100% Magazine #1346

012

W ED N O V 1 4 TH 2

ISSUE 1346 MELBOURNE’S ONLY DEDICATED CLUB MAG

BEN SIMSUK

KING UNIQUEUK

LUIS JUNIORESP

RE A, OSCAR O’BRYAN AND MO PLUS: OTOLOGIC, SMOKE DZ

TICKETS ON SALE NOW WWW.MELBOURNE.VIC.GOV.AU/MMW

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UPCOMING

DECEMBER

NOVEMBER

ONTOUR SCNTST [GER] Thursday 15 November, Royal Melbourne Hotel D-NOX [GER], KING UNIQUE [UK], LUIS JUNIOR [ESP], PSYCATRON [IRE] Friday November 16, New Guernica HOUSSE DE RACKET [FRA], PILLOWTALK [USA] + MORE Friday November 16, Where?House BATHS [USA], PREFUSE 73 [USA], SYNKRO [UK] + MORE Friday November 16, Brown Alley SMOKE DZA [USA] Saturday November 17, Laundry Bar MIKE HUCKABY [USA], BEN SIMS [UK] + MORE Sunday November 18, Where?House SUBB-AN [UK], MIGUEL CAMPBELL [UK] Sunday November 18, Revolver BOYZ II MEN [USA] Sunday November 18, Billboard TYCHO [USA] Wednesday November 21, The Hi-Fi RICHARD DEVINE [USA], VLADISLAV DELAY [FIN] Wednesday November 21, Where?House ESMKO [USA], TIPPER [UK] + MORE Thursday November 22, Where?House GERD JANSON [GER] Friday November 23, Mercat Basement HOPSIN [USA] Friday November 23, Prince Bandroom TEENGIRL FANTASY [USA], TIM SWEENEY [UK] Friday November 23, National Gallery of Victoria TROY PIERCE [USA], RADIO SLAVE [UK] Friday November 23, Where?House FREQ NASTY [USA], CULTURE SHOCK [UK] Friday November 23, Brown Alley STRAWBERRY FIELDS: JAMES HOLDEN [UK], TYCHO [USA], PREFUSE 73 [USA] + MORE Friday November 23 – Sunday November 25, TBA FLOATING POINTS [UK], ALEXANDER NUT [UK], TEEBS [USA], PREFUSE 73 [USA] Saturday November 24, Where?House MATIAS AGUAYO [CHI] Sunday November 25, Where?House MAJOR LAZER [USA] Thursday November 29, The Hi-Fi MICHAEL MAYER [GER] Friday November 30, Prince Bandroom BORIS BREJCHA [GER], ANNA [GER], KHAINZ [SWI] Friday November 30, Brown Alley STEREOSONIC: TIESTO [NED], AVICII [SWE], CALVIN HARRIS [UK] + MORE Saturday December 1, Melbourne Showgrounds 2MANYDJS [BEL] Sunday December 2, Red Bennies FOUR TET [UK] Thursday December 6, Prince Bandroom NICK WARREN [UK], HENRY SAIZ [ESP] Friday December 7, Billboard TYGA [USA] Friday December 7, Prince Bandroom RAHZEL [USA] Friday December 7, The Espy TODD TERJE [NOR] Friday December 7, The Liberty Social MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL: FOUR TET [UK], DJ YAMANTAKA EYE [JAP] + MORE Friday December 7 - Sunday December 9, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre PAUL KALKBRENNER [GER] Friday December 14, Billboard XKORE [UK] Friday December 14, Royal Melbourne Hotel KENDRICK LAMAR [USA] Friday December 21, The Palace TERRENCE PARKER [USA] Friday December 21, New Guernica FALLS FESTIVAL: SBTRKT [UK], COOLIO [USA] + MORE Saturday December 28 – Tuesday January 1, Lorne TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS [UK] Saturday December 29, Corner Hotel LET THEM EAT CAKE: KERRI CHANDLER [USA], THE GASLAMP KILLER [USA] + MORE Tuesday January 1, Werribee Park SUMMERDAYZE: THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS [UK], M.I.A [UK], MARK RONSON [UK] + MORE Tuesday January 1, Sidney Myer Music Bowl MARCELLUS PITTMAN [USA], PSYCHEMAGIK [UK] Tuesday January 1, The Bridge KRAFTY KUTS [UK], A-SKILLZ [UK], CAMO & KROOKED [UK] + MORE Tuesday January 1, Brown Alley SBTRKT [UK] Wednesday January 2, Billboard HOT CHIP [UK] Wednesday January 9, The Palace CRYSTAL CASTLES [CAN] Tuesday January 22, Billboard THE BLOODY BEETROOTS [ITA] Thursday January 24, The Palace SOUL CLAP [USA] Friday January 25, The Liberty Social RAINBOW SERPENT: GUY J [ISR], CHRISTIAN SMITH [SWE], PETER VAN HOESEN [BEL] Friday January 25 - Monday January 28, Lexton BIG DAY OUT: THE BLOODY BEETROOTS [ITA], KASKADE [USA], CRYSTAL CASTLES [CAN] + MORE Saturday January 26, Flemington Racecourse JESSIE WARE [UK] Wednesday January 30, Prince Bandroom ABOVE & BEYOND [UK] Saturday February 2, Hisense Arena EL-P [USA] Wednesday February 6, Corner Hotel BICEP [UK] Sunday February 10, Revolver Upstairs MACKLEMORE [USA], RYAN LEWIS [USA] Saturday February 16, The Corner Hotel GOLDEN PLAINS: MOODYMANN [USA], JULIO BASHMORE [UK] + MORE Saturday March 9 - Monday March 11, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL: THE PRODIGY [UK], DIZZEE RASCAL [UK], BOYS NOIZE [GER] + MORE Sunday March 10, Flemington Racecourse

2.

The Psyde Projects: Hip Hopping

REAL TALK I am Tyson, hear me roar, this Tuesday I’ll turn 24 (well, not really, but it is my birthday). I feel old.

Tyson Wray

Summer Series With Bicep: Heavy Lifting

Novel, Thick as Thieves and Stable present their Summer Series with Bicep, a formerly fledgling Melbourne party crew celebrating four years. To be held on Sunday February 10 at Revolver Upstairs with local support to be announced, the Summer Series is a sleazy social event combining the edge of Revolver with musical depth and direction. Your spot for Sundays during Summer if you feel rave-inclined, pick up tickets from eventbrite.com.au.

Banco De Gaia: Worldtronica

The Psyde Projects, Melbourne party rockers and purveyors of ‘Golden Age’ hip hop, take off on their third annual ‘almost national’ tour promoting their new single Re-Dizzled from an upcoming album. With plans to release a separate single, Die Tryin’, they’ll end their tour in Melbourne at Strictly BMX, one of the world’s leading BMX companies. Amongst their multiple projects in the works, the launch will host a new collaborative project with BoyWolf clothing, an underground fashion label on the forefront of street culture. Exclusive prints will be available in limited numbers at the launch, which will also feature performances from Showtime, Zack Rampage, Footclan and Throbbing Anaconda. Catch The Psyde Projects on Saturday November 24 at Strictly BMX. For more information head to thepsydeprojects.com.

Sam Sparro: Bird Of Paradise

A Grammy and ARIA-nominated artist, the incredibly chic Sam Sparro returns to Australia this December to play the annual Homebake festival as part of his The Moon And The Stars Tour, which includes a performance at Melbourne’s Prince Bandroom on Sunday December 9. In addition, Re-Return To Paradise, a special digital-only repackage of Sam’s sophomore album, will be released on Friday November 30 and features seven bonus remix tracks.

Tickets from princebandroom.com.au.

Iconic electronic music artist Banco De Gaia will perform his complete live show at an exclusive Victorian gig. The name Banco De Gaia has been synonymous with groundbreaking, world infused electronic music for two decades, and mixing electronic and acoustic instruments and voices, his work defies genre classification. The master of Worldtronica will play his only Melbourne show at Northcote Social Club with DJ Dom Hogan and Sunsaria. Tickets through northcotesocialclub.com.

An exclusive new Banco De Gaia track can be picked up for free on the night. Score.

Fluidlife Lunar: Party Excess

Radioslave: Where?Here.

In the final Fluidlife Lunar for 2012 the dance stalwarts present Afrilounge’s frontman Liefko. An outfit classified by their suspenseful, ecstatic and redemptive sounds, their head honcho plays as part of a 12-hour event. Celebrating the last 12 months of Lunar at OneSixOne it’ll be a party that gets heads rolling. Head down on Friday December 14 for this feat of party endurance. Tickets from fluidlife.net.

Rainbow Serpent: Nathan Fake, Prometheus

Rainbow Serpent Festival have added more international acts to their exciting lineup, fronted

by Britain’s Nathan Fake. Joining Fake and the previously announced acts (including Israel’s Guy J and Spain’s Christian Smith) will be opera-influenced techno/trance king Prometheus, Younger Brother DJ, talented audio-visual bass star Filistine (with NOVA), Caballero, Antix/Fiord and underground electronica act Audiojack. Rainbow Serpent Festival runs from Friday January 25 til Monday January 28 in Lexton. For tickets and more information, head to rainbowserpent.net.

Radioslave spent the first days of 2012 on a New Year’s tour of Australia and returns for Melbourne Music Week. The master of twisting dancefloor epics, who’s played London’s Fabric, Paris’ Rex Club with Joe Clausselland and at Space Ibiza will perform in MMW’s flagship program Where?House at the historical Argus Building. The venue, formerly shrouded in secrecy, will be a welcome addition to his party dates around the country. He’ll perform The Likes of You party on Friday November 23 at Where?House, with tickets from wherehousemmw.eventbrite.com.au.

Major Lazer: Pon Our Floor

Masters of infectious dancehall Major Lazer return to Australian stages with a new LP Free The Universe and an electric live show. Since Switch departed the outfit leaving Diplo in charge it’s ventured into brave new territory including a range of collaborations with Bruno Mars, Tyga, Flux Pavilion, Wynter Gordon, Shaggy, Wyclef Jean, Dev, and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. The latest single Get Free features Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman. Catch them at the Hi-Fi on Thursday November 29 with guests Dillon Francis and Krewella. Tickets are onsale from moshtix.com.au.

RESPONSIBLE: Managing Editor: Ronnit Sternfein ronnit@beat.com.au Editor: Tyson Wray tyson@beat.com.au Listings: club/promoter submissions clubguide@beat.com.au - now online at beat.com.au - it’s free!

Production: Pat O’Neill art@beat.com.au Typesetting: Rebecca Houlden Cover Design: Pat O’Neill Advertising Senior Sales: ronnit@beat.com.au (03) 8414 9710 Taryn Stenvei taryn@beat.com.au Fashion and Beverages: Tegan Butler tegan@furstmedia.com.au Ph: 03 8414 9732 Deadlines: Editorial Friday 2PM – absolutely NO exceptions. Club photos Monday 9AM (email only clubpics@beat.com.au). Advertising artwork Monday 12PM. Photographers: Callum Linsell Contributors: Rezo Kezerashvili, Miki McLay, Shane Scott, Simon Traspier, Brian Rotide, The Knowledge, Ellen Devenney, Dan Watt, Aaron Ralston, Birdie, Liam Pieper, Simon Hampson, Chad-Michael Michaelson, Mikolai, Reuben Adams, David Edgley.

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EDITORIALDEADLINE - 2PM FRIDAYS NO EXCEPTIONS UP TO DATE

DJ Profile: Otologic (Tom Moore & Nick Murray)

Where's the strangest place you've woken up?

T: Sitting in an open CBD window. N: Alone on the roof of an unknown house.

Describe yourself using the title of a song.

T: Dizzy Dizzy. N: Someone Great.

What was the weirdest thing you believed as a child?

T: That Agro was real. N: When you're older everybody wore suits for a living.

The most awkward moment you've had as a DJ? Explaining to Vanilla Ice that we weren’t going to play his new tracks while he was handed us a CD. What would be the worst dance track in the world to be tortured with on re- peat?

T: Tough choice. Anything that is so called EDM Pop that I’ve heard in a supermarket lately is pretty torturous. N: Pretty much any song on Nova… other than Gangnam Style, which is excellent.

What's the most played record in your bag?

T: Flash And The Pan’s Midnight Man has had quite a few revolutions. N: Retro/Grade - Moda is a bit of a C Grade classic.

What question would you like to ask an omniscient, all-knowing being before you die?

Are you really an omniscient, all-knowing being?

If you hadn't made it as a DJ, what job would you choose to work in instead?

T: Party Liaison. N: Wizard.

When and where is your next gig?

Saturday November 17 at C Grade, Thursday November 22 at The Mercat for Melbourne Music Week, Friday November 23 at Animals Dancing: Gerd Janson, Saturday November 24 at Survivor, and Sunday November 25 at Where?House for the Melbourne Music Week Official After Party.

60 seconds with…

Oscar O’Bryan (Speed Painters / DJ-O / Two Bright Lakes DJs)

Define your genre in five words or less: Love dancing.

What do you love about making music?

It’s a joyous thing. I never smile more than when I’m playing in a band of friends or DJing to a great crowd.

What can a punter expect from your live show?

A very good friend of mine recently described Speed Painters as “emotional house music.”

When’s the gig and with who?

I’m DJing the Where?House this Saturday in support of two amazing bros Naysayer & Gilsun. If their sets at Golden Plains and the Hi-Fi earlier this year are anything to go by, it’s going to be a pretty amazing night.

How long have you been gigging?

I started gigging on trumpet in a funk and fusion band called King Armadillo straight out of high school, about 10 years ago. We played every weekend at venues like the Purple Emerald and Kitten Club for years, busting out Herbie Hancock and James Brown covers. Then about six years ago I got into DJing, eventually crossed paths with Tig and Blake of Two Bright Lakes, and started playing with Speed Painters a couple of years back. It’s been a pretty organic progression.

Describe the best gig you have ever played.

After 10 years gigging it’s pretty hard single one out, but Speed Painters recently did a great gig at Schoolhouse Studios for the opening of Place Of Assembly – Wednesday night shed rave pretty much sums it up.

What’s your favourite song, and why?

I’m going through another Ignition (Remix) phase at the moment – it’s an amazing pop song, and you cannot deny that shit on the dancefloor.

What makes a good musician?

Someone who listens, thinks, and reacts.

UK - RENAISSANCE / BALANCE / HOPE RECORDINGS

SPAIN - NATURA SONORIS / BALANCE / RENAISSANCE

UK - NOIR MUSIC / DEFECTED / MODA BLACK SUPPORT FROM PHIL K - SEAN QUINN - ROLLIN CONNECTION - PQM - JASON D'COSTA SIMON MURPHY - J-SLYDE - ANDREW SLATTERY + MORE TBA

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THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE

3.

BROTHER ALI

“I think it’s important for people to make music about what’s important to them, whatever makes them feel an intense way about anything. So when I’m going through times of personal struggle, then that’s what my music is about.”

REVOLUTIONARY RAP: TECHNICOLOUR DREAMS For Brother Ali, aka Ali Newman, his life is manifested in his music and vice versa. A down-to-earth guy in a scene that encourages posturing, his life is an open book. He doesn’t hide anything, and his physical presence itself is hard to avoid as an Islamic white albino with a full goatee. It may sound bewildering,

4.

but it’s all part of the intriguing package that has made this 14-year veteran such a beloved figure amongst hip hop fans and countless other listeners.

“I’ve been on tour the last two months,” the tireless Ali says in somewhat out-of-breath fashion.

We caught him at a rare moment at home in

COVER STORY

Minnesota as he takes a break from promoting new album Mourning In America And Dreaming In Color.

“The response to the album has been really good, the performances have been great. When I perform I lean heavily towards new music but I do things from every album.” As someone with a solid back-catalogue and loyal fanbase, he has plenty to draw from. “I’ve been making albums for 10 years now, so there’s people that come that are fans of all the different periods, so it’s good to do stuff from all the albums.”

Harking back to the days of the classic ‘one rapper and one DJ’ formula on Mourning In America, Ali worked exclusively with prolific hip hop producer Jake One. “I like to build a momentum, a relationship with somebody. I think just getting beats from a few different people is tough, I really like to build that relationship.” While the process of developing their chemistry and the final project took place over a year, the recording was done in a matter of two months.

As if he needed any encouragement to let loose, Ali and Jake drove each other on to bring the intensity in the studio. “He started making beats just for me and I think I pulled him a little in my direction and he pulled me a bit in his and I really like the result.”

Last making waves down under in 2007, the wise bearded-one is glad to be returning to our shores for a heavy hitting double bill with fellow uncompromising lyricist Sean Price. “[Last album] we didn’t end up coming to Australia, which was a big mistake. Because people have shown so much love down there and triple j has always played the stuff.

I hated the fact I couldn’t come, so really looking forward to it this time.”

While it may seem like a somewhat odd combo between the peaceful Ali and the bruiser Price, the two are friends and have a history. “That’s a friend of mine and I love his music, so I’m excited to do this tour together. His music is very very street and aggressive and I think mine’s a bit more revolutionary type of stuff.”

As the chat wore on, it was clear that Ali is engaging in any form, yet in a different way to his recorded persona. As opposed to the boisterous bluesy preacher of tracks like Bitchslap! you get an equally passionate yet softly-spoken dude. Regardless of the tone, Ali has never strayed from revealing himself and his personal struggles, such as on the recent track Fajr, dedicated to his son. “All of my albums have been autobiographical. This one is not so autobiographical compared to the others though, this one is a little more political.”

The political themes of Mourning In America should be of no surprise, considering the cover depicts him kneeling on the American flag in a praying position. While he followed the recent US election circus, Ali believes true change cannot be achieved purely through electing officials - it requires action.

“In my mind, what’s most important is the activism.

[We need] actual movement on the ground, the grassroots, organising people on the ground and making changes. Just electing people is never going to make that happen for us. That’s what my focus is and where my attention is.”

The power of music can help inspire thought or action and for him it is a great outlet for whatever is weighing

heaviest on his mind at the time. At such a politicised time, discourse and activism are his biggest concerns.

“I think it’s important for people to make music about what’s important to them, whatever makes them feel an intense way about anything. So when I’m going through times of personal struggle, then that’s what my music is about. Now I think is a really important time, there are a lot of opportunities for people to come together and make change in our society.”

As important as the message is, he never loses sight of why he was drawn to hip hop to begin with. “I was attracted to it because of the music and because of the art.” The possibilities that hip hop music opens up in the form of expressing ideas and thoughts is something he believes all artists should embrace.

“I think music and art should be made to address all subjects in life and all parts of life. Partying and fun and sex are all important parts of life, and there are people that express that in their music. Then you have people who make music based on other things, but there’s important space for all of those.”

Religion has been another overarching theme for the vocalist, who was rechristened Ali Newman (from original name Jason), after converting to Islam. Even as important as it is, he doesn’t feel it’s his place to convert or preach. “I don’t leave anything out but I don’t feel like the purpose of my music is to each or try to convert people to Islam, or even teach them what Islam is necessarily. I think all parts of my life should be present in my music, so there’s a presence there and I feel like that’s important. We should put all of ourselves in our music.”

Through his music and his personal life, Ali juggles all of his concerns and responsibilities. With a son and daughter at home, his drive has increased, yet making the time to actually see them has been one of his greatest challenges. “It’s a constant struggle to try and balance, with family that needs me here but also this work I love. This is how I feed my family and provide for my family. It’s always a struggle.”

As his kids continue to grow he will also have the concern of enrolling them into the American school system, one he has been openly critical about. “I think it’s very very limited. There’s a lot of mediocrity, there’s a lot of waste. I don’t think the education system is very good.” Through his parenting and leading by example he is hoping to help steer them in a direction he believes is more beneficial.

Staunchly independent, he has remained on the fringes of another archaic system, the major record label system. As the model continues to change, he sees power going back to the people. “I don’t think the big record labels are ever going to be able to get the stranglehold they had on the industry again.”

Andrew ‘Hazard’ Hickey Brother Ali [USA] and Sean Price [USA] play the Prince Bandroom on Wednesday November 21.

BEACHES + BEN BROWNING + BEN SIMS (UK) + COLLARBONES + CRAYON FIELDS+ EPROM (USA) + ESKMO (USA) + FLOATING POINTS (UK) + FORCES + FOX+SUI + FRANCOLIN + FROWNING CLOUDS + GOBLIN (ITA) + HOUSSE DE RACKET (FRA) + JUGGERNAUT DJS + KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD + KIRIN J CALLINAN + MATIAS AGUAYO (CHL) + MILLIONS + NAYSAYER & GILSUN + NEW WAR + NICK HUGGINS & BAND + NO ZU + OLIVER TANK + RICHARD DEVINE (USA) + TEEBS (USA) + TEENGIRL FANTASY (USA) + THE NIGHT TERRORS + THE ORBWEAVERS + //THIS THING// + TIM SWEENEY (USA) + TROY PIERCE (USA) + TWERPS ++

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WEDNESDAY14TH COQ ROQ Rocking Wednesdays at Lucky Coq are rotating DJs Lady Noir, Agent 86, Kiti, Mr Thom, Joybot and guests giving you nothing but the best new wave, punk, brit pop, bong rap and hair metal. Coq Roq takes place every Wednesday from 8pm with free pool downstairs from 9pm as well as drink specials. Roq out!

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

SOUL ARMY With more flavour than a chocolate pizza, the Wednesday Soul Army throws down raw, uncut funk next to smooth soul grooves and rare blue jams. Bring that special lady because when the boys lay down the love it could be the difference between ‘we’re just friends’ to ‘let’s get it on’. PBS stalwarts Vince Peach and Miss Goldie accompany Prequel and Black Diamond Kicks weekly. Free.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

THURSDAY15TH BIMBO THURSDAYS Tigerfunk brings with him his full band of travelling gypsies, hipsters and middle class executives, all of whom are prepared to deliver the most excitement you can have this side of the weekend.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

FUN HOUSE Celebrate Thursday night at Co. with club classics and dance floor anthems.

Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

FRIDAY16TH CQ FRIDAYS The weekend starts here! Get on down for after work drinks from 5pm with DJs Marcus Knight, Mark Pellegrini, Nick Van Wilder & DJ Anferny getting your weekend started right. 5pm til 3am.

CQ, 113 Queen St, Melbourne

FIRST FLOOR FRIDAYS A journey of international music from all over the world; past, present and future rhythms incorporating afro, soul, funk, world and deep house elements!

First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

FREEDOM PASS Friday’s at Freedom with 2 premier clubs, 5 huge rooms, 10+ local and international DJs blending their unique sets across countless styles of tunes – vocal house, smooth R&B, electro and commercial top 40. Throw in a few sexy podium dancers, a world-class lights show and drink specials, the Freedom Pass is your personal ticket to a night you won’t soon forget!

Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

RETRO SEXUAL FRIDAY DJ Grandmaster Vicious spins Fitzroy’s finest mix of ‘80s and ‘90s pop, rock, new wave, hip hop, disco classics and cheese to please plus dance floor anthems from then to now.

One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy

SATURDAY17TH EDEN SATURDAYS Smashing it every week at Melbourne’s hottest looking venue!

Top 40 dance, house and R&B 9-3am, then electro from 3am 5am. DJ Ontime, DJ Ryza, Scotty Erdos and Azza M. $15/$20, free entry after 4am.

Eden, 163 Russell St, Melbourne

FIRST FLOOR SATURDAYS It’s house, electro, dub, anthems, disco and funk with guest DJs Genetix, B-Two and Oohee rocking til the break of day. Doors open 10pm with $5 basics til midnight!

First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

SOUND EMPIRE Co. At Crown’s Saturday night party Sound Empire this week features mega sounds from resident DJs Tate Strauss, Miss Sarah, Nova, Johnny M, Matty G, Dean T, Joe Sofo, Marcus Knight, Dinesh, Chris Ostrom, B-Boogie and Sarah Roberts.

Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

SUNDAY18TH SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE The perfect Sunday soundtrack with DJs Askew, Peter Baker, Booshank, Paz, Miss Butt, Junji, Disco Harry and guests. They will be laying down disco, afro beat and deep house til 3am.

For lovers of good music - South Side Hustle.

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

STAR BAR SUNDAYS The original and still the best Sunday in Melbourne.

Star Bar, 160 Clarendon St, South Melbourne

SUNDAE SHAKE Our Signature serve. Each and every Sunday we play host to a self professed vinyl junkie caught between the golden years and boogie wonderland. A mouthful? Perhaps. Phato Amano perfectly sets the mood for an audio-adventure that redefines the dance floor weekly. Our Sunday aficionados Agent 86 and Tigerfunk stir up a full cream shake to the flavour of your liking.

Forget everything you thought you knew about losing yourself to the grooves.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

MONDAY19TH IBIMBO

DJ CKass will take you on a musical journey to the retro sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s, followed by Top 40.

One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy

Have you always wanted to be a DJ but been cruelly cursed with tone deafness and a general inability to version excursion?

Well Bimbo Deluxe saves the day once again.. All you need is an iPhone and you’re set. Just download the free ‘remote’ application from the app store, log into the Bimbo DJ wireless network and you choose which song plays next.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

periods where techno seems to be influencing quite a lot of styles, you’ve got a lot of guys coming from bass music or the post-dubstep scene that are making music which is essentially raw techno, but they are doing it without the same influences as the older generation. They’re not coming from a Detroit or Chicago background, they’re coming from more of a drum and bass or dubstep background,” Sims explains.

Techno’s re-resurgence is something that Ben Sims has seen more than once. “At the moment it does seem like techno is on the up and it seems that the more commercial end of DJs are playing techno-y stuff. I played after Sascha in Ibiza the other day which in itself is quite a bizarre concept and he was essentially playing quite raw dubby techno and I was like, ‘that’s quite odd’,” he says. “Being into it (techno) for as long as I have you see things come and go so many times, it’s why I try and not get too excited about the next craze. People jump ship and keep changing styles, I think there is something quite naive about that, things do come in and out of fashion and if you can carry on doing what you believe in, eventually it will be popular again.”

However, Sims’ embrace for the renewed interest in techno is a welcome one. “The last time it felt like this was in the mid to late ‘90s when it was a lot of UK producers; Surgeon, Ruskin and people like myself coming through, then you had the older generation coming through like Luke Slater and Dave Angel

– it’s like that again now,” he says. Last year Sims released his debut LP Smoke and Mirrors on Adam Beyer’s Drumcode.

Prior to the album, Sims admits he never really considered himself an artist; he was always a DJ who produced tracks for his DJ sets. “The album was the first time I really took time out and really focused on just the music. I really enjoyed it and I managed to keep the momentum going and kept up the excitement of going into the studio,” he says.

This momentum and excitement will translate into a follow up LP explains Sims. “At the beginning of next year I’m going to take January-February off to work on a new album,” he says.

“Before I saw the production side of things a very small part of what I do, it was always about the DJing, but now I feel a lot more confident after taking the time to work on a project that was ambitious and I look forward to doing some more.

“I have spoken to Drumcode about it and they are up for it, but it all depends on the music I make, it may not suit the label at all once I have done it. The last album came out on Drum-

SATURDAYS AT ONE TWENTY BAR

Focus: Where?House

With Melbourne Music Week kicking off this week, it’s time to look deeper in Where?House. Where?House will see an iconic Melbourne space transformed into a temporary cultural and multi-function hub, providing the flagship pop-up venue for Melbourne Music Week 2012.

Where?House will feature performances from the likes of Richard Devine, Vladislav Delay, Troy Pierce, Floating Points, Alexander Nut, Teebs, Africa Hitech, Matias Aguayo, Radio Slave and DJ MADD, alongside Australians Naysayer & Gilsun, Favela DJs, Oscar O’Bryan, Oliver Tank, Mitzi, Lost Animal, No Zu, Harmonic 313, Tantrums, Isaac Fryar, Animals Dancing DJs, Future Classic DJs, Affiks and many more. Alongside the evening entertainment, Where?House will have a variety of daytime activities including a retro clothing market and dining hall, featuring Fancy Hanks, Huxtaburger, Fat Brats, Touche Hombre and Supreme coffee from Cavillero.

There will also be a series of workshops, film screenings, Mess + Noise ‘Lunch Box Series’ and the Intel® Ultrabook™ Wi-Fi Lounge. This week will see Housse De Racket and PillowTalk play the official opening night party on Friday November 16, Optimus Gryme, Affiks, A13 on Saturday November 17 (day party), Naysayer & Gilsun, Favela DJs, Oscar O’Bryan later in that evening, Mike Huckaby, Ben Sims on Sunday November 18, Straight Arrows, Bitch Prefect, Ausmuteants on Monday November 19, Oliver Tank, MITZI and Lost Animal on Tuesday November 20 plus a whole lot more. Where?House will be located at The Argus Building, corner of La Trobe and Elizabeth St. Check out where-house.com.au for more information.

BEN SIMS BEN THE BUTCHER: STEAKS ARE HIGH It’s been the better part of a decade since Ben Sims was last in Australia. Little did he know upon his last visit, he left with the handle “Ben the Butcher”. It was set of “sonic ultra-violence” as described by one Melbourne punter that earned him the honorific title. “I might have grown up a little bit since then. I might not be smashing it too ‘ard now,” Ben Sims says in his thickset cockney accent.

For those expecting the white-noise brutality of mid 2000s, Ben Sims’ set come November may not want to hold their breath.

For someone like Sims, one of the longest standing in demand DJs, he is no one-trick-jockey. The British techno stalwart has long embraced a wide selection of music in his DJ sets and watching Sims pack for a gig now is akin to watching Rambo suite up for deployment behind enemy lines. “I’ll quite often take out records, a folder of CDs, USB sticks, Serato and my laptop if it’s possible. I still like to play vinyl. Most of the time, at the moment, I tend to be playing with three CDJs and it seems to be quite stable,” he says.

Ben Sims is part of a British vanguard in electronic music comparable to what Derrick May, Mike Huckaby and Kevin Saunderson are to Detroit techno. But as techno’s prevailing winds blow back across the Atlantic, it’s the Sims et al in James Ruskin, Mark Broom, Regis and Surgeon that now have UK techno at the forefront of influence and popularity. “It is one of those

code, but I didn't cater it for Drumcode,” he says. “I want to continue from where I left off and try and experiment a little bit more, maybe work with some more vocalists again and do some more housier stuff and push myself a little but further.”

For the remainder of 2012, Ben Sims’ conveyor belt like release schedule shows no sign of slowing. He teams up with Steven Brown for an EP on his own Theory imprint, the tribal sounds of his Hardgroove label will see a relaunch with a remix package featuring KiNK, Gary Beck and Mr G as well as a homage to Kevin Saunderson with a 25th Anniversary edits bundle.

James Manning Ben Sims [UK] plays as part of Melbourne Music Week alongside Mike Huckaby [USA] and more at Where?House on Sunday November 18.

LUIS JUNIOR DANCE NATIVE: CHILLOUT VIBES Luis Junior is joining the likes of D-Nox, King Unique and Psycatron this Friday at Darkbeat, showcasing a selection of international DJs who are in the country for Northern Queensland’s Eclipse Festival. Splitting his time equally between DJing and producing since the tender age of 15, Luis has more than earned his chops on the international dance circuit. Finally heading to Australia for his first time, Luis can’t wait to see what the scene here is all about.

Growing up in one of Europe’s party capitals, Madrid, Luis Junior spent his teenage years working the club circuit as opposed to partying his way through it. What started as a hobby quickly turned into something Luis realised he could actually turn into a career. “I started very young. Making music, playing in my house, making beats,” he recalls. “When I was fifteen I started playing on one radio station, mixing music and hosting the radio show. Then I had the opportunity to start playing in clubs, and after I released an EP in 1993, music came to be something like my job.” Working his way up through Spain’s radio stations, Luis eventually ended up doing regular slots on Mooseeka. Since touring full time though, he rarely has time to make shows any more. “I have my radio show on a podcast now, and I release them sometimes when I have time. Radio for

6.

me is very important for my career because I was working in it for so many years.”

Luis’ musical style has changed drastically since the early days, when chillout music was his focus and tracks like Momentos and Luminis made appearances on Ibiza chillout compilations.

After his remix of Baboop’s Yes We Can was championed by electronic royalty Sasha in 2009, Luis began making a name for himself on the electronic music circuit, and has focused on that path ever since. However he still tries to combine a degree of ambience into his live shows, born from that love of more down tempo productions. “It’s difficult to put one label on the music I make,” Luis says. “My sound is moving around techno, with some melodic influences. I like melodies, I like atmospheres.

I want it to be melodic so people can feel something on the dance floor, but at the same time I like the techno stuff to move people, because I want the energy. Playing just melodies can be too relaxing for a dance floor.”

But when Luis isn’t working he does prefer a more relaxed sound, which is prevalent in some of the tracks he chooses to remix. “I listen to a lot of different music. In my downtime though I never listen to music that would play in the club,” he muses. “I can’t listen to that kind of music unless I’m preparing ESSENTIALS

my stuff. If I’m not, I try to listen to other kinds always, music like Radiohead or Aparato or Boards of Canada.”

After spending the last few years touring internationally from Brazil to the Netherlands, Australia is Luis’ last big conquest.

“I always wanted to come to Australia, all my life. It was one country that was calling me. Now finally I’m here and I’m really happy.” While the major event on his trip will be Eclipse Festival, Luis is perhaps more excited to play the smaller gig in Melbourne. “These kinds of festivals are always a big thing with so many people,” Luis says. “In the smaller clubs you can feel the crowd, they’re closer to you. I like to have a very good connection, and at a festival it’s more complicated to get that connection compared with a smaller club.”

Spending time travelling around the world making and playing music sounds like a pretty good gig and Luis is more than willing to count his blessings, but he’s also adamant that it’s not as cushy as people think. “It is hard because you have to work a lot: making music, promotion, travelling, finding inspiration, having energy to give the best in every gig. It’s not as easy as it looks. But it’s okay and you come to love it because I love music. I love it.”

Kate McCarten Luis Junior [ESP] joins D-Nox [GER], King Unique [UK] and Psycatron [IRE] at New Guernica on Friday November 16.

Fresh Pizza. Old Price. $2 Pizza for lunch at Bimbo.

THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE

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KING UNIQUE CHESTER LAD: GOING SOLO For a jockey of discs, Matt Thomas is one interesting motherfucker. Now the only man behind King Unique since Matthew Roberts left to pursue media art in 2006, Thomas has taken the original moniker solely upon his shoulders and shone. Finding a home for King Unique’s more cosmic sound on Bedrock Records has seen some of Thomas’ biggest releases in 20000000 Suns and the Anthony Pappa collaboration Vamoosh. In Australia for Eclipse Festival in Northern Queensland and Sydney’s biggest weekender Sounds On Sunday, King Unique is stopping by Melbourne to shake shit up at Darkbeats this Friday.

Spending his formative years on the mean streets of Chester, Thomas’ true musical playgrounds were Manchester and Liverpool. “Chester is a bit like, say, Wollongong,” he explains. “It’s too close to a massive city, or in this case two massive cities [Liverpool and Manchester] which are both absolute hot beds of music.

It’s kind of impossible to have a small city maintain a particularly important culture like that when you can just get the train for 20 minutes and go do it in a big city.” But Chester had its moments. “The formative stuff of the UK house scene came out of [Chester] curiously. The super club Cream was started by a couple of Chester lads. Sasha is from just outside the town. There have been various famous and semi-famous people from here, but there’s a gravity towards Manchester and Liverpool – it just sucks in anybody within an hour.”

Including Thomas himself. Moving to Liverpool in the early ‘90s, he soon reaped the benefits of a postThatcher England. “In those days, you could be unemployed forever. As long as you did courses and pretended you were applying for colleges, they’d just keep giving you money. To my intense joy they actually funded a recording course in this corner of Liverpool. I went there, learnt the basics and then presented myself at one of the big studios and said, ‘Hello, I just about know my way around the desk and I will work for free.

I just want to do session times, learn the business and make tea.’” And it worked. Soon Thomas was working in studios and rubbing shoulders with artists like Echo and the Bunnymen and, incidentally, Matthew Roberts.

“This guy who’s doing fairly okay making house music comes in one day and says ‘Yeah I’m doing lots of remixes, you should work on one.’ So we hooked up together and originally the King Unique thing was the two of us. Then he decided to move into visual media stuff, and I am ploughing relentlessly onwards in this quest for never-ending King Uniqueness.”

The transition from two to one was a learning process for Thomas. “Initially I was very keen to maintain what we had been doing. About two years later I realised that I was working really hard to sail this ship as if there was still two of us there. I’d put my own head to one side and try to pretend and do his bit as he might have done it. I realised it was kind of insane, so I took it off in quite a musically different direction.” When asked if he prefers working alone to working in a partnership, Thomas is diplomatic.

“They yield different results, that’s all there is to it. It’s no coincidence that some of the more iconoclastic artists are individuals, and I think that’s because you have to have nobody interrupt you or disturb your insane train of thought to become an Aphex Twin. If somebody else is going 'You know what we should do? We should stick some strings on there,' you have to yield to them because you’re in a creative partnership. You can’t just sit there going 'No, no, no, I’m right, fuck off.' So you don't get a purely undiluted result. But I think groups create more accessible music. I think the strength of The Beatles etcetera is the fact that you need to sell this to some other creative people. You've got to get it past everybody else's threshold of 'Yeah, but is it catchy?' That's why bands often create the most colossal, successive, worldchanging music, because they've already been through a mini-democratic process.”

“Music’s probably the thing I’m best equipped to carry on doing. I’d like to go into writing, but I’ve lived through one industry burning itself into a small ball with the advent of digital and piracy. I can’t do it twice. It’s just lining yourself up for a really hard life.”

Playing Darkbeats alongside D-Nox, Luis Junior and Psycatron, Thomas is looking forward to the Melbourne leg of his short tour. “Melbourne always used to confuse me,” he laughs. “Before I first came to Australia, everybody was saying Melbourne’s the cool place and Sydney’s just got the Opera House and wankers; nobody likes Sydney. I went to Sydney first and I really liked it, but I felt this enormous angst because if I liked it clearly I must be a wanker. Then I get to Melbourne and I’m staying in St Kilda which I didn’t realise was just drugs and sex, and I thought...this is interesting. It took two or three trips until somebody took me in to all the alleyways and rooftop bars that I was like, now I get it. I realised Melbourne doesn’t jump out and grab you, it’s all tucked away.”

Then it's back to Chester to continue to work on restoring an old vicarage Thomas recently purchased, which he's been doing for the past few months. “This [tour] is actually a little break, going back into music for a fortnight from my otherwise monkish seclusion with me and a hammer and bricks.” Contemplating whether his new-found passion for home renovation means the end of his musical career, Thomas says he's open to the possibility. “I’m enormously resistant to getting stuck into anything corporate because I find it all a bit repellent, so music’s probably the thing I’m best equipped to carry on doing. I’d like to go into writing, but I’ve lived through one industry burning itself into a small ball with the advent of digital and piracy. I can’t do it twice. It’s just lining yourself up for a really hard life.”

He laughs. “How is the writing going, Kate?”

Kate McCarten King Unique [UK] joins D-Nox [GER], Luis Junior [SPN] and Psycatron [IRE] at New Guernica on Friday November 16.

8.

FEATURES

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$5 Pints of Draught + $5 Bubbles + $5 Basic Spirits + 2 for 1 Cocktails 100% CLUB PICS

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Party Profile: Light At RedLove

THURSDAY15TH MOTOWN THURSDAYS Kick start your weekend with Melbourne’s newest Thursday night! Motown Thursdays caters to all true music lovers. Join us on an eclectic musical journey of soul, funk and disco through to early R&B. A live Soul Band features some of Melbourne’s most talented musicians; Carmen Hendricks, Laurent Soupe, Duncan Kinell and Aaron Mendoza just to name a few. DJs keep the records spinning into the early hours; residents are Reg-e, Lee Davies, Kalepe, Dinesh, Suga, Rubz and Alwin Rafferty. Join us around a big, shiny disco ball or two, for free entry, soulful tunes, drink specials all night and a dance floor full of friends!

Fashion Lounge, 121 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

RHYTHM-AL-ISM Start the weekend early with Fusion’s Resident DJs. Music for your funkin’ soul. Special guests every week!

Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

FRIDAY16TH FAKTORY This is it. Faktory Fridays are open for business at Melbourne’s home of R&B, Khokolat Bar. Where else?

Damion De Silva, Ken Walker, Durmy, K Dee, Simon Sez, Yaths and Jacqui Dusk spinning all night long.

Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne

LIKE FRIDAYS Like Fridays at La Di Da serves up R&B and electro house across two rooms giving you a fun filled end to your week. DJs Dinesh, Dir-X, Sef, NYD, Shaun D, Shaggz, Broz and more.

La Di Da, 577 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

LIGHT We celebrate everything that has made Light at Red Love, kicking off with our after work drinks session from 4pm. Our DJ lineup includes each and every one of the Daddy Mack’s who have helped lead Light into our 5th running year of old school R&B. Harvey Yeah, Ripz, TMC and Stel Kar locking down that Old School Flava with guest appearances by G.A.K. & The Seminar of Funk and Nick K. It’s all happening this Friday as we celebrate 5 years of doing our do and bringing that Red Love!

Red Love, Level 1, 401 Swanston Street, Melbourne

THE LOOSE GOOSE The Loose Goose is focused on providing a wonderful array of cocktails and offers a great CBD location to lounge and relax in while overlooking busy Flinders Lane. A small plates menu is available to graze on whilst trying our delicious cocktails from the classics to contemporary, beer on tap and a wide range of beers, wines and spirits. Every Friday evening DJ Jumps of The Cat Empire will take to the decks at the bar spinning his rare afro Latin funk vinyl collected

from around the world from 6.30pm until late.

Papa Goose Cocktail Bar, 91-93 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

SWEET NOTHING FRIDAYS DJ Marcus Knight and DJ Xander James spin hip hop, R&B and house tunes all night from 8pm. Free entry and early drink specials.

Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra

THE NICE UP Tom Showtime presents The Nice Up. All flavours of hip hop, ghetto funk and reggae niceness provided. Sailor Jerry nice up the cocktails, Dos Blockos nice up the $5 beers. Fridays done proper.

George Lane Bar, 1 George Lane, St Kilda

SATURDAY17TH KHOKOLAT KOATED All new experience, same great location with a fresh koat of Khokolat. Restless Entertainment reloads your favourite Saturday night party. Damion De Silva, K Dee, Jay Sin and weekly guests playing R&B & ol’ skool sounds strictly for the urban elite.

Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne

REDLOVE SATURDAYS RedLove Saturdays is all about solid classics from the ‘80s, ‘90s and into the ‘00s! Dropping beats of retro pop, disco classics, old school funk, and certainly some of that old school R&B and house to kick! RedLove Resident DJs Phil, HB Bear and Da Gato bringing down the house every Saturday night. If you’re looking for quality service, music to rock, sumptuous drinks and just a cold hard good time; look no further!

Red Love, Level 1, 401 Swanston Street, Melbourne

SHAKA SATURDAY The newest R&B Superclub Shaka Saturdays grand opening is set to hit Melbourne over two massive weeks.

The northern suburbs newest, freshest club playing all of your favourite R&B, hip hop, old skool and reggae. Shaka Saturdays is showcasing Australias newest and favourite R&B DJs, including DJ C-RAM bringing video mixing to Melbourne and special guest hip hop band Yellow Cake. Set at one of the most amazing venues Melbourne has to offer with two levels, good music, great ‘Shaka’ atmosphere and cheap drinks, we are hoping to pack it out and create a night for people to remember.

Level 2 The Club, 2 Arthurton Rd, Northcote

It’s called: Light at RedLove.

It sounds like: Old school R&B love.

DJs/live acts playing: Light at RedLove Entertainment crew on the 12s are DJ Ripz, DJ Harvey Yeah and DJ Stel Kar accompanied by Nick K on the congas, bringing down the house!

Three records that’ll rock the floor: Fatman Scoop – Put Your Hands Up! DMX – Get It On The Floor, Ray J feat Lil Kim – Wait A Minute.

And one that you’d rather die than play: Would certainly not give Aqua, Barbie Girl any air time up in here!

Sell it to us: It’s all about the love of old school R&B! With no entry fee, expect that “Put yo hands up in the ayer” flava from the ‘80s, ‘90 and the ‘00s. High end service, quality drinks, and a crowd that bring that party rock, week in, week out. Established in ‘07, if you don’t know, now you know where to get that pop, lock and drop on!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Rocking the party that rocked the body (MC Lyte).

Crowd specs: Everyone after a little old school R&B flavour.

Wallet damage: It’s all about the mack, so put your money where your mack is and just get it on!

Where: RedLove Bar, 401 Swanston Street Melbourne.

When: Every Friday, kicking off with our after work drinks session at 4pm.

SMOKE DZA READY: TO LIGHT IT UP Fresh from the release of his acclaimed album Rugby Thompson, upcoming Harlem, New York rapper and noted green-thumb Sean Pompey, aka Smoke DZA, spoke with 100% ahead of his first Australian tour. Even in the world of contemporary hip hop – where it seems almost a given that American rappers will put out a free mixtape to generate buzz in the lead up to an album release – Pompey is a prolific artist.

He first emerged a decade ago as part of group Smoke & Numbers, while also making a living ghostwriting for other rappers (the only name and project he’ll say he wrote is producer-cum-rapper Hi-Tek’s well-regarded 2006 album HiTeknology 2: The Chip), before going solo in 2008. A year later he released his first mixtape, Substance Abuse, and since then he’s grown more productive with each year with two releases in 2010, three in 2011 and three to date this year. It’s something Pompey attributes to a competitive nature. “I'm an artist that lives with a chip on my shoulder, I always want to be better,” he says. “Wanting to be better keeps me in the studio and keeps me working. And because I live what I rap, it's easy for me to be prolific. When you rap about what you live, inspiration comes every day. I've actually done what I speak about so it’s easy for me to paint the picture and be visual with my music.”

Living what he raps means a common theme in his music is – to use the name of one of his 2011 mixtapes – Rolling Stoned (other releases include George Kush Da Button and T.H.C. (The Hustler’s Catalogue)). His love of rhyming about smoking marijuana has from time to time resulted in Pompey being derisively described as a ‘weed rapper’. However, he says the label isn’t appropriate.

“At this point, anybody that wants to call me a weed rapper is just a hater. I've definitely moved past this mould and I'm now working on becoming the king of my craft,” he says. “People that know my music, know that I represent a lot more things – Harlem, for example… and my [fashion] style with the Polo [Ralph Lauren] and [Nike] Foamposites.”

Other common themes are television – the album name Rugby Thompson combines his loves for Boardwalk Empire and Polo Rugbies – wrestling and video games (granted, all things that THC connoisseurs are likely to appreciate). What makes him stand out is a laidback delivery that can switch to menacing on a whim, sharp and humorous rhymes and an impeccable taste for beats.

He regularly collaborates with hip hop’s hottest new acts from around America – Action Bronson and A$AP Rocky in his hometown, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Odd Future’s

Domo Genesis in Los Angeles and Curren$y and Big K.R.I.T. in the south (he’s a member of Curren$y’s Jetlife crew) – many of whom made their names toiling away on free mixtapes before getting national recognition, as Pompey has.

“A lot of them have reached out to me and we just like to work with each other,” he says. “With most of them, we've rocked more than one time. We keep the camaraderie. I like to work with people that are on the same level as myself. Same stature and aesthetic. And I love working with other talented artists. It's never a walk in the park; it's very competitive even though we're friends.

But I love collaborating and being part of this elite in music.”

Despite his association with these acts, he hasn’t quite managed to gain the same level of buzz, until this year. He has just headlined his first North American tour (joined by Mr Motherfucking eXquire and the Flatbush Zombies), earned spots on some of America’s biggest hip hop festivals like Rock The Bells, Summer Jam and The Smokers Club Tour, and gained critical acclaim for Rugby Thompson, a collaboration with producer Harry Fraud.

“It’s one of the best bodies of work in my musical career,” he says of the album, which also features collaborations with Curren$y, Domo Genesis, Schoolboy Q, and New York veterans Sean Price and Thirstin Howl III. “It can go toe to toe with any other release from this year at this point.”

Rugby Thompson was released in June, but Pompey’s not content to rest on his laurels. He’s currently working on a sequel to his 2010 album George Kush The Button, and released a free mixtape last month, K.O.N.Y. (King Of New York) – inspired by the Christopher Walken gangster film. “I felt like I was doing the soundtrack for the movie while recording this project,” he says.

Unsurprisingly, when asked what’s keeping him busy in the lead up to his Australian tour, he replies “smoking a lot of weed” – but he’s also been busy preparing a new set list for his shows here. He’ll be performing at the Laundry Bar on Saturday November 17, supported by Young Lean, Nam of The Operatives and DJ Nue Girl.

Pompey says it promises to be a good night for hip hop fans.

“They can expect a lot of energy. [You] have to learn my songs because I conduct sing-alongs. KushedGod is gonna come out and light that stage on fire. I'm gonna smoke all Australian weed and have a lot of fun.”

Joshua Hayes Smoke DZA [USA] plays Laundry Bar on Saturday November 17.

URBAN

15.

WHERE TO NEXT?

Highlander 11a Highlander Lane, Melb, 9620 2227

Revolt Elizabeth St, Kensington, 03 9376 2115

Hoo Haa 105 Chapel St, Windsor, 9529 6900

Revolver Upstairs 229 Chapel St, Prahran, 9521 5985

Horse Bazaar 397 Little Lonsdale St, Melb, 9670 2329

Rochester Castle Hotel 202 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9415 7555

Iddy Biddy 47 Blessington St, St Kilda, 9534 4484

Rooftop Cider Bar, Cnr Swanston & Flinders St, Melbourne, 9650 3884

Jett Black 177 Greville St, Prahran

Room 680 Level 1, 680 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, 9818 0680

John Curtin Hotel 29 Lygon St, Melb, 9663 6350

Roxanne Parlour Lvl 3, 2 Coverlid Pl, Melb

Khokolat Bar 43 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, 039642 1142

Royal Derby 446 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 2321

La Di Da 577 Lt Bourke St, Melb, 9670 7680

Roal Melbourne Hotel 629 Bourke St, 9629 2400

Labour In Vain 197A Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 5955

Ruby’s Lounge 1648 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave, 9754 7445

Lomond Hotel 225 Nicholson St, East Brunswick

Saint Hotel 54 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9593 8333

Longroom 162 Collins St, Melbourne, 9663 9226

Sandbelt Live Cnr South & Bignell Rd, Moorabbin, 9555 6899

Loop 23 Meyers Pl, Melb, 9654 0500

Scarlett Lounge 174 Burnley St, Richmond, 9428 0230

Lounge 243 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 2916

Seven Nightclub 52 Albert Rd, South Melb, 9690 7877

The Lounge Pit 386-388 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9415 6142

Spensers Live 419 Spencer St, West Melb, 03 9329 8821

Love Machine Cnr Lt Chapel & Malvern Rd, Prahran, 9533 8837

Spot 133 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9388 0222

29th Apartment 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9078 8922

Cornish Arms 163 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

Lucky Coq 179 Chapel St, Windsor, 9525 1288

Standard Hotel 293 Fitzroy St, Fitzroy, 9419 4793

303 303 High Street, Northcote

CQ 113 Queen St, Melb, 8601 2738

The LuWOW 62-70 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 5447

Star Bar 160 Clarendon St, South Melb, 9810 0054

Abode 374 St.Kilda Rd, St.Kilda

Croft Institute 21 Croft Alley, Melb, 9671 4399

Mercat Cross Lvl 1, 456 Queen St, Melb, 9348 9998

Station 59 59 Church St, Richmond, 9427 8797

Albert Park Hotel Cnr Montague & Dundas Pl, Albert Park, 9690 5459

Cruzao Arepa Bar 365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 7871

Mink 2 Acland St, St Kilda, 9536 1199

Stolberg Beer Café 197 Plenty Rd, Preston, 9495 1444

Alia Lvl 1, 83-87 Smith St, Fitzroy, 9486 0999

Cushion 99 Fitzroy St, St.Kilda, 9534 7575

Miss Libertine 34 Franklin St, Melb, 9663 6855

Sub Lounge & Restaurant 168 Elizabeth St Melb, 0411 800 198

Alumbra Shed 9, Central Pier, 161 Harbour Espl, Docklands, 8623 9666

Damask 1/347 Burnswick St, Fitzroy, 9417 4578

Misty 3-5 Hosier Ln, Melb, 9663 9202

Sugar Bar (Hotel Urban) 35 Fitztroy St, St Kilda, 8530 8888

Back Bar 67 Green St, Windsor, 9529 7899

The Drunken Poet 65 Peel Street, West Melbourne, 9348 9797

Mockingbird Bar 129 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9534 0000

Temperance Hotel 426 Chapel St, South Yarra, 9827 7401

Bar Open 317 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9415 9601

Der Raum 438 Church St, Richmond, 9428 0055

Musicland 1359A Sydney Rd, Fawkner, 9359 0006

Thornbury Theatre 859 High St, Thornbury, 9484 9813

Baroq House 9-13 Drewery Ln, Melb, 8080 5680

Ding Dong Lounge Lvl 1, 18 Market Ln, Melb, 9662 1020

Neverland 32-48 Johnson St, South Melb, 9646 5544

Tiki Lounge 327 Swan St, Richmond, 9428 4336

Bendigo Hotel 125 Johnston St, Collingwood 9417 3415

Dizzy’s Jazz Club 381 Burnley St, Richmond, 9428 1233

New Guernica Lvl 2, Hub Arcade, 318-322 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9650 4464

Toff In Town Lvl 2, 252 Swanston St, Melb, 9639 8770

Bertha Brown 562 Flinders Street, 9629 1207

Double Happiness 21 Liverpool St, Melb, 9650 4488

Night Cat 141 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 0090

Tony Starr’s Kitten Club 267 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9650 2448

Big Mouth 168 Acland St, St.Kilda, 9534 4611

E:55 55 Elizabeth St, Melb, 9620 3899

Night Cat 279 Flinders Ln, Melb, 9654 0444

The Tote Hotel 67 Johnson St, Collingwood, 9419 5320

Billboard 170 Russell St, Melb, 9639 4000

East Brunswick Club 280 Lygon St, East Brunswick, 9388 2777

Noise Bar 291 Albert St, Brunswick, 9380 1493

Town Hall Hotel 33 Errol St, North Melbourne, 9328 1983

Bimbo Deluxe 376 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 8600

Edinburgh Castle 681 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

Northcote Social Club 301 High St, Northcote, 9489 3917

Trak Lounge 445 Toorak Rd, Toorak, 9826 9000

Birmingham Hotel Cnr Smith & Johnston St, Fitzroy

Electric Ladyland Lvl 1, 265 Chapel St, Prahran, 9521 5757

Old Bar 74 Johnston St, Fitzroy, 9417 4155

Tramp 20 King St, Melb

Black Cat 252 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 6230

Elwood Lounge 49-51 Glenhuntly Rd, Elwood, 9525 6788

One Twenty Bar 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy

Transport Hotel Federation Square, Melb, 9654 8808

Blue Bar 330 Chapel St, Prahran, 9529 6499

Empress 714 Nicholson St, Nth Fitzroy, 9489 8605

Onesixone 161 High St, Prahran, 9533 8433

Trunk 275 Exhibition St, Melbourne, 9663 7994

Blue Tile Lounge 95 Smith St, Fitzroy

Espy 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda, 9534 0211

Order Of Melbourne level 2, 401 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 6707

Tyranny Of Distance 147 Union St, Windsor, 9525 1005

Boutique 134 Greville St, Prahran, 9525 2322

Eurotrash 18 Corrs Ln, Melb, 9654 4411

Palace Hotel 893 Burke Rd, Camberwell

Two of Hearts 149 Commercial Road, Prahran

Brown Alley King Street, Melb,9670 8599

Eve 334 City Rd, Southbank, 9696 7388

Palace Theatre 20-30 Bourke St, Melb, 9650 0180

Union Hotel Brunswick 109 Union St, Brunswick, 9388 2235

Brunswick Hotel 140 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9387 6637

Evelyn 351 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 5500

Palais 111 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs, 5348 4849

Veludo 175 Acland St, St Kilda, 9534 4456

Builders Arms 211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

Ferntree Gully Hotel 1130 Burwood Hwy, Ferntree Gully, 9758 6544

Palais Theatre Lower Esplanade, St Kilda, 9525 3240

Victoria Hotel 380 Victoria St, Brunswick, 9388 0830

Cabinet Bar 11 Rainbow Alley, Melbourne, 9654 0915

Festival Hall 300 Dudley St, West Melbourne, 9329 9699

Papa Goose 91 Flinders Ln, Melbourne, 9663 2800

Wah Wah Lounge Lvl 1, 185 Lonsdale St, Melb

Caravan Music Club 95 Drummond St, Oakleigh

First Floor 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 6380

Penny Black 420 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9380 8667

Wesley Anne 250 High St, Northcote, 9482 1333

Caseys Nightclub 660A Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, 9810 0030

Forum Theatre 154 Flinders St, Melb, 9299 9800

Pier Live Hotel 508 Nepean Hwy, Frankston, 9783 9800

Westernport Hotel 161 Marine Pde, San Remo, 5678 5205

Caz Reitops Dirty Secrets 80 Smith St, Collingwood, 9415 8876

The Fox Hotel 351 Wellington Street, Collingwood, 9416 4957

Pony 68-70 Lt Collins St, Melb, 9662 1026

Willow Bar 222 High Street, Northcote, 9481 1222

CBD Club 12-14 McKillop St, Melb, 9670 3638

Fusion Lvl 3, Crown Complex, Southbank, 9292 5750

Portland Hotel Cnr Lt Collins & Russell St, Melb, 9810 0064

Windsor Castle 89 Albert St, Windsor, 9525 0239

Chaise Lounge Basement, 105 Queen St, Melb, 9670 6120

The Gallery Room 1/510 Flinders St, Melbourne, 9629 1350

The Prague Hotel, 911 High St, Northcote, 9495 0000

Workers Club 51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9415 8889

Chandelier Room 91 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, 9532 2288

Gem Bar & Dining 289 Wellingston St, Collingwood, 9419 5170

Pretty Please 61c Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9534 4484

Workshop Lvl 1, 413 Elizabeth St, Melb, 9326 4365

Chelsea Heights Hotel Cnr Springvale & Wells Rd,

George Basement, 127 Fitzroy St, 9534 8822

Prince Bandroom 29 Fitztory St, St Kilda, 9536 1168

Yah Yah’s 99 Smith St, Fitzroy, 9419 4920

Chelsea Heights, 9773 4453

Gertrude’s Brown Couch 30 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, 9417 6420

Prince Of Wales 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, 9536 1168

The Vine 59 Wellington St, Collingwood, 9417 2434

Cherry Bar AC/DC Ln, Melb, 9639 8122

Grace Darling Hotel 114 Smith St, Collingwood, 9416 0055

Public Bar 238 Victoria St, North Melb, 9329 6522

Chi Lounge 195 Lt Bourke St, Melbourne, 9662 2688

Grandview Hotel Cnr Heidelberg Rd & Station St, Fairfield, 9489 8061

Railway Hotel 280 Ferrars St, South Melb, 9690 5092

Co. Lvl 3, Crown Complex, 9292 5750

Great Britain Hotel 447 Church St, Richmond, 9429 5066

Red Bennies 371 Chapel St, South Yarra, 9826 2689

Colonial Hotel (Brown Alley) Cnr King & Lonsdale St, Melb, 9670 8599

Grind N Groove 274 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville

Red Love Lvl 1, 401 Swanston St, Melb, 9639 3722

Commercial Club Hotel 344 Nicholson St, Fitzroy, 9419 1522

Grumpy’s Green 125 Smith St, Collingwood, 9416 1944

Retreat Hotel 226 Nicholson St, Abbotsford, 9417 2693

Cookie Lvl 1, 252 Swanston St, Melb, 9663 7660

Gypsy Bar 334 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, 9419 0548

The Retreat Hotel 280 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, 9380 4090

Corner Hotel 57 Swan St, Richmond, 9427 9198

HiFi 125 Swanston St, Melb, 1300 843 4434

The Reverence Hotel 28 Napier St, Footscray, 03 9687 2111

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VENUE DIRECTORY