Tepid Rhythm at Sugar, Adelaide - June 29, 2024



For quite some time, Tepid Rhythm has had a close connection with the city of Adelaide. From radio collaborations, to mutual connection it has always been a musically connected city. On Saturday July 29th, Tepid Rhythm hosted it's very first interstate showcase at the iconic Sugar Nightclub. Entering into the space it’s always nice to read the names who have graced the staircase up. From older legends like Moodyman, Theo Parrish and Jeff Mills to contemporary heavyweights like Shanti Celeste and Chaos In The CBD. It’s a humbling experience to know who has played in the booth before you. From the opening of doors, all the pool tables were occupied which was great to see people in so early. The occasional cheer made the place not just a comfortable place to dance but also socialise and hangout in the pattered seating arrangements.

The arrangement of a club event was certainly not something I had envisioned for Tepid Rhythm. For a large part of the radio shows lifespan, the content was heavily focussed on downtempo and subtle listenings. But as the journey through music continues to show, there are no limits to what can or cannot be danced to. Club music does not necessarily just need to be be energetic, it can and should at most times be beautiful and meaningful which was the mindset going into curating the sonic offering of this event in Adelaide.

To open the musical journey were Sink. A local duo consisting of Brigitte and Pia . Having only DJing for a little over a year they have quickly developed a broad suite of varying genres which they broadcast regularly on Duck Radio and they residency with Closer Record Store. They commenced the evening with some wonderful easy paced house music. Complimenting the ears of the snooker players and casual drinkers. Lovely looping snares and lightly sprinkled tech baselines showed us sink’s capabilities on club sound systems. Having only met Pia and Brigitte properly on the night, it was lovely to know that it was Pia’s first time performing at Sugar. So lovely to provide a new opportunity for such a talented music enthusiast. They were slow to build up their tempo but this patience showed great wisdom and poise to pull off a perfect warmup set.



Following on to continue the momentum of the evening, it was a pleasure to invoite fellow Naarm based DJ and Selector, Bayu, to Sugar for the first time. Originaly from Indonesia, Bayu is a long-standing resident of Sticky Music at Dr Morse and collaborator of Berlin/Melbourne based label A Colourful Storm. Alongside label head Moopie, Bayu co-compiled two compilation albums, 'I Won't Have To Think About You' (2017), a feel-good, uplifting showcase of lost Australian indie-pop & 'Still In My Arms' (2019) a downbeat, sympathetic collection of lost 90's IDM. Bayu has also featured in ACS takeover's and radio shows with US based radio streams Dublab, Ghostly & Beats In Space. Having already presented his mazing musical brain at the last Tepid Rhythm party in Fitzroy last year, it was an easy decision to invite Bayu to South Australia.

It was a pleasure to also see the music heads of Adelaide to come out and watch Bayu as well. Perfect approach to House music was a strong match to display in Adelaide. He carried on from Pia and Brigitte with a patient steadyness, before beginning to carefully raise the volume expertly. He manuvered through different drum patterns during the course of his set and slotted different genres within the set. One moment that struck out in particular were some quite loud tribal drum patterns that really amplified the club. I'm not sure on the exact track that Bayu played (I'll have to ask him) but it sounded familiar to a record in my own collection. Cave - Street Carnival 2003 (Ingoma Records)

I found this actually quite humerous because when I purchased this record I had no idea on what occasion I could possibly play it. I thought the drums were far too chaotic to include in a set in Sugar. So it was quite funny to hear Bayu play a very similarly sampled record on the evening and the song went down perfectly.

This was just one example of some of the varying selections that Bayu presented and showed his club experience. It was great to also see Bayu enjoy himself behind the very comfortable booth of Sugar as well.



Lastly, it was my turn to play some music. I was very gracious for Bayu to invite me up to the DJ booth a little early in case the club thinned put and the club felt inclinded to turn off the music early. However thanks to the receptive crowd I was able to invite Bayu back for the final half an hour for a nice b2b before the club closed at 5am.

For my own set, I performed a large amount of early 2000's tech house which was well danced to, throwing in some acid house for a bit of changeup and some more progressive techno records I previously didn't have the opportuniy to play. In the final hour of my slot I was able to play some much deeper and slower music with the few punters who had stayed to watch the full evening. I was very happy to also have Bayu back to assist in selecting some of these slower tracks and enjoy listening on the other side of the booth.

Overall the entire evening was a great success. I have to admit, I had my doubts on whether any people would turn up. After all, I was my first ever club event in a different city. But to the praise of the dance scene of Adelaide it was such a warming community from the moment I arrived. It was a fantastic space, the recent sound upgrade from my last visit to Sugar was terrific. The bass really amplified many hidden elements of some of the music, which was a comment that Bayu made after I performed DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Blues (Mule Musiq).

It was great to have such a receptive crowd for the entirety of the night and Has certainly inspired me to visit Adelaide again soon for some more wonderful nights of music.

I would love to thank Lachie, Bayu, Pia & Brigitte, Fin, Hamish, Sean, Glenn and everybody who organised this opportunity in Adelaide :)

Words by Luke Sevior