Review: Ministry of Sound – Testament 90s at The Court
Ministry of Sound – Testament 90s at The Court
Feat. Danny Tenaglia, Darren Emerson, Brandon Block, Altern8 and many more
Sunday, July 19, 2026
In what is now an annual tradition, since the inaugural Testament tour in 2023, Ministry of Sound returned to take us back to the old school. It’s always exciting to see what dance music legends they bring over for this nostalgic national tour that has previously featured names like Tall Paul, Judge Jules, Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold, Roger Sanchez and Seb Fontaine. Two gigs, two weekends in a row, one focused on the DJs and sounds of the 90s, the other on the 2000s. It’s one of the best days of the year for all the ageing ravers!
Back in the day, Ministry of Sound tours of Australia were a regular thing, with massive, multi-room parties featuring the world’s best DJs. The legendary London nightclub and brand played a big part in the popularisation of dance music and were also known for their many mix CD series (in the glory days when mix CDs ruled and sold hundreds of thousands of copies). Some of their popular series included The Annual, Clubber’s Guide, Sessions, Club Nation and the afterparty favourite Chillout Sessions. The bold-font cover art was iconic, and they were cleverly franchised globally—with the Australian ones often compiled by our MoS reps and flagship DJs, Sydney’s Mark Dynamix and Melbourne’s John Course.
While Ministry of Sound was considered a little cheesy and commercial by some, its influence in growing dance music worldwide is undeniable, and they brought loads of talent to our shores. Everyone owned a few MoS mix CDs, and they were often found cranking in your mate’s Nissan Pulsar hatchback on the way to and from the rave—in the Pioneer CD deck with the flashy LCD EQs and removable faceplate they had to carry around all night. State of the art!
Sunday’s 90s throwback gig was possibly the best lineup yet, featuring two certified legends of the 90s who are still going strong—NYC house don Danny Tenaglia, in his second ever visit to WA, as well as former Underworld member and acclaimed DJ, producer and label boss in his own right, Darren Emerson. Two of the greatest proponents of the progressive house movement of the 90s—one from the US and one from the UK—they are also both three-time Global Underground alumni, having released three editions of the legendary GU City mix series, with Tenaglia’s recent Brooklyn release in 2023. And both the boys were in great form, playing crowd-pleasing 90s inspired sets!
While previous editions of the Testament tour saw Perth get a big Saturday night show at Metro City (the scene of many a big night in the 90s), it now seems to be relegated to a Sunday session at The Court—though the earlier set times and very respectable finishing time of 10pm were probably welcomed by the mostly older crowd (though great to see some younger crew getting into the tunes as well).
Starting mid-arvo, the early rain had cleared, and the sun was out for quite a lovely Perth winter’s day as the punters started to arrive. The whole venue was in use, with the main undercover, outdoor arena, as well as the upstairs Rave Cave room featuring some harder sounds.
Perth legend Rudy started things off outside from 2pm to a minimal crowd content to mill about the perimeter and soak up the sounds, conserving their energy. It wasn’t till the second half of fellow WA veteran James A.’s following set that the courtyard dancefloor began to fill as he got into the groove with Taka’s Groove (Blakdoktor Mix) by Taka Boom and Jaydee’s 1993 classic Plastic Dreams.
Upstairs in the Rave Cave, it was still a little sparse, as people were still figuring out how to get there (despite the misleading signs on the outside staircase), but there was a small group bouncing around to the sounds of the lucky local Testament competition winner, MADDYX. She was having a good time herself behind the decks, mixing some upbeat party tunes, including a mashup of ATB’s 1999 hit 9pm (Till I Come).
Back downstairs, James A. was finishing strong with Basement Jaxx’s Fly Life Xtra as he handed over to John Course. The Ministry of Sound veteran took over just as things were starting to heat up. He took the reins and ran with it, as the classics started to come thick and fast. The dancefloor was really starting to move as he dropped Masters at Work’s signature house track, Work, before the classic piano loop rave anthem, High by Hyper Go Go, really took things up a notch.
A quick trip up to the rave cave saw things were starting to get hectic up there, as another OG Perth legend, Menis, was banging it out with some proper old-skool rave and hardcore. Tearing through his set with high BPMs, crunchy breakbeats and deft mixing, he dropped a pumping trance version of KLF’s What Time Is Love? And a bit of the Twin Peaks theme floated ominously into the mix at one point.
Downstairs the crowd had swelled, the dance floor was heaving, the sound system was pumping and the atmosphere was electric. There’s always that set that’s a bit of a turning point during the event, and John Course delivered it as day turned to night, and The Court’s big-screen visuals and impressive lighting rig exploded to life.
It was time for the first international, as UK/Ibiza veteran Brandon Block stepped into the booth, and John Course got on the mic to introduce him, looking out at the packed, cheering crowd. “I think you’re gonna have a good time!” he said, kind of addressing both Block and the crowd. The Londoner was once synonymous with Ibiza in the early 90s and its hedonistic party lifestyle. A long-time resident at Space and regular fixture on the White Isle, he’s been sober since the late 90s after pushing things too far for too long, and is now an anti-drug and mental health advocate. Though nothing seems to be able to dampen his love of DJing and bringing the party to the people, and that’s exactly what he set about doing.
He played a real mash-up set. Lots of vocal house anthems and classic tunes flew in and out of the mix, which is sometimes a bit frustrating when you’re getting into a good tune, only for it to slide out of the mix before you know it. But when the sets are only an hour, such is the way these days—as opposed to the actual 90s, where two or three-hour sets were the bare minimum! Block was having a ball, beaming over the crowd. The indoor/outdoor venue and day-party vibes may have made him recall his beloved terrace at Space, Ibiza.
The crowd were definitely digging it too as he charged through his set. The recent Armand Van Helden reworking of his old track I Want Your Soul went down well, and Herd & Fitz hit single I Just Can’t Get Enough featuring Abigail Bailey was a big vocal singalong moment, before getting a bit harder with a heavy remix of Josh Wink’s 1995 tweekin’ acid funk classic Higher State of Consciousness and Energy 52’s legendary tune Café Del Mar, named of course after the famous Ibiza bar.
As fun as Block was, once Darren Emerson came on, things got serious and moved up a level, as he immediately got down to business with his distinctly dark, techy, bassy, underground style. A true pioneer who’s been at the forefront of electronic music for many years, Emerson was a prodigious young talent and teenage DJ/producer when he started working with Underworld’s Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, and was integral in assisting them in making the transition from their synth-pop, rock band origins to becoming an era-defining, experimental, underground electronic dance group, with a unique sound and artistic flair. Thus followed an incredible run of albums that had a resounding impact on the future of electronic music, arguably their three best: Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994), Second Toughest in the Infants (1996), and Beaucoup Fish (1999).
In 2000 Emerson left the group and went back to DJing and producing and started his label, Underwater. He’s been a consistent force ever since, and it was so great to see him in Perth. He sadly only had an hour but made the most of it and fit in loads of gems, including several Underworld tracks, mixed seamlessly.
He started picking things up with Chicago legend, Lil Louis’ seminal 1989 track, French Kiss. And really got things going when he dropped his exclusive new remix of Underworld’s Dark and Long (Dark Train) as well as Underworld’s mix of Drum Club’s Sound System—both released in conjunction with Sasha & Digweed’s upcoming Northern Exposure Redux, the 30th-anniversary release of their seminal mix.
The unmistakable euphoric sounds and soaring synths of Underworld’s Rez crept into the mix, and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the familiar stabbing chords of Born Slippy entered the fray! Just a timeless, epic track that never gets old and a massive finale.
For those that were finding it a little bit too deep and progressive downstairs, the rave cave offered a respite—and another old skool Perth legend, Rousa, was dishing it out to the hardcore massive, dropping a mix of Blue Pearl’s (Can You) Feel The Passion. The upstairs room was definitely feeling it and it was going off! It was a whole different vibe and a whole lotta fun and hard to leave, as its smaller, hotter, darker, clubbier vibe captured the proper 90s rave vibe with its more frantic beats and pitched vocals.
Downstairs though, it was time for the Don to step up. The New York legend, Roxy resident, Twilo founder, the DJ’s DJ, the one and only Danny Tenaglia. A man who never follows trends but rather follows his muse. He started with a brief sample of The Orb’s Little Fluffy Clouds to set the mood before immersing himself in the mix. His classic, signature DJ style layers multiple tracks and loops, always working the mixer with intricate precision, long, slow transitions and tribal beats. His decades of experience and musical knowledge come to the fore.
Yuri’s That’s It and Rui da Silva’s classic Touch Me were worked into the mix in Danny’s inimitable style. A sample from Green Velvet’s La La Land was teased over the disco bassline from Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. As a nod to his mate Darren, he dropped the shimmering, stuttering synths of Underworld’s Two Months Off as the crowd sang along to the vocal hook, arms aloft, “You bring light in!” And he somehow interpolated the synth from Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill to shrieks of delight from the savvy crowd.
As his grand finale, he eased in the long, dramatic strings intro of Faithless’ all-time rave classic Insomnia—the crowd started to go crazy when the recognised it, as the iconic stabbing synth riff dropped synched with the strobing lights, and the late, great Maxi Jazz vocal kicked in. That alone would’ve been a superb finale, but to add the icing on the cake, he segued back into Kate Bush and played the full track, which has had a resurgence in recent times thanks to Stranger Things. Danny took us on as much of a journey as he could in 1.5 hours —a short set for him—in the way only he can. He’s a true pioneer and let’s hope he’s around for a good while yet and comes back soon! He recently recovered from a cancer scare and thankfully seems to be doing well and is touring again. We’re blessed the legend came all this way to visit us.
Headlining the rave cave was the legendary Altern8. The influential duo is now represented solely by Mark Archer, and while he might not have been wearing his signature boiler suit and yellow dust mask emblazoned with ‘A’, his tunes still captured the essence of that early 90s era of rave music. As well as some Altern8 classics, he dropped K-Klass’ tune Let Me Show You and a remix of You’ve Got The Love. There were absolute scenes on the dancefloor.
As it approached 9pm, Tenaglia had tapped his wrist and mimed crying, as he didn’t have much time left. I think everyone would’ve been quite happy if Danny just kept playing till close, no disrespect to Mark Dynamix! But Mark did take over for the last hour, and like he has many times before, closed things out on the right note like the consummate professional, with a tightly mixed, cleverly curated selection of classics, including Sebastian Leger’s awesome reworking of Jaguar.
It was another great Testament to the 90s. Perhaps the best yet, with two absolute legends playing great sets and many more highlights—the only criticism was they didn’t play longer, and it ended too early. But there was a fantastic vibe all day and night, with minimal phones and maximal dancing. Old ravers still know how to party the best, in the original spirit of P.L.U.R.! (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect).
Sending the smiling masses off into the night, Mark finished perfectly with ‘one more tune’, a remix of True Faith’s absolute classic Take Me Away from 1991, its timeless vocal resonating more than ever:
“Come with me to the dance floor. You and me, ’cause that’s what it’s for. Show me now what it is we got to be doing. And the music in the house is so soothing.”
ALFRED GORMAN
Photos by Linda Dunjey
