the bunch. Four Tet perfectly keeps the vibe of the original while adding his personal touches to improve on the original.

SIDWHO? – TIME TO GO (BARK BANG) 2007

http://www.myspace.com/sidwho

A personal favourite and the most played track on my iTunes is Sidwho’s (The Swiss) Time To Go. This is a master class display in the art of subtlety. The bassline has this great funk kick to it and the way the keys and then the vocals join in is nothing but brilliant. If you have never heard this track hunt it down.

WELL BEING – LEND ME YOUR TROUBLES (FOKUZ RECORDINGS) 2008

Adelaide’s master of soulful D&B hit an early peak with this beautiful cut released on Dutch label Fokuz. With nearly 65,000 views on YouTube this shows that Well Being (AKA Alexander Holland) is an under-appreciated talent in this city. Listen to this, close your eyes and be blown away.

JORGE WATTS - UP TO THE SKY (1200 TRAXX) 2009

Techno and house producer Jorge Watts conducted the perfect party house formula with this tune. Remixed by Derrick Carter and DJ Sneak, this should have been much bigger that it was. With an amazing bassline and a great vocal sample, it’s a shame this wasn’t a massive global smash.

THE SWISS - BUBBLE BATH (MODULAR) 2010

Tweeted by Erol Alkan, playlisted by Aeroplane and to be released on Modular, The Swiss’ upcoming single Bubble Bath is destined to be massive. This is a seriously infectious piece of instrumental nu-disco that will see The Swiss thrashed by DJs across the globe. The Swiss plus Donnie Sloan equals magic.

Please not that some tracks were not include because there are no links available on the internet. Also Onion will be doing a list of classic Adelaide hip hop numbers in the coming weeks.

What tracks, artists or genres have we missed? Let us know in the comments section!

Words: David Knight
HMC photo: Summa Durie