Off The Record

Sound Signature label boss and Detroit house and techno luminary Theo Parrish is returning to Sydney. From his work with super group Three Chairs to his revered Ugly Edits series, Parrish is one of the most respected selectors in the game. His latest long-player American Intelligence is also just about to drop – and judging by the samples, we might have a last-minute contender for album of the year. He’ll be joined by Toronto’s DJ duo Invisible City and the Netherlands’ Tako. Friday February 6 at the Oxford Art Factory. In the diary.

Hold the phone – friggin’ Rick ‘The Godson’ Wilhite will be in town this weekend! Another member alongside Theo Parrish in the aforementioned Three Chairs, the lords over at Red Bull Music Academy have announced that the Detroit don will be hitting Australia for a series of free shows this month. He’ll hit Goodgod on Friday December 12 – RSVP via Dash Tickets.

DJ Tennis will be making his debut sojourn Down Under next year. Based between Miami and Berlin, he runs the renowned Life and Death label, founded the Elita festival in Milan and the Dissonanze festival in Rome, and even shares a studio with Tale of Us. And before you ask, yes, his name does come from his love the sport as he used to be a semi-pro player. He’ll be playing at a boat party on the harbour on Saturday February 21. Ticketing details TBA.

DJ, producer and cartoonist Mr. Scruff has locked in a Sydney headline show. From his debut 1999 record Keep It Unreal to his latest full-length Friendly Bacteria (released in May this year), over the course of his career has flirted with almost every genre under the sun, from house to reggae, disco to ska, Latin to hip hop. His performances are also a visual spectacle, with his own animations playing behind him on the big screen. Saturday February 7 at The Metro. Lock it in.

Sad news: the few two Summer Dance parties with (Vakula and House Shoes) at the National Art School Sydney have been cancelled. The news came via the Astral People Facebook page, where they announced that even though the series “has had the best reception both online and throughout media nationwide compared to any other event we have done in our 3 years of existence, this has sadly not yet translated to ticket sales.” The first Summer Dance will now take place on Sunday January 11 with Detroit’s Omar-S. Buy yo’ tickets from summer-dance.com.au.

Tour rumour: I’d put $100 on a February visit from Detroit techno royalty Magda. Uhh, that’s all I’ve got this week. Geez I’ve mentioned Detroit a lot this week. Detroit.

Best releases this week: Rivet’s Surun Aika (on S.E.L.F.) has not left my headphones all week. Other highlights include Kareem’s The Jet Set (on Overdraw), Ontal’s Combat Engineering (on Overdraw) and Helena Hauff’s Shatter Cone (on Lux Rec).

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12

Rick Wilhite

Goodgod Small Club

SATURDAY DECEMBER 13

Robag Wruhme

The Spice Cellar

Addison Groove, Addison Groove

Goodgod Small Club

James Holden

Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19

Tim Sweeney