Sydney, get ready – MoVement Sydney is nearly upon you. Four days and 25 events, multiple suburbs and a plethora of different styles and genres in dance music, this event is the first of it’s kind for Australian dance music, and is shaping up to be what could well be the weekend of the year.
Secret warehouse parties, workshops, a boat rave, and so much more, MoVement Sydney have recruited the best of the best that Sydney has to offer for the weekend. From Stoney Roads annual Stoney Roads awards to Abelton Liveschool workshops; a UV party and vinyl trucks; even a dance class put on by FBi, each and every event boasts something unique and fresh, and will make for some very difficult decision making on which events to attend.
Because we are getting so excited ourselves, we asked the legends at Motorik Vibe Council to give us some insight into the songs that remind them of Sydney. Providing a walk down memory lane, the diverse playlist showcases some incredible highlights in the history of Sydney, and by extension, Australian music. From INXS to Itch-e and Scratch-e, The Vines, Wolfmother and The Presets, this is the kick of nostalgia you’ve been waiting for even if you didn’t realise it. Some of these songs are truly iconic, and provide a snapshot into history, from the 80’s and 90’s to the 2006-2009 indie dance explosion, Motorik have put together an absolute ripper of a playlist. Being one of the most respected names in the scene, we didn’t expect anything less. See here for more details on MoVement Sydney (October 22-25) and check below for the songs that remind Motorik of Sydney.
Itch-e and Scratch-e, Sweetness and Light
Could you get any more Sydney than Paul Mac (née MacDermott) and Andy Rantzen’s gorgeous moment in time that is Sweetness and Light? Famously (and instructively to an 8 year old me) they thanked the Ecstasy dealers of Australia on live TV as they accepted their well-deserved ARIA for this song. I was lucky to live on the same street as Paul in my formative Sydney days which lead, via a string of bizarre co-incidences and late-night afterparties (naturally!) to wind up in having his new project, Stereogamous (alongside legendary Kooky bandleader Seymour Butz aka Jonny Seymour) sign to our label. It helps a lot that they’re arguably the two sweetest men I’ve ever met.
Severed Heads, Dead Eyes Opened
This is one of those songs that’s spread from vinyl junkie to vinyl junkie, to being quietly featured on compilations, to all of a sudden reaching a crescendo of prominence in 2015. The Sevs are a cult – a weird, strange cult, singularly so, helmed by a guy called Tom Ellard. I remember emailing him about 10 years ago asking to remix this. His response is and remains to this day, one of the rudest things I’ve ever read on-screen. And I’ve been on 4chan, okay? The real magic in this is actually the incredible Robert Racic, sadly taken away from us by HIV/AIDS in the beginning of the 90s – as the in-house remixer for Volition Records (which grew out of Factory Records Australia, oddly enough, for you Joy Division/New Order fanbois) he took this to the nek level. My mate Al bought the 12” recently, I borrowed it, and good bloody luck getting it back m8.
INXS, Original Sin (12” Remix)
Sydney. The Eighties. Michael Hutchence. Garry Garry Beers (THAT NAME) flaring out on his bass. Andrew Farriss’s delicate synth flourishes. Produced by Nile Rodgers but undoubtedly a product of the Sydney zeitgeist – the years pounding the pub circuit from the Beaches to the Gong produced a fine-tuned, taut and terrifyingly good live outfit. This is the yardstick by which every other Australian band will be judged, in my opinion.
The Presets, Girl and The Sea
Ken Mooves aka Kimberly Isaac Moyes aka K.I.M releases, occasionally, on our label (IMHO – Kloser should have been on Kompakt, to be honest, Michael Mayer is an idiot for not signing it, but his loss was our gain…) and his main jaunt is a little band called The Presets, alongside the lovely Jules Hamilton. I remember seeing them at a Modular party called “To Infinity and Beyond” and having my brain smooshed into the floor by the power, the beauty and the passion behind their incendiary live performance. This song was the first of theirs I ever got on vinyl and it’s remained stamped on my brain. Sheer gorgeousness. See “If I Know You” for more.
Icehouse, Icehouse
This was originally put out under the band name “Flowers” – although Iva eventually renamed his band after this song. This is about a halfway-house in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield, across the road from where he wrote this. Before the gigantic mullet, before “Great Southern Land”, there was this elegiac, stark, synth-driven song for sorrow. I don’t really know what else to say – it’s pretty special.
Infusion, Girls Can Be Cruel
Wollongong isn’t Sydney, but it’s close enough. Once upon a time, these guys were once of the biggest dance acts in the world. Catchy, progressive-driven cuts with production chops that ensured that their stuff sounded as good in the club as it did on the radio. They won a few ARIAs, too. Girls Can Be Cruel isn’t just a statement of truth, it’s also a supremely confident piece of pop/club crossover that pre-empted Electroclash. I remember seeing it after school on Channel V and being besotted. Years later, after the band had well and truly ended, the main songwriter of Infusion, one Francis Xavier, ended up as one-half of The Finger Prince and also our partner in Motorik! – it’s funny how things work out. See “Better World” and their remix of Icehouse’s “Hey Little Girl” for more.
KIM, By The Time That I Reach You
ALL HAIL THE HOODRAT FOR THE ARTWORK AND PUTTING IT OUT
ALL HAIL MOYESIE FOR THE OG
ALL HAIL THE BAGGIES FOR THE REMIX
One of the high-points of the 2006-2009 IndieDance(tm) explosion. Getitindya. More MTK alumni in here (Hoodrat and Doom started Bang Gang 12’s, and after the demise of that, Hoodrat aka Angelo Gruzman aka Dreems became our venture capital dreamboy and is our business partner in Motorik! Recordings).
Lost Valentinos, 17 Deaths
The market bought big after the 2006-2009 IndieDance explosion and unfortunately the bubble burst just as The Lost Valentinos (nee Valentinos thanks to a lawsuit threatened by a bunch of old wankers from the USA) were ready to release their Ewan Pearson-helmed Cities of Gold album. This is a particularly strong piece of moody, tense, explosive tanz-rock and a track I frothed over pretty hard back in The Day. Again, thanks to a bunch of weird little co-incidences, a Late Night Tuff Guy 12” and an afterparty at Bridget Mac’s place, I ended up starting the record label with the Santamarias, who played bass and guitar in Valentinos. More Motorik! linkage comes from sometime guest Juno Mars, the other guitarist, who took a Valentinos sketch and turned it, alongside resident sweetboy Gabriel Winterfield into a little ditty called “Come Save Me” which you might know.
Flash and The Pan, Down Amongst The Dead Men
Every ubercool hipster record nerd in NYC knows Flash and The Pan, thanks to James Murphy’s constant championing of them. Midnight Man is a modern classic, but I love this tune. Written at the Alberts Studio at 139 King Street, these guys happened to be in a little band called the Easybeats. They also wrote a little tune called “Love is in the Air”. The singer, George, is somewhat better known for the string of albums he wrote and produced with his brothers, Angus and Malcolm, in their little band called AC/DC.
Wolfmother, Joker and The Thief
Say what you like about them, but you cannot deny the pairing of Myles, Chris and Andrew was FUCKING POWERFUL. It’s just big dumb stadium rock, but big dumb stadium rock is fun. That gig at Candy’s Apartment in October 2004 was ground-zero for the biggest thing from Australia to hit the music world since… um… The Avalanches? (sorry, lame joke)
The Vines, Get Free
This band is all about Craig. He’s smart, he can write a hell of a tune, and he’s the sweeeeeetesssttttttt guy. I remember hiking to Fox Studios to watch them play live when I was 15 years old and freshly run away from home, and getting crushed in a mosh pit for the first time – mind blown. A good 14 years later, seeing him play a free show at The Vic on The Park (with the members of the Griswolds as his backing band), he totally wiped the floor with my mind again. Incidentally, his sister is a babe, a legend and can party harder than you. What a family. Go team. Check out his new stuff as “White Shadows” with the guys from Empire of The Sun.