Review: Dancing in Space 10th Birthday at Freo.Social
Dancing in Space 10th Birthday feat. Francois K, Michael Gray at Freo.Social
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Sunday was a special night at Freo.Social, celebrating 10 years of Dancing in Space, bringing amazing, diverse artists and DJs to Perth. A massive shout-out and respect to the main man Charlie Bucket, James A and the Dancing in Space team for putting on a decade of quality parties with the focus on the dancefloor, spanning soul, funk, disco, house, tropical, Latin and Afrobeat vibes. Many of the acts these guys have brought to our remote shores would not have made it here were it not for them, and sometimes it can be a gamble in this current touring and club environment to put on such niche events. Their dedication, love and passion for promoting great music is inspiring.
The dynamic duo of Charlie and James are veteran DJs of the scene, having played countless sets at almost every venue around Perth. As well as Dancing in Space’s regular tours and parties around town, particularly at Freo.Social and Si Paradiso, they have released several volumes of disco edits. And Charlie (aka Joel) can also be heard on the airwaves, spinning obscure and exotic records from his deep crates, as a regular on the Global Rhythm Pot show, every Saturday round noon on RTRFM.
To celebrate such a prestigious occasion at their 10th birthday, they needed to bring over someone special, and they outdid themselves with one of their biggest bookings yet, managing to get a true living legend all the way to Perth for the first time—none other than French, New York City DJ legend and pioneer Francois Kevorkian, better known as Francois K., plus veteran British disco and house DJ and producer Michael Gray, to complete the international line-up.
While he is now 72 years of age, Francois proved he still has the magic touch and golden ear and has not lost his sense of adventure and passion for music, sound and DJing. It was a truly special evening to witness this absolute master at work in such an intimate space.
Moving to NYC from Paris in 1975, Francois was a jazz drummer, but after little success pursuing that, he discovered DJing and was hooked, immersing himself in the burgeoning, underground disco scene in NYC’s early nightclubs. He started his DJ career in the late 70s and 80s at some all-time legendary, hedonistic venues that set the benchmark for modern dance clubs – from the glitzy, glamourous Studio 54, to the gritty, underground Paradise Garage, Better Days and The Loft – playing alongside legends, pioneers luminaries and mentors in Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso, Walter Gibbons and John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez in a predominantly gay, Black and Latino scene.
Francois learned quickly, expanding his knowledge, refining his art. The notorious clubs he played in were also known for their state-of-the-art, custom built soundsystems and suspended turntables. They were very serious about the music, and Francois developed a high standard for audio perfectionism that enabled the music to have the greatest impact. In the 80s he became a studio engineer and producer of note, working with bands including Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk, as well as producing hundreds of his own disco edits, dubs and remixes. He explored many styles and genres, with the common goal of making you dance, evolving with the times.
The wealth of material and experience he can draw upon is massive, so it was exciting that the night promised a long set from Francois K, although he was scheduled to start fairly early at 6pm. This unfortunately meant there wasn’t a huge crowd for the start of his set, and it’s a shame some people missed it. He started slowly, taking his time getting into the groove, building up the vibe, and slowly people flowed in, filling up the room and surrounding the DJ booth, which was set up in the middle.
Pretty soon he had the crowd entranced and dancing along to his beat, really bringing the heat. The dancefloor was full of bodies moving, limbs flailing, and faces smiling, caught up in the irresistible rhythms. Mid-tempo disco jams gave way to heavier, bass-driven, percussive house bangers.
Then he’d break it down again to a more chill, spacey, Balearic acid-house vibe, dancing away behind the decks, lost in the laidback, melodic groove of Let It Go (Bassmix) by Steve Bug & Cle, before building it back up again, drawing it out to a dubbed-out climax, before dropping the big beat of Jamaican (Bam Bam) by Hugel and Solto—a huge tune that reworks Sister Nancy’s iconic dancehall anthem Bam Bam.
Truly a wizard on the mixer, Francois was a joy to watch, and he seemed to be enjoying himself too! Even at 72, you can see he’s still into it, closing his eyes, grooving away, lost in the sound, deep in the mix. He comes from a different era, a whole different style of mixing, learned with vinyl and intricate precision, gradually blending, and constantly working sounds in and out. There’s a real musicality to it.
Decades of deep, textural mastery have given a lot of nuance to his sound. He has a certain je ne sais quoi. That French flair, style and sophistication mixed with gritty New York City deep house vibes. The crowd of music heads were soaking it up, making the most of every beat he dropped on the dancefloor, knowing they were in the presence of greatness, there was a joyous atmosphere all night.
He dropped the funk-soul sounds of T-Connection’s Do What You Wanna Do from 1977 and got back to modern times on the NYC house tip with Little Louie Vega’s 2025 remix of his track Elevation with 2fox and Laville. He picked things up with the piano-driven 80s Italo Disco number I’m Ready by Kano, given a modern twist from Mousse T, then moved into some jazzy territory.
Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard, local DJs Jane Jaya & Frazer Devine were doing their thing. The Dancing in Space regulars provided some alternate, smooth deep house sounds for those who wanted to dance in the fresh air for a bit.
Back inside, just when you thought you were getting comfortable and Francois pegged, he swerved out of nowhere into some heavy UK bass sounds, dropping Chase & Status & Bou’s ragga anthem Baddadan feat. IRrah, Flowdan, Trigga & Takura. An unexpected detour that shows he’s staying abreast and up to date with new sounds. Like all good DJs, he’s never stopped getting into new music.
Then somehow, he seamlessly took it back into classic funk and soul with incredible mixing skills. He doesn’t need to posture with any DJ gimmicks. Francois uses wired in-ear bud headphones, which he wraps around the top of his ear to allow him to easily take it in and out to monitor the music. Like everything he does, it’s unconventional, but it works for him.
He dropped the wicked tune Question by KH (aka Four Tet), before fading it out a bit to get on the mic to say, “Thank you for welcoming me for my first time in Perth. I can tell you know how to party! I think it’s important to not deliver a pre-programmed thing… to put on any fucking record you want and try to make it happen… so I think that’s what I’m gonna do for a little bit.”
And that he did, proceeding to mix his way through an incredibly eclectic assortment of tunes for his last hour. Including at one point the awesome Dimitri From Paris edit of Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, which got everyone moving. Maybe the transitions weren’t always perfectly seamless, but they had colour and character, an instinctive, organic feel to them, as opposed to homogenous safe choices and robotic, lifeless mixes. In Francois’ strong, experienced hands we had a steady guide leading the way on a curated journey.
It was great to hear him get on the mic, talking over the music, in-between beats, imparting wisdom like a sage with 50 years in the game. It’s evident he still believes in the power and magic of music, and sees it as a dialogue between DJ and dancers, an emotional connection. You almost wished he’d keep playing music and talking all night, and tell us more stories from his early days at the birth of house music. As he cued up his last tune, he gave us a bit of an introduction, telling us it was produced by Daniel Wang, “who is this very crazy, queer guy from Berlin, and he’s always making very beautiful music, so I really have to thank him for this track File 7; it’s amazing. It’s like a mellow, acid love story… and you know, honestly, I think we need more mellow, acid love stories.”
Indeed, it was quite the set and quite the story. There was rapturous applause in appreciation of the wonderful, singular set, and just for Francois K in general, for coming here, and for everything he’s done for the music. Michael Gray entered the booth with a hard act to follow. He made sure Francois got all the cheers he was due, before kicking off his set. While Francois was more the legend, and some may have expected him to play last, Gray’s style is a bit more heavy, upbeat and uptempo, so perhaps more suited for finishing the night.
At times, after Francois’ eccentricities, Gray’s more straight-up, 4/4 deep house party tunes were a bit more linear and generic—but it was exuberant, carefree and fun music—easy to kick up your heels to and put your hands in the air. He includes a lot of his own custom edits and remixes, such as his wicked version of Dave Lee & Maurissa Rose’s What About My Love. But the biggest reaction he got was when he dropped his biggest tune—the 2004 global smash hit The Weekend.
It was a very tidy set, with a consistent solid beat that had everyone dancing right till the end. Smooth, solid, professional mixing. Mike definitely seemed to be enjoying himself, bounding around behind the decks, grinning and pumping the air with his fists, and why wouldn’t he be – getting to follow one of his heroes.
Gray’s own Good Vibe Zone remix of Jamiroquai’s Space Cowboy was a bit of a funky highlight before he wound things out with a big mix of Candi Staton’s enduring 1976 soulful disco anthem Young Hearts Run Free, ending the night on a suitably joyous note with one last boogie.
It was a great night to mark this momentous occasion, featuring two veteran playing complementary sets, with Francois’ being particularly special. Seeing such a legend who DJ’d all night at some of the most infamous nightclubs of all time, playing in the cosy confines of Freo.Social, was a real treat. Another great booking from our friendly local purveyors of good times and quality dance music. Congratulation to 10 years of Dancing in Space, thanks for all the good times and here’s to many more!
ALFRED GORMAN
