Immersion @ Syrup, Hobart (03/08/02)
Reported by Tristan Thursday, August 8 2002
With Infusion, appearing at Launceston on the same night, the evidently anti progressive house SubBass productions, had to bring out the big guns to keep Hobart punters from travelling north. To achieve their mission, they sought out two top techno warriors to ensure no-one would dare venture upon the road trip up the Midlands highway. Departing from the recent breaks flavour that has enveloped Hobart, Damian Laird and Jeff Tyler were brought down from the quality Wetmusik stable in Melbourne to educate Hobart enthusiasts about the sounds of techno and tech-house.
Never ones for arriving early, Syrup took a while to fill up with people and the sounds of Big Doofa could well have been responsible for the sudden influx which occurred around midnight. Playing for near two hours, he played a familiar brand of tech-house diversifying to tribal and percussive in parts. Adopting an all or nothing strategy with his mixing, which was generally not much longer than one phrase, sometimes it worked but at other times there was too much top end causing clashes. Picking up the sound noticeably just after twelve with more progressively edged tech-house, the dancefloor reacted accordingly, and the night gathered momentum.
Taking the baton on the stroke of one, Damian Laird and Jeff Tyler contorted their way into the booth and set up for the night. Fuelled by the finest brews the world has to offer, Laird begun the four hour epic laying down some tribal tech house, signalling the changeover from the Big Doofa. Whether booked in this manner or whether it just turned out like that, Laird and Tyler then proceeded to swap back and forth for the next four hours, but it was more akin to a team set as opposed to a versus set. Tyler played some percussive tech-house before Laird took over with some tech slanted funky house. Taking back the reins, Tyler then changed again to techno with a significant dub component.
Working the dancefloor, like a prostitute does a St Kilda safe zone, dropping Mr G?s ?Walk Through? and then ?Dark? from Eddie Richards, the experience of Tyler?s career spanning three decades, was more than evident and had all techno fans within a 5 mile radius salivating. With clever EQ work on the bass and some sharper, harder techno, Tyler and Laird had everyone stomping away to their hearts delight. Knowing the potential dangers of playing too hard to a club with a non specific music policy, they kept it slamming with Jack Da Ripper ?Jacks Back? and Laird?s selection of Fuse ?Substance Abuse?, but never went over the top. They included some more electro driven techno which Tyler mixed superbly out of, bringing in some full on driving techno of Technodisco style before giving the crowd a second wind courtesy of Snake?s ?That Arse?. The first two and a half minutes of the original version of Layo and Bushwacka?s ?Love Story? is fairly difficult to identify, but eventually everyone caught on and Syrup erupted. Mixing out to Bushwacka and then finishing with Luke Slater, Laird and Tyler finished their set off well, leaving Syrup with a sense of completeness from their time behind the decks.
Having heard the sounds of SMC quite frequently lately I didn?t expect any surprises and at five in the morning I didn?t want any. Scott's music can be best described as three parts Lottie and seven parts Lawler and he continued the night?s vibe, playing his hybrid form of techy tribal house with sharp stabs aplenty, Scott?s mixing was spot on and so was his selection for his post headliner slot.
Overall, simply a good solid night for more than just a techno enthusiast and a welcome diversification from the acts frequenting Hobart recently.
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