Photos by David Leyshon, Justin Vaguefor Voena.co, and Aleksandar Jason for adamNOTeve.comWhen she's not getting surprise married to Hudson Mohawke or working with Diplo's Heaps Decent (a music program for disadvantaged youth Down Under), Nina Las Vegas is busy making sure she's Australia's most beloved household name. A beloved radio presenter on national station Triple J and a wicked DJ who has headlined Stereosonic and Big Day Out (among many other festivals), we wouldn't be surprised if NLV's name soon became more recognizable than Vegemite.This month, Nina is touring Australia with heaps of up-and-coming producers that she's handpicked for her NLV Presents tour. She gave us some pictures and words about her shows so far and the lowdown on nine Aussie dance music acts you best watch out for in 2014.
As told to us by Nina Las Vegas:
"After finally waking up from two massive club nights in Melbourne, my initial exhaustion quickly wore off and I only wanted the next weekend run of shows to happen sooner! The two full events proved two main things: we really do have an impressive amount of young dance producers/DJs/performers on this tour and a lot of people want to watch them do their thing."With Melbourne currently occupied by a large number of Melbourne Sound events (not hating, just stating), I am happy to say each person on the our bill still had a lot of pull. We played to packed rooms at Corner Hotel and 170 Russell [formally Billboard]! Below is a little rundown of the various talent I've got on the road with me!
L D R U
Also known as Drew Carmody, L D R U is a 20-year-old beats produer from the Northern beaches of Sydney who is part of the Future Classic family. Not shy on the mic, his energy while DJing and the original productions he played in his set—including "Tropics" and remixes for The Aston Shuffle and Miami Horror—filled the room up super early. Very cool 8PM vibes.
TKAY MAIDZA
Tkay has just finished high school and is currently wrapping up recording her debut EP. Thursday night's party was the first time I'd seen the Adelaide local do her thing live and, boy, does she kill it! Apart from her Triple J staple tune "Brontosaurus," her set was mostly made up of new and original songs—not that you could tell… the crowd dug it all. I can't stop raving about her. Plus, anyone who can rap on cue (I threw her the mic several times without warning) on whatever beat has my tick of approval!
COSMO'S MIDNIGHT AND WAVE RACER
What's better either one of these acts? Seeing both of them perform ON THE SAME NIGHT. Thursday's party was the best I'd ever seen the Liney twins (aka Cosmo's Midnight) play, only to be followed by Wave Racer, who also tore the club to pieces. Seriously, there is something going on within the Astral People camp (these guys are all managed by Astral) as every one of their acts are nailing their sets. It's so obvious that these guys absolutely love what they play—dancing DJs are always the best kind to watch!
EMOH INSTEAD
When it comes to What So Not (Flume's club project with Emoh Instead), Emoh is the one to watch on the decks. The guy plays four CDJs and never fails to put on a good show. He was the only act to play both nights in Melbourne. I can't wait for the rest of the world to pick up on how talented this guy really is. Not to mention, his debut Say So EP was super well received, he crowd surfs on the reg, and he's a mega-babe—aka he will be famous in no time.
NILE DELTA
Due to the fact that we were in Melbourne, I really wanted to pay tribute to the Cutters crew. I grew up listening to Cut Copy and have loved everything they've put out on their label, especially Nile Delta's music. Although it wouldn't be accurate to describe him as part of the whole "new Australian sound" that's exploding right now, he has earned his place in the scene many times over. From his latest record, "Aztec," to his Voltage tunes and former work as Riot In Belgium, this guy brought some really good music to 170 Russell.
INDIAN SUMMER
Chevy and Gabe from Indian Summer are also Melbourne locals who play heavy club tunes and their own 100 bpm-ish originals ("Foreign Formula" being a crowd fave). They are two of the hardest working guys in the Australian club world, not only behind the scenes (running and writing blogs, hosting parties, and DJing all over), they are two of the hardest working DJs behind the decks. Literally, they got damn sweaty!
TOUCH SENSITIVE
Touch Sensitive is the only person I know that can make playing a cordless bass over an Ableton set look cool. He schooled that crowd, big time. And how did he thank them? He played his slow burning jam "Pizza Guy" from amongst them. So. Damn. Smooth.
MOTEZ
There aren't that many Iraq-born, Adelaide-based house music makers are there? In fact, there is only one and his name is Motez. With releases out on Sweat It Out and Food Music, it's no surprise that people lose their shit over him. One girl even pulled me aside to tell me loudly, "My boyfriend loves Motez more than ME!" Poor babe. However, props to her bf for having sick taste in music."If you're in Australia, catch the next run of NLV Presents shows here:Thursday, 27 February 2014
ROCKET BAR, ADELAIDEFriday, 28 February 2014
CAPITOL, PERTHSaturday, 1 March 2014
REPUBLIC BAR, HOBARTThursday, 6 March 2014
GOODGOD SMALL CLUB, SYDNEYFriday, 7 March 2014
GOODGOD SMALL CLUB, SYDNEYTSaturday, 8 March 2014
BOWLER BAR, BRISBANESunday, 9 March 2014
TRINITY BAR, CANBERRA
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"After finally waking up from two massive club nights in Melbourne, my initial exhaustion quickly wore off and I only wanted the next weekend run of shows to happen sooner! The two full events proved two main things: we really do have an impressive amount of young dance producers/DJs/performers on this tour and a lot of people want to watch them do their thing."With Melbourne currently occupied by a large number of Melbourne Sound events (not hating, just stating), I am happy to say each person on the our bill still had a lot of pull. We played to packed rooms at Corner Hotel and 170 Russell [formally Billboard]! Below is a little rundown of the various talent I've got on the road with me!
Also known as Drew Carmody, L D R U is a 20-year-old beats produer from the Northern beaches of Sydney who is part of the Future Classic family. Not shy on the mic, his energy while DJing and the original productions he played in his set—including "Tropics" and remixes for The Aston Shuffle and Miami Horror—filled the room up super early. Very cool 8PM vibes.
Tkay has just finished high school and is currently wrapping up recording her debut EP. Thursday night's party was the first time I'd seen the Adelaide local do her thing live and, boy, does she kill it! Apart from her Triple J staple tune "Brontosaurus," her set was mostly made up of new and original songs—not that you could tell… the crowd dug it all. I can't stop raving about her. Plus, anyone who can rap on cue (I threw her the mic several times without warning) on whatever beat has my tick of approval!
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What's better either one of these acts? Seeing both of them perform ON THE SAME NIGHT. Thursday's party was the best I'd ever seen the Liney twins (aka Cosmo's Midnight) play, only to be followed by Wave Racer, who also tore the club to pieces. Seriously, there is something going on within the Astral People camp (these guys are all managed by Astral) as every one of their acts are nailing their sets. It's so obvious that these guys absolutely love what they play—dancing DJs are always the best kind to watch!
When it comes to What So Not (Flume's club project with Emoh Instead), Emoh is the one to watch on the decks. The guy plays four CDJs and never fails to put on a good show. He was the only act to play both nights in Melbourne. I can't wait for the rest of the world to pick up on how talented this guy really is. Not to mention, his debut Say So EP was super well received, he crowd surfs on the reg, and he's a mega-babe—aka he will be famous in no time.
Due to the fact that we were in Melbourne, I really wanted to pay tribute to the Cutters crew. I grew up listening to Cut Copy and have loved everything they've put out on their label, especially Nile Delta's music. Although it wouldn't be accurate to describe him as part of the whole "new Australian sound" that's exploding right now, he has earned his place in the scene many times over. From his latest record, "Aztec," to his Voltage tunes and former work as Riot In Belgium, this guy brought some really good music to 170 Russell.
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Chevy and Gabe from Indian Summer are also Melbourne locals who play heavy club tunes and their own 100 bpm-ish originals ("Foreign Formula" being a crowd fave). They are two of the hardest working guys in the Australian club world, not only behind the scenes (running and writing blogs, hosting parties, and DJing all over), they are two of the hardest working DJs behind the decks. Literally, they got damn sweaty!
Touch Sensitive is the only person I know that can make playing a cordless bass over an Ableton set look cool. He schooled that crowd, big time. And how did he thank them? He played his slow burning jam "Pizza Guy" from amongst them. So. Damn. Smooth.
There aren't that many Iraq-born, Adelaide-based house music makers are there? In fact, there is only one and his name is Motez. With releases out on Sweat It Out and Food Music, it's no surprise that people lose their shit over him. One girl even pulled me aside to tell me loudly, "My boyfriend loves Motez more than ME!" Poor babe. However, props to her bf for having sick taste in music."If you're in Australia, catch the next run of NLV Presents shows here:Thursday, 27 February 2014
ROCKET BAR, ADELAIDEFriday, 28 February 2014
CAPITOL, PERTHSaturday, 1 March 2014
REPUBLIC BAR, HOBARTThursday, 6 March 2014
GOODGOD SMALL CLUB, SYDNEYFriday, 7 March 2014
GOODGOD SMALL CLUB, SYDNEYTSaturday, 8 March 2014
BOWLER BAR, BRISBANESunday, 9 March 2014
TRINITY BAR, CANBERRA