S~U~N~D~E~X smoothes out Brisbanites' w/e

As the cold winter chill begins to lift and the body starts warming up, it`s time to leave the annual state of hibernation and head out and about to see what new adventures await. As Brisbane Exhibition is just around the corner, people will be looking for a place to escape from the westerly winds and catch up with friends in a cosy atmosphere. With the current shortage of club venues in Brisbane, a new one on the market, The Winery could be the next place to take off. Situated in Davies Park, South Brisbane, it has a a couple of levels and a deck which overlooks the Brisbane River - no longer do the great views belong exclusively to the city crowd!

One collective who are hosting a weekly night at The Winery are the Ravebreak crew. These guys have previously organised Ravebreak Island parties down the Gold Coast and are the people behind the chill/ravebreak room at Advent*jah festivals. S~U~N~D~E~X is a new Sunday club commencing mid-August. I had the chance to speak to Michael Walsh aka DJ M from the Ravebreak crew about this new night and Sunday clubs in general:

You`re starting a new Sunday club called Sundex.. what`s the concept involve?

DJM: Sundex will be on Sundays over 12 hours - midday to midnight, 3 sessions of music, 4 hours of breaks and funky groove, rare groove with afternoon drinks. It`ll be a social, kicked back atmosphere on a deck overlooking the Brisbane River, leading into a funky formula of house, funky & tribal, for another 4 hours. The first 8 hours is accompanied by musicians - improvised sax, didge, African percussionists, live electric kit, and flute. We`ll follow this with four hours of harder styles - trance, progressive house etc.

For those that haven`t been to The Winery before, what`s the place like?

DJM: For anyone who isn`t familiar with Davies Park, The Winery is set just off Montague Rd, facing the Brisbane River. We`ll be using the top floor which houses about 400 people, and the top deck which will handle about 200 people.

Sounds like just what Brisbane needs at the moment..

DJM: Well, a lot of people have said that. We`re hoping people will come out and support it. What we`re aiming to do is build a small social system that will support a Sunday gig and then build it up from there with Internationals or Nationals acts, live artists, and bands.

It`s great to see that you have the live aspect to the day/night, for example, the percussionists and the didge. Is that something you`d like to incorporate more?

DJM: Yeah definitely. I`ve been in the dance scene for 10 years, so basically, I`m well and truly familiarised with two turntables. It`s time that we have something for the punter to look at. I`ve noticed that whenever Ravebreak`s played and put on the Groove Sessions, which is the live element, we always get really positive feedback. The live element has been welcomed in the dance scene. It`s just a matter of pushing it, and doing it smoothly.

People enjoy going out to hear the djs play, but there`s something special about seeing people who write music, and then play / perform it live..

DJM: Yeah that`s right, it`s that extra asthetic of watching someone play a saxaphone riff - the interaction of people dancing to a band, rather than 2 turntables and a DJ. When you`ve got practically a full band playing impro, mixed down into a dj, you have a whole new level of entertainment. Just the same as you might go and see your favourite band and get off looking at the singer or the drummer or the guitarist or whatever, you get that same element of interaction and appreciation. On a dance floor level, it`s a lot more interactive, a lot more entertaining!

I think it also allows for a mixture of different crowds, for example, people who like more of the rock scene, and those into hip hop etc. They might come along because of the live aspect, and enjoy a Sunday club.

DJM: Yeah, I agree completely, but it`s not only that - for me personally, or from Ravebreak`s perspective, what we`re actually trying to do is to try and sustain the rave scene in Brisbane. In Sydney, and in other cities, and especially in other countries, it`s not uncommon to see a 30 year old go out to a dance club and have a good night. In Brisbane it`s just not done! The reason for that is because the entertainment doesn`t cater for those people. If we can broaden the spectrum of entertainment but still make it cool, still make it groovey, and if anything, bring a fresh element to the younger generations, what we`re going to see is a real sustanance in the numbers that go out. Then for every scene it`s bigger, it`s stronger, it`s better promotion, better entertainment in general. We`re really trying to build it, to push the daytime thing. If we can get Brisbane behind it to support it, there`s absolutely no reason why we can`t make it a Brisbane Sounds of Sunday.

Are you open to people making suggestions as to what sort of music they would like to hear?

DJM: Definitely, we`re going to start reformatting a membership list, and that`s going to be as interactive as possible, through the websites, and also interaction at the events. We`ve got a basic working model, but we want to involve people who support it and we`re going to try bring as much of the West End crew in as possible, local businesses, local entertainers, djs. We`re trying to push as much industry through it as we can, bring in as many different variable elements and just see what works, and just go with it, so if anything, the first night is just going to be a wildcard!

Visit www.adventjah.com.au and www.ravebreak.com for more info on Sundex. Also keep an eye out in the street press and at Time Tunnel for more info.

A special pre-opening party at Sundex on Wednesday 14th August with djs: DJ M, Indelible, Jon G, Matt Nugent, Cosmo Cater, Habebe, Scott Walker, Chris Tisdell, Jen_e, Karma, Chia and a special live performance from VECTREX.

The official opening of Sundex is on Sunday 18th August featuring special international progressive breaks dj, HYPER along with DJ M, Angus, Matt Nugent, Dope & Dusted (live house!), Freestyle, Jon G, Jeff Drake (Canberra), Jen_e, Miss Tracy & Baby Gee.

You can also VOTE for who you would like to see playing at future Sundex nights via the Advent*jah website Message Boards, so get to it!