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Nick Spurway

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Drop Some Drums by [Love] Tattoo (Hussle Recordings, 2000)

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The first album purchase I made with my own money was Fatboy Slim's Live On Brighton Beach when I was 9 years old. As soon as the CD loaded in my Dad's car player, I was transfixed, and one track really stood out: 'Drop Some Drums' by [Love] Tattoo, real name Stephen Allkins. It single-handedly kickstarted my love for electronic music and later became a touchpoint for my DJ career. I had no idea Stephen was a local legend, the ‘Mr. Disco’ of Sydney queer nightlife since the late 1970s. Fifteen years later, in late 2017, now a DJ in my own right, I finally saw Stephen perform for the first time. After his set and very starstruck, I sought him out and proceeded to word vomit about how much the track, and he, meant to me and my career. He was so warm and gracious with his time, giving me a big hug after we talked. We became friends on Facebook that weekend and to my delight, Stephen sent me a copy of his first album I had been trying to find for years. What a legend!

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Sophie Forrest

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Ball'r (Madonna-Free Zone) by DJ Sprinkles (Mule Musiq, 2009)

Not streamable here — DJ Sprinkles requests her tracks stay off social/streaming platforms as part of a broader stance on context and distribution, not copyright. More on why.

I first heard this track at the Australian Institute of Music around 2014/2015 when a friend showed me DJ Sprinkles’ album Midtown 120 Blues. I was a psytrance kid at the time, hadn't come out as trans publicly and just started music school. This album and particularly this song changed the entire trajectory of my life and influence a great deal of my ethics and morals today. The song details Madonna stealing queer culture and selling it back to community, while the doll who taught her to vogue is broke and without fame. Ironically, she's just done it again recently. I had the pleasure of supporting DJ Sprinkles at 77 in one of its previous incarnations.

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Matty James

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Opa by Kölsch (Kompakt, 2011)

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It’s 2012, I’m 21 years old, living in a warehouse in Alexandria and partying way too often. I had no responsibilities other than feeding my cat and paying rent. The lockout laws hadn't been introduced nor killed the city (yet) and I had a pocket full of dreams enjoying the freedom that came from sticking it to the man by dancing in a dark space until the early morning. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I most likely heard this track at a Motorik party or something musically adjacent, and I'm sure it was somewhere between 3 and 5am. The world felt like it was my oyster and I could achieve anything. I was always fascinated by how some tracks just work. Music doesn't need to be overcomplicated; it just needs the right elements in the right places and this track nails that. I get warm and fuzzy when I hear this track because it reminds me of a simpler time when I made a bunch of lifelong friendships - like the ones I’m doing this residency with - and not having a care in the world. It’s a timeless banger.

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Sven

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My People by The Presets (Modular, 2007)

Coming out right when I graduated high school, this absolute weapon really solidified my love for electronic music and pushed me to explore the many sub genres that intertwine to make bodies move on the dance floor. I must've listened to the album Apocalypso at full volume in my car on repeat for months while working as a pizza delivery guy. Fast forward a few years, one of the biggest full-circle moments of my life came when K.I.M. headlined one of our parties at Club 77. I had the honour of DJing the set before him, then watching him absolutely tear the place apart! He played so well. It was invigorating to meet an artist who is super humble and down-to-earth, even with all their success.

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