Off The Record

Carmelo Bianchetti, known to many as DJ HMC, is in this column’s opinion the greatest electronic artist Australia has ever produced.From humble beginnings in Adelaide in the early ’80s, over the course of his esteemed career the DJ and producer has released dancefloor weapons such as LSD, 6AM and Phreakin’ and is one of the few Aussies to ever garner true international underground acclaim. In the past he’s been dubbed “the godfather of Australian techno” – and when you see him manning the decks it’s hard to argue against it. He’ll play a rare Sydney show on Saturday February 7 at the Burdekin Hotel. Highly recommended.

Two of the biggest names in the game – Dixon and Âme – will be returning to Sydney in March. Dixon took out the #1 spot on Resident Advisor’s hallowed Top DJs of 2014 list (for the second year running), while Âme took out the #2 spot on the RA Top Live Acts of 2014 list. Says it all, really. The Innervisions label heads will close out the current series of Finely Tuned’s AGWA Yacht Club parties, and will be joined by an all-star cast of locals including CO-OP, Gabby, B_A and Tristan Case. The party sets sail on Saturday March 21.

Looking for a dancefloor to get down on this weekend? If so, we strongly suggest heading to the next installment of Lost Disco. Headlining this time around are two of the biggest names in house and disco – London’s legendary party-starting collective Horse Meat Disco and Joe Goddard’s Hot Chip side project The 2 Bears. It goes down on Sunday January 26 at the Beach Road Hotel. Make the most of Monday being a public holiday.

Tour rumours: A little birdie tells me that one of the best DJs I have ever seen in my goddamn life, Detroit don Marcellus Pittman, will return to Sydney in early March. Oh, and expect an Australian sojourn from Daniel Howells next month.

Sweet merciful Jesus Levon Vincent is finally releasing his debut album. The always on-point producer took to Facebook over the weekend to make the announcement and also released the track list and a free download of one the tracks titled ‘Anti-Corporate Music’. It has me salivating already. No confirmed dates yet, just that it’s coming “very soon” on his label Novel Sound. Stay tuned.

Best releases this week: Lnrdcroy is now an early contender to take out the coveted Tyson Wray’s Album Of The Year™ award with his killer full-length Much Less Normal (on Firecracker Recordings). Other highlights include Nummer’sTo the D (on Nummer Music) and Klaus’ Tele (on Tanum). It’s been a strong start to the year for electronic music, eh?

SATURDAY JANUARY 17

Oneman

The Famous Spiegeltent

Tim Hecker, Ben Frost

Sydney Opera House

FRIDAY JANUARY 23

Om Unit

Goodgod Small Club

SUNDAY JANUARY 25

Mister Saturday Night

Sydney’s National Art School

Darius Syrossian