Five Things We Learnt At The Siberia Records Party

Thanks to the great people of Siberia Records and Young Turks, 200 or so passionate music lovers were able to experience a semi secret line up made up of JAMIE XX, FOUR TET, ALEX CAMERON, KIRIN J CALLINAN, CASSIUS SELECT and more in the heart of Sydney Harbour on the luxurious open-air floating bar known as The Island.

If you thought you couldn't be anymore jealous, joining the party as spectators we also saw appearances from a large percentage of the Laneway Festival bill including LORDE, HAIM, EARL SWEATSHIRT, MOUNT KIMBIE, CASHMERE CAT, KING KRULE, DOMO GENESIS and DANNY BROWN.

Here are Five Things We Learnt At The Siberia Records Party on the eventful and historic evening:

1. Jamie XX and Four Tet are great solo musicians but when they join forces they are a dynamic DJ duo.

At Laneway Festival we saw two separate sets but on this occasion they together provided us with an awesomely unique listening experience covering many different types of genres, with everything from soul to techno making its way into their two hour back to back DJ set.

JAMIE XX performing his extraordinary signature mix of STARDUST’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ in the middle of Sydney Harbour was certainly something I’ll never forget. In the words of THE FOUR SEASONS, oh what a night!

2. Seeing Alex Cameron perform on a small boat which unexpectedly pulled up next to the bar, had the audience (myself included) giggling like a bunch of primary school kids.

As people continued to settle in during the first couple of hours of the event, their conversations were interrupted by the voice of SEEKAE front man ALEX CAMERON. After realising the stage was vacant, people turned their heads to discover him on a boat with a microphone nearby. This was quite an amazing scene and something which will remain in the memories of attendees for a very long time.

With a live saxophonist and two speakers set up on both sides of him, ALEX CAMERON hilariously performed his tracks such as 'Happy Ending' and 'Take Care Of Business' in brilliant style with the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge clearly in sight. Well played Alex, well played.

3. Travelling to and from a gig on a jet boat is a mysterious and wonderful adventure.

"Do you know where exactly we're going?" was a question asked by many eager people, as we cruised through the sea in a jet boat. With the big details under wraps, all we knew was that it was somewhere in Sydney Harbour and on an "island". When very little is known about an event it has the ability to be much more exciting, especially when you're fairly certain Laneway Festival electronic heavyweights JAMIE XX and FOUR TET would be playing in an extremely intimate and interesting location. It felt as though we were all apart of something special and it turns out, we were.

4. When the Water Police decided it was time to check out the party halfway through Kirin J Callinan's set, they were very confused as to what was actually happening.

For the people who haven't had the opportunity to see KIRIN J CALLINAN live, it is certainly not a regular type of show and that's one of the reasons why he has such a reasonable amount of people following him. His music might not be everyone's cup of tea, however if you see him on stage you might still be blown away by his performance. He is quite the entertainer.

As he played tracks like 'Embracism' and 'Halo' with the usual intense strobe lights, the Water Police made an appearance in an attempt discover what was going on. Unfortunately for them I don't think they had much luck. Following his set, one of the international Laneway stars described it as 'the weirdest show they'd ever seen'.

5. With the new lock out laws being introduced into Sydney later this month, these interesting events could be the key for event organisers.

Here at Purple Sneakers, we love to party in a safe and fun environment but feel quite strongly about the new laws not being ideal for the future of Sydney's nightlife. With all of the negativity surrounding them in the music industry at the moment, there might be some sort of positivity hidden amongst the laws.

This particular evening went from 6pm-midnight, therefore it gave punters some urgency to turn up at the beginning of the night, especially when it wasn't on main land and people needed to catch a boat. Hopefully organisers will be encouraged to think outside the square a bit more and we will see more of these types of incredible events.

Words by Tony Kingston

SEE ALSO:

LISTEN: JAMIE XX 'UNTITLED' (UNRELEASED)

INTERVIEW: KIRIN J CALLINAN

LISTEN: FOUR TET 'JUPITERS'