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Reviewer: Richard Brown
Sunshine People
With precious little sleep dividing me from the festivities of
the previous night, it was off to Sunshine People at Mounts Bay
Sailing Club for the first day of 2003. My head was still feeling
extremely fragile, although the knowledge that Rodger Sanchez would
be playing in the near future did a lot to ease the pain. But enough
about my problems … you probably just want to know if it was
good … and yes, it was mighty good. So good in fact, that for
all those intelligent people who had the forethought to keep themselves
in half decent condition for Sunshine it was probably one of the
best events they'll ever go to.
Despite the predictably subdued mood early on, the air was full
of good cheer from the opening hours, as the tree-lined expanses
of the riverside venue provided an ideal place to chill with one's
nearest and dearest, while soaking up the rays and atmosphere. Perth
house stalwarts Declan, Adam Kelly, Cee and Tamar served up sounds
for those indomitable early dancing types to sway to, but most people
enjoyed the funky 4 by 4 while reclining under the afore mentioned
trees. The cuts were definitely tight though (anyone who dug the
vibe should check out the fantastic Sunday evening house session
at the Leedy), and set things into motion groovily.
Austrian Daniel Magg must have been wondering if he was still on
planet Earth when he stepped up to begin his set in the middle of
a sweltering Perth afternoon, with the mercury climbing above 35
degrees. He didn't let it infringe on his mixing though, and the
crowd of punters boogeying along slowly built as the laidback grooves
kept on flowing.
Even the d'n'b room was fairly ambient through the afternoon, as
Legally Dope pushed out rolling baselines, complemented by beautifully
melodic loops and riffs. Despite being a bit mellower than your
average drum 'n' bass sess, I think it was definitely the hardest
workout a members bar in a Perth yacht club has received in a good
long while. While Dope eventually pumped up the tempo enough to
give the d'n'b faithful an excuse to display their wonderfully elaborate
shows of hyperkinetic footwork, he still kept the tunes organic
and soulful. Personally I think multifaceted sets like this are
much more likely to promote the genre to newcomers, as opposed to
spinning sterile eardrum killers all day (although of course eardrum
killage has its place to!).
Meanwhile the Tek and Breaks purveyors were ripping thing up in
a concreted section out back. The area wasn't exactly first rate
during the day, but when darkness waved its merciful wand, a killer
lighting setup kicked in, which gave the space plenty of atmosphere.
The place was packed pretty early though, and once international
outfit the Space DJ'z unleashed there charming brand of Tekno delinquency,
the tent was a madhouse. The much loved duo kept the tone fast and
very hard; a selection of scintillating tracks showed off an energy
level that few other genres can match.
As luxury yachts drifted alongside, the main arena was really coming
into its own. Magg began to work anthemic, big-crowd style tracks
into the mix, but still kept the same relaxed, fun-in-the-sun tone.
As lyrics such as "We're doooooin' fiiine, in the Sunshiiiiiiiine!"
rang through the speakers, ya couldn't help but get into it.
Magg eventually wound up his selection of sweet, summery vocals
to much applause, and gave way to Christian Smith, who made an unexpected
but thoroughly welcome return performance, following his stellar
work at Electrick the previous night. He gave the crowd a highly
danceable selection of tek-house, and as the day turned to evening,
the event really started to feel a bit epic. Live outfit Ribosome
then took the evening into more eclectic territory, combining traditional
instrumental grooves with a cornucopia of electronic elements from
samplers and vinyl. The laidback trio crafted the mood perfectly,
blurring lines between a gazillion genres without ever sounding
too experimental. The throngs of nubile young women swaying sensually
on the shoreline certainly didn't hurt the mystically cool atmosphere
either.
The final item on the menu was, of course, none other than Rodger
Sanchez. The set turned out even more delectable than expected,
as, wasting no time on formalities, the man started dropping thumping
tunes from the get-go.
Over in Freq Nasty territory the place was going totally wild,
and while it was a bit frenetic for the sleep deprived among us,
everyone in the packed out tent was having an awesome time. This
was most especially the case during the airing of Kid Kenobi's take
on La La Land, the penultimate anthem for the pharmaceutically altered.
D'n'b master Doc Scott detonated his room in epic fashion as well,
leaving all comers very happy clams.
The now well-amped crowd dwarfing the main stage was taken on a
magical journey which explored all that is good about deep, heavenly
house music. An established 3-deck master, Sanchez exhibited the
technical expertise he is famous for, taking influence from jazz,
soul and retro 80's tunes all swirled into a divine mix of ridiculously
danceable 4 by 4. And the tunes!! Just to get my hands on one of
the dozens of amazing records Sanchez spun, I would pretty much
sell my soul. I would be willing to be subjected to electro-shock
therapy, whipping, stoning, flogging, a 7th Heaven marathon …
pretty much any torture modern society has devised. It was a mind-bendingly
wonderful set, full of emotion, creativity and cooled-out verve.
And on top of that you just can't fault the guy's grooming, that's
one well tended-to goatee.
One of the most universally praised Perth events ever; the unique
atmosphere of Sunshine People was a wicked way to kick off the 2003.
Sublime sounds, gorgeous surrounds and a sea of beautiful people
grooving into the dusk as moonlight glimmers on the water. Who needs
Ibiza?
Richie Brown
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Linup:
Sunshine People! New Years Day
Wednesday January 2003
Main Stage :
Roger Sanchez (USA) : 4 hour set
Daniel Magg (Germ)
plus RHIBOSOME LIVE, BEAT-NICK LIVE, Cee; Declan; Tamar; Adam
Kelly
33 and 1/3 Breaks Stage :
Freq Nasty (UK) :
Plus T-Mac; Pawel; Karisma; Echoic; Rexy; Max Veritech
Loaded Dice DnB Stage :
Doc Scott and MC Justiyc (UK) : 3 hour set
plus Diamond D; Mike L; Dart; Legally Dope; Sardi
and MC's J Rippa; Assassin; X sessiv
Plastik Te(c)kno Stage :
Space DJ'z (UK) : 4 hour set
plus Troy; 'Siick' Nic Tan; Puff; Mrw
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