feat. Valentino Khan, UFO! & Getter
with Killafoe, Dinolife & Reclusive
Villa Nightclub
Friday, May 15, 2015
The next Syndicate off the block looked a safe bet to preserve the majesty of the previous two, another trio of internationals at the top of their games destined to thrill Perth’s bass faithful. Reclusive and ever-reliable Inhibit stalwart Killafoe warmed up the club courtesy of energetic multi-genre mixes, bringing the crowd to a cosy boiling point before handing over to the headliners.
UFO! is undoubtedly grounded in the foundations of Trap music since his collaboration album with Bro Safari, Animals, produced some of the more recognisable anthems of the genre. However, he cuts a reserved figure with little social media presence and so there was always a wildcard aura about his set.
Fittingly then, what followed was a cultivated set from an artist who clearly pours great time and energy into producing and reaps the rewards by putting together a procession of mysteriously huge 808’s, transforming Villa into a bouncing trap den. With an onstage presence similar to a kid in a candy shop, tracks like Knife Party’s Boss Mode and his own Apocalypse were added to the mix, producing a peculiar mechanical junkyard meets Russian rave party atmosphere that went down smooth.
With 10 minutes remaining in the set, UFO! announced he was going to play tracks from the upcoming second album with Bro Safari and what followed was a collection of tracks we’ll surely know as some of the biggest of the year as time allows. We also managed a little chat backstage with UFO! who was happy to share from his 30 years of experience in the music industry, saying that he doesn’t even think ‘labels are that important anymore, you can be a nobody producing from your bedroom and you’re on top when you’re trying and creating something innovative, that making it is more than being an artist. It’s creating an image, being a performer, being a musician’.
Hearing the latest treats off a production line as consistently impressive as Valentino Khan’s was always poised to be a high point of the evening. Mixing trap tracks such as the When We Were Young and On My Way remixes with house bangers like Deep Down Low and the Flosstradamus collaboration MFU, allowing the don from LA to construct a hard-hitting set with enough bass to rattle you to the core. There was an undoubted energy and intensity throughout the duration, but the European hard style banging house numbers may have grown slightly repetitive and it felt as if the crowd responded more to the trap side of things. Comment also must be made on the perfectly manicured ‘Chopper Reid’ moustache. 10/10.
Bass lord Getter, back in Australia a year-and-a half after his last visit, was always the obvious candidate for the Syndicate dubstep throwdown slot as the final headliner to play. Dropping in huge dubstep tunes like Must Die!’s Airborne remix and upcoming collaborations with Trollphace and Tha Trickaz. Favouring trap switch-ups throughout, a mash-up of his own monstrous track Headsplitter with Yellow Claw, GRX & Cesqeaux’s Psycho had to take the cake as the highlight of the night. Dinolife was on hand to bring the deeper late night wubs in full force, and hopefully the trend of borrowing from the Bassment DJ roster in order to fill this closing slot will be celebrated and continued for future Syndicates.
The trio of headliners produced the most varied Syndicate to date, with all of the major genres sweeping modern bass music exhibited in full force, and it’ll undoubtedly continue to hold down its position as one of the best new additions to Perth’s clubland this year when Pegboard Nerds, Tomsize and Boombox Cartel come to town on the final day of May. Long live Syndicate.
JOSH LLOYD
