Reviewed on Saturday September 27 (photo by Ashley Mar)
In the second year of the Listen Out festival, the lineup was a premium cut selection of emerging Australian EDM. But even in a new venue (Centennial Park) and with its heavy branding as a new type of festival experience (more hip dance party, less bogans in singlets and thongs), it was still hard to separate it much from its predecessors. You know the drill: short shorts, port-a-loos and people losing their minds as soon as the soundcheck guys stepped out onstage.
Hailed as something of a beatmaking prodigy, 18-year-old Tkay Maidza took to the stage early, and delivered one of the highlight sets of the festival. With Maidza blaring energy, it wasn’t exactly a chill way to start the day, but ‘U-Huh’ still went down a treat.
One of Australia’s most talented producers, Ta-ku, showed that his material from Songs To Break Up To translates perfectly well live. Given its lo-fi, spaced-out beats it could have fallen flat, but instead opener ‘I Miss You’ was sharp and easy to be immersed in. If nothing else, Listen Out is a valuable platform if it gives artists like Ta-ku a chance to reach a new audience.
Chet Faker hit the main stage to a predictably enormous crowd. As promised on Twitter, he played some previously unreleased material, and jammed out on ‘Cigarettes And Chocolate’ just to keep things interesting. ‘No Diggity’, of course, was the main sing-along of the day. Zhu played hidden behind a white gauze screen onto which trippy images were looped, making it feel much more like a club concert than a festival set. Meanwhile, ScHoolboy Q got the crowd so riled with a ferocious set that he had to tell everyone to “chill” before launching into ‘Break The Bank’.
Headliner Flume also had some tricks up his sleeve. Pyrotechnics on entrance were just the start, with a guest appearance from Future Classic labelmate George Maple for ‘Talk Talk’ and a soon-to-be-released mystery track. His remix of ‘Tennis Court’ was played in Australia for the first time, and a reminder of why he is one of the pioneers of our thriving EDM scene.
One advantage Listen Out can boast is that dance music lends itself pretty perfectly to a festival format. Boutique it’s not, but it’s got a fresh focus that clearly works and showcases some of Australia’s strongest talent.
