Weatherwise, it was a shit day for a festival. The rain, dark clouds and cold weather made it hard to drum up the energy to even get there. But mighty Zeus couldn’t keep those crazy dance music folk away if he tried and their devotion allowed me to conclude the following:

1. Future Music punters love dance music. A lot.
2. They say the darndest things when under the influence.
3. Most have short attention spans for anything non-dance related.
4. They take too long to decide what they want to drink resulting in some of the longest queues I have ever been in. Ever.

Arriving at the Garden of Unearthly Delights and heading straight to the “indie” stage (or as indie as a stage can get at a dance festival) Adelaide DJ duo Def Starr pulled out the big guns with a bunch of dance floor fillers. The crowd’s love of all things dance music became apparent when a remix of Puttin’ on the Ritz was played and the kids loved it.

When the guys from Operator Please followed straight after they appeared tired and bored. Going through the motions of their new tracks and at one point even thanking the crowd for “being patient”, they did manage to get people semi-fired up with their tracks Get What You Want, Logic and Just A Song About Ping Pong. Although it was their take on a Beyoncé /No Doubt medley that got everybody singing along, which allowed singer Amandah Wilkinson to step away from the guitar and focus on entertaining the crowd, even if it was for only a couple of minutes.
Classic punter quote: “Do the song about playing pong!” – Intoxicated patron, Future Music Festival (2010).

While Erick Morillo satisfied the crankers with fail remixes of Heads Will Roll and Are You Gonna Go My Way, many flocked to Does It Offend You, Yeah? where what occurred was surely the set of the day. After being unable to perform in Melbourne (strangely due to their set being declared a wash out), it was as if the guys saved it all up for Adelaide. Lead singer James Rushent walked on stage and the first words out of his mouth were “wakey fucking wakey”, before starting straight into With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You). Their guitar heavy electronica vibes had the ability to not only get people jumping about, but to throw their jackets, shoes and hats in the air. Shit, at one stage a small tree was uprooted and somebody decided to wave it around. The crowd’s reaction to Battle Royale was amazing and it cements DIOYY as a superior Art Vs. Science – they’re louder, catchier and put on one hell of a live show.
Classic punter moment: David Letterman and Kid Rock (or two people with a serious case of doppelgangeritis) smashing it up to We Are Rockstars. Ironic and hilarious.

As mentioned previously Future Music patrons have short attention spans. If only Franz Ferdinand knew this. With an hour to fill Franz came out of the blocks hard and decided to get their commercially recognisable tracks out of the way (Do You Want To, No You Girls and Take Me Out). Once the latter was over, girls climbed down from shoulders, people spoke loudly amongst themselves and everyone flocked to the bar. It’s safe to say that the majority of their tracks were definitely wasted on the crowd there.
Classic punter moment: During the performance of Auf Achse, one bloke remarked that he didn’t think much of “this Frank Ferdinand DJ”.

Not lost on the crowd was anything David Guetta dished up who easily drew the biggest crowd of the day. He churned out all his hits (When Love Takes Over, Memories, Delirious, Sexy Bitch) and although the sound itself was a bit soft the dance crowd lapped it up.
Classic punter quote: “So do ya reckon T-Pain will be here to perform Sexy Bitch with him?” – Intoxicated Patron, Future Music Festival (2010).

As night fell a few people left Guetta early to catch the start of Empire of the Sun. This however proved unnecessary as the crowd were left waiting almost an hour whilst the guys apparently prepped themselves backstage. When they finally did take the stage they looked spectacular in a combination of spiky headgear, blue metallic bodysuits and what appeared to be aluminium foil, but in hindsight it probably wasn’t worth the wait. Surely most would’ve preferred a performance in a tweed jacket and jeans if it meant they could’ve scored a closer position for The Prodigy. After hearing a few tracks, namely We Are The People, Standing On The Shore and half of Walking On A Dream, the epic band on the next stage over started up and many were faced with a difficult choice.

The atmosphere for The Prodigy was almost breathtaking; a great mix of deep red lighting, thumping bass, pouring rain and a massive crowd. To be amongst it all while those English lads smashed out great tracks such as Omen, Poison and Out of Space was something extraordinary. But it was always going to be their classics (Firestarter, Smack My Bitch Up and Breathe) that got everyone stomping about in the mud.

By the end of it all most were tired and covered in dirt, with our beer buzz long since gone but to be entertained by at least a couple of class acts made it all worthwhile. Besides, it’s not everyday that you get to see Letterman and the debut of DJ Frank Ferdinand.

Sophie Siciliano

The Scope: It seems that Alice Russell had enough left over from her pot of gold to put out a double remix album.

A whole bunch of credible musicians from different but similar genres have taken a crack at the tunes from Russell’s fourth album, Pot Of Gold. The sound of a double album devoted to remixes from just one album may sound tedious, but remember the success of Katalyst’s Agent Manipulated? The good thing is some tunes are remixed multiple times (Got The Hunger? five times alone), which allows you pick up on each artist’s interpretation. As the remixers do their thang, they all have full respect for the vocals of Alice, which generally appear in their entirety.  Everything else was fair game. Universe seemed to be the track that was ripe for Latin influenced alterations by Kid Gusto and GRC. Shawn Lee and Mr Scruff’s efforts were right on the money, as would be expected, with both working an uplifting, soulful angle. The most diverse remix was provided by the little known Emika, with her minimal, electro take of Hurry On Now. But I personally couldn’t go past the up-tempo funk of Llorca on Got The Hunger?

The Wrap:  Alice Russell is hot property at the moment and this project confirms that. The UK soul diva has a set of lungs that are up there with the likes of Sharon Jones and a sober Amy Winehouse. 

Col C

The Scope: Adelaide’s south has cooked up a seemingly never ending stream of hip hop talent, Red Whine – an alias of a better known artist – looks to serve up some tasty delights.

While the voice is instantly recognisable, as are those of the guests, the whole point of this release is to approach it without any preconceptions or with a type of music in mind. The Lost Files are a collection of hidden gems, the production and guests all delivering. Beat-wise this release is kept quite laid back with simple samples and drums layered well, a feat too many overlook in the pursuit of making something for the charts. Lyrically, somewhat surprisingly, is that there is quite a lot of variation. Although you could assume that it is a compilation, here it is the same core group of acts showing there are many strings to their proverbial bow, or perhaps more appropriately ways to tie their fat laces. Standout cuts come in the form of Think Again, The Truth and How It Began, although each track here is solid. I guess the only thing here that really lets the release down is that it’s not an album start to end, where the artist can really express themselves or themselves creatively. With some polished edges that a bigger studio could provide and a structure from start to end, a release from Red Whine could kick start a somewhat stuttering Adelaide scene, a scene in need of a kick from those on the next tier below the big stars.

The Wrap: An enjoyable romp through the hard drive of beats.

Shane Scott

The Scope: In the 10 years since their full-length release on Mo' Wax, these two have fingered many pies; now comes a delicious creation worth waiting for...

Labels, genres and categories. It can be a real chore to slap one of these things on an album because by doing so it creates an indelible idea of what a record is about, and it can alienate some listeners who have one impression, and attract others who have no business round these parts. So with this in mind, I have to give this fine slice of synth-pop-electro-tech-balaeric pie a glowing endorsement, as it is rich in texture, excessively morish, and with a decided hint of ‘yeah-ness’. To continue the pie analogy, this
album has layers to spare. Starting with Life's Swift Charger, with a bassline and vibe your hippie dad would totally dig on, this sets the mood with a great building quality and laid-back vocals. This melds into the next track; a gentle little number, not unlike those 'aaaahh' moments UNKLE do so well - which is no surprise as Pablo 
Clements (one-half of Psychonauts), has contributed to the output of the aforementioned. Anthemic folkish-sounds can be felt on Hips For Scotland, and the beats get a work-out here, as on the tribal throb of Hot Blood. Indie kids get a nod on Magnetic, but it's the mellower, more atmospheric moments, which really shine, such as Dream Chaser, sounding almost like Cliff Martinez in parts. In short, stylistically wildly varied; quality-wise; all top-notch.

The Wrap: Deserved of the understanding and appreciation of the discerning listener.

Texjah

The Scope: Music often finds a home in destinations, and as Holland moves into the limelight for cutting edge electronic music, Amsterdam’s leading events and festival platform, VOLTT, unleashes its first volume in a mix series compiled by the nations most revered and admired artists.

As the driving force of VOLTT, Bart Skils kicks off this new compilation series. For over a decade Skils has been Holland’s most respected house and techno artist becoming the unofficial ambassador for quality sounds and this mix is no exception. The mix represents not only the sounds of the amazing VOLTT parties but also those tracks that represent Bart’s own legendary performances. The mix transcends music from all walks of underground club life. Starting out deeper and soulful the mix builds to the bass driven tech house vibe that is sweeping up dancefloors across the globe, best typified here by Madskillz remix of Volta’s Tiramisu. Other highlights include Alex Cellar’s La Palma, current man of the moment Joris Voorn and his track Empty Trash whilst Skils’ own District One project provides Dubcrystal to the mix.

The Wrap: This is over an hour of solid underground grooves programmed and mixed to perfection by Skils, one that is a certainty to whip any discerning tech house fan into chin stroking frenzy.

Alex Mckenzie

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