DIPLO @ The Compound
Friday, March 17, 2017
Diplo is everyone’s wet dream. He’s cool, he’s charming, he’s cultured and he puts on a damn good show. He’s probably one of the only DJ’s I know to be so spread across every imaginable genre from dancehall and world music to hip-hop, dub and trap. He knows what gets the raver’s arms pumping and the booty’s shaking. Hence, you can imagine the severe hype and all time rally effect for his most recent gig featuring Anna Lunoe back to back with Nina Las Vegas and hip hop/pop prodigy Post Malone in a brand new secret location.
For most of 2017 The Compound has been a mystical space strung along with Chinese whispers and urban legends. Was it just the marquee at Claremont showgrounds? Was it just another refurbished club space? And after the relocation of their launch party, did it even actually exist? With approvals given the go ahead seemingly only a few days prior, this 4,000 capacity warehouse was locked in and ready to go. Entering through the industrial corner of Osbourne Park made it feel like a private party of sorts. V. Exclusive. V. Underground. V. Berlin. Simplistic and dirty – the upside was that we could make as much noise as we darn well wanted with minimum neighbourly complaints. It was much more festival focused than assumed which probably aligns very clearly with Origin NYE.
Venue aside, the gal pal duo Nina Las Vegas and Anna Lunoe were straight in at 9 and blowing the roof off. With Ri-ri remixes, Yonce’s 7/11 banger and Baauer explosions they were completely and utterly desecrating the crowd, almost in reaction to the notion of “oh they’re just girls”. One super interesting bit of behaviour I did notice was the way they went back to back. Usually with a bunch of dudes on the decks, they’re always reaching over one another, peaking at what the other is cueing up and having some inside joke about it but these girls each did their thing and slipped off to the side to dance up a little and get the crowd into it. Whether or not it was intentional there was a serious sense of mutual respect by letting the other have their time to kill it.
Bringing in the old boy was FKi on the decks sliding in some smooth lines before Post Malone took to the stage. If you weren’t already acquainted with his appearance it could have come at a bit of a shock that a guy rapping about “ballin” and “swagging” and “spendin all my f**in pay” would be a white tattooed bearded boy with a bowl cut and a couple of stray braids. Alas he was. That whole image just made him that much more unique as he rapped on with Inversion and crowd favourite Go Flex. With a comment on making it in the industry he threw down Congratulations for a decent sing along. The only thing we could have really complained about was that there wasn’t enough of him. A 45-minute (or less) set was definitely not enough to appease the crowd to his novels of goodness.
Then finally, Diplo, the man of the hour took to the stage up in his little raised castle and had the whole place packed back to front. He was clearly 546 times louder than the previous artists and his lights even more so. For a 17 degree night the place was a total sweat hangar as the crowd lapped it all up with their energy and power.
In true American style, the man went from drop to drop with little to no down time in between making it impossible to cease moving. He had the Co2 cannons and the confetti and the giant visual screens that made his set just that much more spectacular. Of course it wouldn’t have been Diplo set without his own Lean On and Cold Water and then still found time and space to throw in Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You and a local tribute with Amy Shark’s Adore.
All in all a bloody fantastic show that Perth will remember for many years to come. Thank you Diplo for all that you do.
MIA CAMPBELL-FOULKES
