Review: Perlonized at Piknic
Some of Perlon’s biggest stars hit Piknic Electronik recently for an intense minimal workout. Matt Wall packed his picnic basket for a day filled with champagne and basslines…
Enjoy a picninc with city views…
In a town saturated by tech house and techno it was refreshing to have a Piknic Electronik bill chock full of Perlon Records aligned minimal superstars. Out in Australia to play for NSW’s Subsonic festival, their stop at Picnic’s second event this year was set to be a day party to remember..
Walking up to the Sidney Myer Music bowl you could tell no expense was spared on sound, and upon entry flashbacks of Parklife and Summerdayze were filling the mind. While the location is exquisite, the second Picnic event was held behind the main toilet block of the bowl, still offering city views but perhaps less greenery than one would have hope. Also, being part of the Arts Centre, and with over eight paramedics and plenty of police and security at the ready, there was a feeling that this was 'controlled fun'.
I arrived at 4:30PM for Perlon Records boss DJ Zip (aka Thomas Franzmann) who started with more laid-back house vibes which slowly built into some heavy bass slugs. On track to finish a whole pack of darts by the end of the set, Zip provided much depth and variability of style in the short 90 mins allocated to him. From a nice psychedelic groover to George Morales’ classic 'Let's Groove', and some Moodymann to finish, it was a perfect afternoon set. And Franzmann’s cheeky grin and bouncy dance moves throughout the day were a joy to watch.
DJ Zip playing some minimal heat while working through a pack of darts…
After Zip, fellow Perlon stablemate Fumiya Tanaka jumped on the decks. Playing at all the best minimal festivals and parties he has been making some serious waves across the globe. The music during the start of his set brought to mind some boppy swirls, a fish on MD in some super lush coral reef came to mind. Heads were swinging as Fumiya’s tracks ebbed and flowed in all the right ways, and he brought some minimal squelchy sounds towards the end which went down a treat. The lighting came on quite early and looked like swivelling traffic lights adding a steampunk element to the stage decor.
As Fumiya finished up a consistent set, Raresh took to the stage to close. An adored crowd favourite in Romania, he began with the Romanian sound that we all know and loved while throwing some shapes toward the crowd in a Villalobos-esque manner. Playing a lot of classic ‘Rominimal’ tracks from 2018, Raresh closed the party playing some spacey beautiful tunes.
Raresh should look extremely pleased with himself after that set…
The day was a success, the music was on point, and all the big names did not disappoint. That said, you couldn't help but feel that this party could have been even better by giving the artists more extended sets like the ones they are used to in Europe. (Something to ponder in a scene chock full of 1 to 1.5hr slots - even at festivals!!) Crowds are yearning for that 'all night long spot' to really get an authentic experience of their favourite artists. (ED: We would wager Piknic had time restrictions, but yeah, longer sets ploise!) That said, the deep minimal scene is growing locally, and this party was another step in the right direction.
Looking to the future, the rest of the summer's Piknic line-up does not offer much for the deep minimal fans out there, but there are plenty of other upcoming events elsewhere with the likes of Domenico Rosa, Andrey Pushkarev, Cristi Cons and Cezar all booked for an Australian visit.
Words by Matt Wall