Modular's Sydney Festival headliner was a surprise: Detroit techno pioneer, Juan Atkins. The longstanding and loveable Aussie label took over the Town Hall festival bar, Paradiso, for a night that promised to "have one collective eye on the future and the other on the dancefloor."
A founding father of Detroit techno and esteemed producer and DJ of three decades, Atkins is one of the most experienced in the industry. With his long standing comes a certain integrity to his craft that seemed at odds with this booking amongst Modular's roster of up-and-coming deep house dudes. Club Mod signees Softwar started off the night with their smooth and solid house sounds, with an oversized sound system and dynamic light show promising a potentially pumping evening. Second billers Movement followed up with a soulful live set that kept things fresh as the air conditioning inside Town Hall, both of which had people moving about to warm up. A quick transition assisted by Club Mod DJs playing Head High remixes helped rev the warm-up heat, but even a rapid influx of amped up revellers as the Belleville three legend begun was not enough to edge the vibes to anything near the ecstatic atmosphere often attached to a set from Atkins. At 10pm, everything was still a bit too cool, and more than one person likened the atmosphere to a school dance - but at the least, it was an extremely impressive school dance.
Atkins came down under with a few extra months of anticipation after cancelling his tour last year, which included a more appropriate Sydney booking at The Basement. The left of centre Sydney Festival slot left a few of the heads at home, but the absolute love of the festival from the locals made up for that in numbers, if not enthusiasm. The crowd was typically eclectic for a Sydney Festival gig, with plenty of non-electronic music fans out for a dance in the hands of the reliable Modular Records and happy to be experiencing “the guy who invented techno”. Generally Modular's cool, tropical chic aesthetic was a great fit for Paradiso, with Roland Tings taking the techno train off the rails and onto the beach soon after Atkins wound up his set, and wordlife keeping the beats rolling while the Sol kept flowing for all the folks celebrating a beautiful summer Friday. By most accounts, it was a fun party and a classic Sydney Festival night - including free entry around 11.30, which would give you half an hour of headliner.
And what of Atkins' set? He played his typically outrageous style, if still a bit reserved by his standards. His technique of mixing using only the pitch faders instead of touching the vinyl platters, and occasional cuts and jumpy mixes left the laptop lovers scratching their heads, while others stroked their beards with respect for the uniquely talented DJ. An hour of dubbed out, driving Detroit techno was worthy of attention, even if a large portion were simply partying. A mid set curveball classic in the shape of Mighty Dub Katz's 'Just Another Groove' was a nail on the head selection considering the 10-midnight timeslot, but the only rush to the floor moment was short lived as Atkins kept the uncompromisingly deep grooves growling.
In a venue the size of Town Hall, with a DJ playing techno built for Tresor, you need numbers and enthusiasm, not just a huge system, rave lasers and Space Invader visuals. Atkins kept everyone moving, even if it were simply in and out of the courtyard and bar line, which is the default activity at SydFest. Unfortunately the amazing Festival Barracks of previous years is inactive, with the open air marquee setting sorely missed in this case. Juan would’ve fit in perfectly there, with it’s lack of walls to shake, echoes to deal with, floorboards to rumble and courtyards dwellers to capture. He was even rocking a cool high socks, shorts, sneakers and tee combo that’d suit a balmy Barracks evening perfectly.
Overall, Sydney Festival is bigger than any one DJ, label, venue or evening. It was certainly better to see Juan Atkins in Town Hall than to not see him at all, and judging by the swamping Juan received, with repeated selfie requests as he tried to make it to the bathroom after his set, the Sydney crowd knows and loves a legend when they see one.