Situated in the West End of Brisbane, Über sits pride of place along Boundary Street and enjoys an atmosphere that differs greatly from the blues bars and cafes that surround it. It has played host to some impressive names, most recently Dr. Octagonand Kool Keith. But the night before it saw Melbourne-based DJ Spoonbill pack the house and release a sound not being produced by any other Australian musician.
The night began with a glimpse into the very curious world of Suckafish P Jones, whose combination of dubstep, grime and hiphop had the few in attendance looking on in quiet bewilderment. The hardcore but formulaic sound of the dirty hiphop that came out of his laptop and pads clashed almost comically with the image of the wildly energetic skinny white boy with glasses jumping around the stage. He deserves credit for maintaining his over-enthusiastic energy throughout the set, in the face of a totally unresponsive crowd who refused repeated requests to “give it up!” and “put [their] hands in the air!”
The change in mood was palpable when Simulcast took to the stage. Unfortunately that mood changed another twenty times during his set, as he chose not to settle on one particular flow for the night but skipped uncomfortably from genre to genre. A brash and unwelcome hip hop beat would often cut in on an easy djemba-addled sound that was just beginning to take flight one minute, and then force its way between a smooth breakbeat synth concoction the next. The set was peppered with great moments, but all too often they were interrupted by what seemed to be the same tired hip hop backtrack, and not as a way of blending one tune into another, but merely as a means to cut one sound off and use it as an intermittent to the next.
When the great moments came, they were Simulcast doing what he does best, and that’s producing laid back minimal breaks reminiscent of a DJ Food soundscape. This, coupled with the smatterings of comic sampling that the DJ is so adept at using, such as the inspired use of Ray Parker Jnr’s vocal talents at one point. The flashes of Mr Gibbs’ brilliance were all to few and although, by the look of the crowd on the night, the sound may have catered to their tastes, it wasn’t his sound, that otherwise makes him great.
Room, then, was made for the feature presentation. Spoonbill, with visual mixing assistant in tow, took his place with macs, samplers, and mixers aplenty. I saw Mr. Moynihan when he supported Amon Tobin and Kid Koala on their joint venture to Melbourne a couple of years ago and was very impressed with a splendidly appointed supporting cast to what turned out to be one of the best live music events I’ve had in this country. His set geared everyone up sublimely for the night of Ninjatune majesty, and so was intrigued to find out what a night with a top-billing Spoonbill would be like.
As suspected, he didn’t disappoint. Having two hours to play with the audience, he unleashed a sound that simply no other Australian DJ is making at the moment. Certainly there is no better influence to have than the aforementioned genius Tobin, and he is evident throughout much of what Spoonbill does, but not enough to make him simply a cheap Australian equivalent. He has captured the essence of great technical ability with his sampling, and funnelled it into a seemingly easily-produced rhythm that on the face of it sounds generic, but doesn’t hang around getting stale and repetitive, quickly snapping you back into a healthy breaks mix with yet more finely tuned samples.
The sounds on offer were matched only by the visuals that synced up with them, and were a treat to look at, especially during the Gum Tree sequence. In a style reminiscent of the seamless visual extravaganza that makes up a live Coldcut performance, Spoonbill put on a show that was a treat for the eyes and the ears. He has the makings of a true pioneer within the Australian music scene, engineering a sound that no one else coming out of this country has attained. Despite some bizarre comparisons to The Avalanches that are doing the rounds (true only insofar as he is Australian and has a sampler), Spoonbill’s sound is a lot more technical and his samples more foley orientated as opposed to borrowing from entire riffs or the vocal verse. His music has divided critics, some not grasping what he is trying to do, and this is only ever a good thing for an artist, for it separates those who can appreciate technical ability from the chaff.
His utter uniqueness, combined with a live performance that is visually superb (he even finds the time to incorporate some carefully ironic marketing campaigns in the shape of piss-taking ads into his sets) means that Spoonbill will garner the attention of many, fans and critics alike, in the future. Now, if only he could be reviewed without the predictable barrage of avian-based punnery…
