Off The Record

Tim Sweeney will return to Sydney next month. An Australian favourite and three-time Meredith alumni, the tour will mark the 15-year anniversary of his groundbreaking radio show Beats In Space, for which he’s just released a compilation of old and new favourites. Catch him at Goodgod on Friday December 19.

Rising ghetto house star Kolombo has locked in a return to Sydney. Real name Olivier Grégoire, the Belgium producer first rose to prominence in 2012 with the release of his EP My Own Business, one that featured straight-up the filthiest bass lines I’ve ever heard. In the past few years he’s only gone from strength to strength, releasing on labels such as Kompakt, 2DIY4, Warung, Noir Music, Turbo, Eskimo and our very own Future Classic. He’ll hit Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 7.

Vancouver’s burgeoning purveyors of jazz-laden house Liam Butler and Jack J aka Pender Street Steppers will hit Sydney early next year. The duo first debuted last year with a release on Mood Hut Cassettes titled Life in the Zone – a killer mixtape that contained 90 minutes of all-original productions that spanned everything from Riviera disco to deep jazz funk. They followed that up this year with their killer debut EP Bubble Up. They’ll hit Sydney on Saturday January 10. Venue TBA.

Last here in February, Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets aka Detroit Swindle will make a swift return to Sydney early next year. Favourites at seminal clubs such as Panorama Bar and fabric, and with releases on labels of the ilk of Dirt Crew, Freerange and Tsuba, earlier this year they also released their sublime debut full-length Boxed Out. They’ll bring their deep-tinged house to Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 21.

Where the hell did this Tom Trago tour come from? Out of goddamn nowhere, it seems. If you went out to any nightclub in Sydney during 2012 you’d no doubt be familiar with the Dutchman’s ubiquitous smash hit Use Me Again (and the top-notch Carl Craig remix). Catch him this Saturday November 29 when he hits The Imperial Hotel.

Other recommend tours that have just been announced: Pantha Du Prince at the Oxford Art Factory on Saturday December 6, James Holden at the Oxford Art Factory on Saturday December 13 and Daniel Avery on Saturday January 10 at a secret venue that will be revealed closer to the date.

Sad news: HNNY has cancelled his upcoming Australian tour. He was meant to be one of the headliners of OutsideIn (and playing at the after party), but took to Facebook to tell his fans that we was “burnt out” and that “something [about touring] didn’t feel right”. OutsideIn 0announced they’ve locked in Cut Copy to perform their first DJ sets in Sydney in two years both at the festival and the after party.

Best releases this week: holy moly Mura Oka has just dropped Auftakt (on Latency) and it is legit one of the best things I’ve heard all year. Other highlights include The Cyclist’s Flourish (on All City), Reagenz’s The Periodic Table (on The Bunker New York), Session Victim’s See You When You Get There (on Delusions of Grandeur), Cassegrain’s Centres of Distraction (on Prologue) and Imugem Orihasam’s Things for Laborers (on Semantica).