Afestival as jam-packed as V MoVement Sydney doesn’t come along very often.
The celebration of dance music and culture is positively bursting with international and local acts, and boasts one of the most impressively varied lineups of recent memory. Whether you’re a club hound or a lover of subtler beats and textures, the fest has you covered. To that end, here are our picks of the best that the festival has to offer, ten tastes of one of the most exciting celebrations of boogieing about.
1.Steve Spacek At The Civic Underground, Saturday October 22
Steve Spacek is a legend, a master of beats and drops with an incredibly varied CV. The man has recorded under a number of monikers, releasing highly textured and tonal works that you can still get down to – and he’s done it for decades.
2.Rave Of Thrones: The Resurrection Tour At The Enmore Theatre, Saturday October 22
Game Of Thrones isn’t a TV show, it’s a goddamn religion. Such a staggeringly high proportion of people watch – and pirate – the show that Rave Of Thrones will undoubtedly prove to be one of V MoVement’s most popular events. DJ Hodor, AKA Kristian Nairn [above left], will be manning the decks on the night, blasting out trap and house beats that you can pump and grind to, all while you’re dressed up in your best Game Of Thrones cosplay. Oh, and you will be dressed up: costumes are compulsory.
3.Five Years Of Astral People At Oxford Art Factory, Saturday October 22
Proving that the V MoVement lineup is nothing if not diverse, the celebration of all things Astral People going down at the OAF will feature a performance from Winston Surfshirt, a rising Sydney act that play a brand of tunage that’s more akin to straight up rock’n’roll than the club bangers V MoVement is largely known for.
4.No Zu At Jam Gallery, Saturday October 22
No Zu’s Afterlife is one of the local records of the year, a distinctly odd but nonetheless upbeat collection of psych-pop tunes. To that end, only a fool would pass up the opportunity to catch the acclaimed act in the live setting, particularly given the intimate confines of the Jam Gallery will suit the group’s warm, frenetic sound to a tee.
5.Mind Gamers At Oxford Art Factory, Friday October 21
You will already have noticed the handsome visages of Mind Gamers adoring the front cover of the magazine. The three-headed musical act is a supergroup of sorts, comrpising of a trio of musicians – Sebastien Tellier, Daniel Stricker and John Kirby – all of whom have had ample acclaim in their own right. So take it from us, you will be in six singularly skilled hands when you attend the group’s worldwide debut performance at the Oxford Art Factory: to say the trio knows what it’s doing is almost an understatement.
6.Yahtzel At El Topo, Wednesday October 19
Given ‘Bent’, the new tune from ‘Strayan Yahtzel [above middle] and his good mate Bengal, is resolutely one of the songs of the summer, who could give up a chance to hear the tune blasted out at a venue as perfect as El Topo? The banger is perfectly designed to have rooms heaving and moshing away, so prepare to get yer sweat on.
7.Thriller Night At The World Bar, Thursday October 20
Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video is a pioneering work of pop culture art, a glorious romp through camp horror tropes and some of the finest dance moves about. To that end, those folks over at World Bar have decided to pay tribute to the work by hosting their very own ‘Thriller’ night, an evening filled with sets by such rising stars as Seaz and Bobby Gray, and, excitingly, ‘Thriller’ dance classes, giving all y’all the unbeatable opportunity to move like MJ.
8.Daft Punk’s Unchained at Dendy Newtown, Friday October 21
Got excited about those Daft Punk tour rumours that started circulating last week? Yeah, us too. So, what better way to celebrate the possibility of the helmet-clad Frenchmen heading our way than to head over to the Dendy Newtown and check out Daft Punk Unchained, a 2015 documentary about the enigmatic musicians. Only thing is, there’s a catch: entry is dependent upon you having subscribed to the Stoney Roads email newsletter, so you better get on that, stat.
9.Insert Coin(s) at Oxford Art Factory, Thursday October 20
Nothing beats Halloween. That’s not hyperbole: it is objectively the best holiday of the year. Halloween parties, on the other hand, can be rather hit and miss. There’s nothing as demeaning as standing in the corner of the party, hot and sweaty from a themed pirate costume that your mate made you wear, your layers of make up smudging and getting in your eyes. So, rather than going down that particular path, why not head over to Insert Coin(s), a celebration of video game culture and dance music that will feature playable Resident Evil and sets from Martin Novosel [above right]and Levins.
10.Heaps Gay Third Birthday at The Imperial Hotel, Saturday October 22
Heaps Gay is one of Sydney’s premier party outlets, and a real champion of the LGBTQIA community. Given all the brand has done, it’s time to give back by attending the Heaps Gay third birthday party at the Imperial Hotel.
V MoVement Sydney takes place, at various locations around Sydney, Wednesday October 19 – Sunday October 23.
