Wednesday 27 September 2006

I arrived at Heathrow at about 7pm. The flight wasn’t due to depart until 9.40pm but on long haul flights I always look to arrive early so that I can get my preferred seat on the plane and also so I can get air-side to relax, have a drink and perhaps a bite to eat.

Having checked in I made my way through to departures to meet Eddie Halliwell and Ben Spiers, who was traveling with Eddie. They had flown into Heathrow from Manchester. We had a drink and a quick bite to eat before boarding the plane. We were all flying BA World Traveller Plus. This is an expensive way to fly but, as is usual on a trip like this, we were arriving in Australia on the same day as the first gig and a 22 hour flight in economy is not really conducive to us being able to put on any sort of performance on the day of arrival.

Ok, so the first leg was a 12 hour flight to Singapore. I was having a serious case of de ja vu having just returned from Singapore the Sunday before when I played at the Ministry of Sound (which btw is an amazing club). You would have thought that I would have planned to go straight to Australia from Singapore rather than come all the way home only to go back three days later….that would have been too easy! On arrival to Singapore Jono Grant popped up out of nowhere. Apparently he was on our flight but I had turned my mobile off on arrival at Heathrow and so he couldn’t contact us. Eddie and Ben were flying on to Sydney and then to Brisbane. Myself and Jono were going direct to Brisbane. With a three hour wait for our connection, myself and Jono holed up in a restaurant for a catch up. Its funny, I've seen Above and Beyond so many times recently but its only on occasions like this that you really get chance to catch up and chew the fat.

We arrived in Brisbane at 6.30 am local time, Friday 29th September. We met at the airport by the local promoter from Family in Brisbane and Tony McGuiness who had flown the Australia the other way having just completed gigs in the States.

Friday 29 September 2006 - Brisbane

The gig was to take place at Family. I had heard so many good reports about the club from my peers that I was really looking forward to getting things kicked off. I spent the day just relaxing by the hotel's roof top pool with Jono and Ben before going out to dinner with Brett Robinson. Brett was the man on the ground for Future Entertainment. Future had put the entire tour together and are the main players in Australia. Some of you may have heard of Two Tribes..... Future are behind this festival too.

Family in Brisbane

The restaurant was amazing and the meal turned out to be a civilized affair. Minerals waters all round.... a trend which was to last about another hour.

The running order for all of the gigs was to be the same. The local resident would kick things off, then I would go on to be followed by Above and Beyond. Then Eddie would come on and the night would be closed by Cosmic Gate. Can I just say how impressive Cosmic Gate were on the tour. I had a preconception that they would play tracks of a similar nature to Fire Wire. However, their style was far more progressive and deeper. I would suggest that you try and catch the guys play if you ever get the chance. Aside from this, Stephan and Klaus were really nice guys too, very polite and very friendly.

I was assured by Brett that all of the venues would be full by the time I would hit the decks and he wasn't kidding. Family was rammed by 11.30 and I was raring to go. The venue was just fantastic. The main room held about 2500 people and the layout was very similar to the main room at Gatecrasher One.

I dropped Askew's mix of Yeke Yeke as an opener (some may say- tried and tested). The place erupted and I was up and running. You would be amazed what a great reaction to a DJ's opening tune does for his confidence...and I am no exception. Eddie and Ben arrived shortly after my set had commenced and the Vodka started flowing. A couple of drinks during my set really helps me to relax but any more than a couple can be distracting. I managed to keep to the couple of drinks limit.

Its always quite surreal to think that you are playing in a club that is going ballistic at midnight on the other side of the world from home, when all your mates and family will be at work and it will only be 2pm. This always freaks me out a bit.  However, before I knew it, my time was up. Its always a sign that a gig has been great when you lose track of time. I got a great reception from the people of Perth and it was nice to feel that the tour was finally underway. It was pandemonium outside the DJ booth. I sometimes wonder how many copies of Day one and Connected were sold, as I must have signed thousands over the years. Brisbane was no exception. Everyone was really polite and friendly and I certainly came away knowing why the club had gained such a great reputation.  Now I could relax a little and it was time for Grey Goose Vodka and tonic all round while Above and Beyond carried on from where I'd left off.

I did end up drinking a little too much after my set which proved to be a mistake!!

Saturday 30 September 2006 - Perth

The Vodka session was a mistake! You know what its like, you are having a great time and your best judgement goes out of the window. The flight to Perth was at 9.30 am and so we had to rock up to the airport for 8.30am - at the latest! Everyone seemed to be licking their wounds and conversation was kept to an absolute minimum. The line at check-in was painful but we made it through and everyone managed to get some sleep on the five and a half hour flight. I think you get an idea as the size of Australia  by the length of the internal flights!!

OK, so the nerves were out in force on our arrival to Perth. It was the day of the Australian Rules Football Grand Final. Western Australia (where Perth is based) had reached the final for the first time in years and a victory would be a big boost for the sell-out night ahead. Not knowing a thing about the game, I retired to the hotel pool with Ben to try and catch a few rays. It seemed like an eternity before we heard that Western Australia had won...by one point!! Apparently this is unheard of. Get in, we were on for a great night!

No meal tonight, as it was decided that a few hours sleep was in order. I was collected at about 11.30pm and taken to Metro. I've played here a couple of times before. Its an amazing venue. I would describe the layout as being similar to a theatre with vertical stalls surrounding the dance floor. Again the club was rocking on my arrival.

Metro in Perth

When doing international dates it is usual that we DJ's have specific items requested in the rider to our performance contract. Now, we could go over the top but from a personal perspective I try to think practically. Drinks wise, I will choose cans of Heineken and bottles of Asai as well as Diet Coke (surprise eh?) and water. There will always be a bottle of vodka each but being a light weight I rarely get any way through this. I always try to get Grey Goose though, its the king of Vodkas. However, I mention the rider as on this occasion I had not eaten before the gig and was starving. I request an assortment of sandwiches which can be hit or miss. However, it was a hit this time as there were two full platters from Subway...result!

I ate too many sandwiches! However, on seeing the crowd this fact soon fell from my mind. I decided to let the sound drop and allow the resident to introduce me. The response was amazing and I kicked proceedings off with Koglin and Pledger - Ultraviolet (what a tune!). The place rocked for the full 90 minutes of my set and tune of the night had to be Deems - Tears of hope (Ali and Fila mix). The enthusiasm for the music that the Perth crowd had was infectious and I came away with a real sense that the scene in this City was really moving and I cant wait to get back there.

Above and Beyond took to the decks at 1.30am and started with an intro mix of Tri State that is just fantastic (Robert Nickson mix)....now where were those sandwiches??

I had convinced myself that it was going to be an early night as we had the long flight to Sydney in the morning. No such luck. Myself an Jono went on a bit of a mission, one that we were to pay for in the morning. The last I remember of the night was the fire alarms going off in the club and everyone being evacuated. There was a few jokes flying around between the DJs by asking if the fire alarm was was a new remix they had done....the old ones are the best eh?

Sunday 1 October 2006 - Sydney

Ok, so when you talk about amazing club venues around the world, Home at Darling Harbor in Sydney has to be mentioned. Talk about location. Nestled in one corner of this amazing cosmopolitan harbor location surrounded by cool restaurants and bars, Home is just amazing.

The flight over from Perth was another painful affair but on arrival to the hotel I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that i would be here now for another 4 days and could now take in some R&R.

We all decided to go for a meal on the harbor before the gig. We managed to find a really nice Thai place and took in the view of the harbor with a couple of bottles of the excellent local wine. On the way back to hotel we were amazed to see that the line to get into the club was about 200 meters long already (it was only 9.30pm).

Again I was to take to the decks at 12pm and had a driver picking me up from the hotel at about 11.30pm. This was all a little strange for me, seeing as the hotel was only a hundred yards from the hotel?? On arrival to the rammed club I was ushered to an excellent VIP area and where I was met by Danny from Sundissenial and his girlfriend Helen. They has recently emigrated to Australia from the UK. Danny is a great guy and always good for a laugh. Also, he gave me some important insight into the delights of Sydney which was to prove useful in the coming days.

The Home resident was playing some great chunky progressive house before I went on. Its funny but when you play gigs like this, the resident tries to bang the club the bits before you go on in the hope that it impresses you. It actually does the opposite. The Home DJ was on the mark with the material he played before me.

I remember playing the club back in 2001 and this gig was every bit as good as that one. The Sydney crowd are amazing. It is a very diverse crowd (being a major city). It ranges from the skater types to glammed up models. Sydney also has a big gay population who are always great to DJ for. It was a real party atmosphere in the club, it was like the circus had come to town (no jokes about me being the clown!). I joined in the spirit of proceedings and droped a few big tunes that really got the party going. The likes of O'Callaghan and Kearney - Exactly and Connected got a rousing response. The crowd singing the words to Connected was a special moment for me. The one thing that I took from the tour was the importance of production in crossing international boundaries. It really is important. With this in mind, I spoke to Jono about some forthcoming projects for Anjuna (I'll keep you posted).

As was usual on this tour, my set was over before I knew it and I joined the guys back stage for a few drinks. Things all looked to be getting a bit messy so I decided to make an early exit in the hope that I could get some sleep before the first day of my four day break in Sydney. On arrival back to the hotel I quickly checked my email. All the hotels that we were staying in had a wireless connection to cater for the serious downloading of tracks that we were all getting through. Amongst my numerous emails was one from DJ Mag informing me that I had made the Top 100 and requesting that I complete the attached interview. I cant say that I was not relieved but the whole thing is quite painful from my point of view. I am being judged on my popularity and on the propensity of my fans to go out and vote for me. Quite often this as no reflection on my DJing ability which makes me uncomfortable. I guess it is a necessary evil though and one that generates much excitement for those involved each year.

Monday 2 October to Thursday 4 October 2006 - Sydney

These few days were spent relaxing and taking in the sights of Sydney. On the Monday I went for a few drinks with Jono and Tony down on Bondi Beach. We found a really cool bar and drunk far too many Caprinias. During this drinking session we realized that being on the Anjuna Beats label gives you a kind of ESPN that enables you to communicate via the powers of the mind. I became very adept at reading Jono's mind, and visa versa, which impressed those present. One of which was a guy called Kerry, who was a 55 year old entrepreneur. He was a typical Ozzie. He spoke is mind, was very sharp and soon had the table in stitches with his stories. We invited him along for dinner and he was great value. I cant really remember much about the end of the evening as all the cocktails seemed to hit me at once. I was relieved to hear that everyone else was in the same boat.

Bondi Beach

The following day myself and Eddie decided to head off and explore. Jono and Tony were gong to Auckland that day and Ben was heading to Melbourne. We tried to book a skydive but didn't have enough time to get up to the airfield so we decided to go on a powerboat ride around Sydney Harbor. This was just amazing. The boat went 80 miles an hour and the waves were massive so we were flying out of the water every 20 seconds. We got soaked and Eddie found much amusement in the fact that I was nearly sick. I wont say anything about Eddie screaming when the boat went into a spin (or was that me?). We managed to get some shopping in during the afternoon and then the obligatory beers in the sun rounded off the day perfectly.

The next day was to spent on Bondi. It was a beautiful day and the beach was packed. Its times like this that I consider myself extremely lucky to be doing what I do. I have worked very hard over the years to get where I am but the hard work has been worth the reward. Eddie was intent on getting an Ice Cream, so we spent the first hour walking up and down the boulevard. This was great as we got to have a look in all the cool surf shops along the way. Upon getting the Ice Cream we made our way to the surf club on the beach. Apparently, Gatecrasher were doing a gig from there on Christmas day. It was a great location to take in the atmosphere of bondi. As you may guess, the beers were soon flowing...Corona with lime being the order of the day. We met up with danny (Sundissential) later that day and went to a bar called Mojito. The strawberry mojitos were amazing and the banter was soon at full pelt.

Thursday 4 October 2006 - Auckland

My flight to New Zealand was at lunchtime. It was a three hour flight and the clocks went forward three hours, taking me to 12 hours in front of the UK (officially the other side of the planet!). The hotel was a really cool boutique hotel in downtown Auckland. I arrived there at about 7.30pm and headed straight off to dinner with Jono, Tony and the local promoter and friends. The gig wasn't until the following night and so we could let our hair down  a little. The meal was amazing and the beef in New Zealand is out of this world. We headed of to the local bars afterwards and I had a real laugh with Jono and Tony. The mind games tricks continued to impress! Somehow, we ended up on the Caprinias again. The night went on for far too long and we rocked up back at the hotel at about 4.30am, all feeling the worse for wear.

Friday 5 October 2006 - Auckland

Tony had a friend in Auckland called Louise who had kindly agreed to take us the Kerre Kerre beach. I had not heard of the place before was up for a trip (little did i know). If anyone has seen the film, "the piano", it is the beach from that film.

We hired a car and set off. The journey took us through some amazing countryside, up into the mountains. We stopped off at a restaurant on the way there and the views from the dining area were out of this world. After a quick bite (hangover cures all round!) we headed off to Kerre Kerre.


What are they looking for? Jono, Tony and Louise at Kerre Kerre Beach

When we finally arrived, I was amazed at the beauty of the beach. It was deserted. The sea was as rough as I had ever seen and the sand was black. It was a real apocalyptic scene and was quite humbling. I am not exaggerating when I say it is the most amazing place I have ever been to. The hangover from the night before was soon forgotten. I could have stayed there forever. I could go on for hours about this place but suffice to say, if you are ever in New Zealand, make a b-line for Kerre Kerre.

That's me with my pants rolled up - Kerre Kerre Beach

The gig that night was to take place at Ellersley race course. Due to the numbers expected, it had been decided that Eddie and Above and Beyond play in one room and myself and Cosmic Gate were to play in the other.  The club was rammed on my arrival and I was pleased to see that both rooms were equally as busy. I would guess that there were about 3500 people in the venue.

I took to the decks and played a lot of the new discover material I had downloaded that afternoon. This is the beauty of the download revolution. I can literally play a track that was completed that day on the other side of the world. I played a really deep driving set. The only downside was that the system in my room kept overheating which meant that I kept losing sound on one side of the room. This can be a little off putting but you have to deal with these issues from time to time and all in all the gig was another resounding success.

Due to the riggers of the last couple of days, I decided to have an early night and headed off to the hotel soon after my set had finished. At about 4.30am I got a bang on my door. It was Eddie shouting, "come on Matt, we are going to miss the flight." I jumped up disorientated and shouted, "OK, Im on my way, Im just jumping in the shower." It was only on getting out of the shower and seeing the clock that I realized that it was a wind up.....I could have killed him!

Saturday 6 October 2006 - Melbourne

 Ok, so this was the final gig of the tour. The tour to date had been fantastic and it as almost impossible to say which one had been the best. This was to be this largest gig of the tour, being for 8000 people in the Rod Laver Tennis Arena.

The weather in Melbourne was fantastic but we all arrived feeling very tired. It was a bit of a pain that some of the rooms were not ready at the hotel. However, myself and Jono took this opportunity to take in some of the sites of Melbourne and to get some food. Ben had a friend in Melbourne who pointed us in the right direction. Apparently she is a new character in neighbors and will hitting the screens in this country very soon! She was a very polite friendly girl.

We made our way to Botanical Gardens and found an amazing restaurant. We had some great food and a few beers. It gave us chance to reflect on how great the tour had been so far. I must say that I really got along with Jono on this trip and seeing as we both live in London we have pencilled a regular Thursday night drink in Old Street. After the food, it was back to the hotel for some sleep before the gig. I had also agreed to play the after party at a sellout 2000 people club venue, so every second counted when it came to getting some sleep.

I was woken by the alarm at 10.30 pm and quickly jumped into the shower. Its always quite amusing when you arrive at the venue with pillow imprints still on your face. The venue was amazing. it was like a better version of the NEC in Birmingham. The main arena was rammed. I had arranged to meet a few people in Melbourne during the day but this didn't happen as sleep was a necessity. Hopefully, I would catch up with them in the venue.  Steve Srangis played a great set before me and before I knew it I was up and away. Big room trance was certainly the order of the day and I didn't intend to disappoint. The crowd were soon jumping and I remembered why I had enjoyed playing in Melbourne so much in the past. I think that my tune of the night would have had to be Tillmann Uhrmacher - The Pride In Your Eyes (Martin Roth mix). Playing to such a big crowd can be difficult but I always try and keep focussed on creating an atmosphere and filling the room with sound, long breakdowns tend not to work. The lighting and the system were second to none and it was apparent why Future Entertainment had such a good reputation in the industry (this gig was their gig in its entirety).

I got an amazing response at the end of my set and made way for Above and beyond who also played a great set.  I had managed to catch site of my friend Lauren in the crowd and hitched her and her friends over the railings to the backstage area. There was a complementary bar area in the DJ VIP which we all took full advantage of. However,it wasn't long before I made my excuses and left for the hotel, in anticipation of getting some sleep before the after party where I was due to play 8.30 am till 10am.

The after party was rammed and I had a great time and didn't feel too bad having got a couple of hours sleep. I was sad to finish my set given the fact that the tour had gone so well. It had been too long since I had played in this area of the world and I wont leave it that long until I am back out there. I left the party and went straight to the airport to fly to Sydney and then home via Bangkok. It took over 26 hours to get home!!

Here's one of the Opera House because i ran out of batteries in Melbourne!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made it down the one of the gigs (and sometimes two!). I'd like to thank Brett Robinson, Mark James and all at Future, as well as all of the other local promoters for making the trip happen. Finally, Id like to thank Jono and Tony, Eddie and Ben, Klaus and Stephan and the wonderful Louise Tulloch (tour guide extrodinaire) for making the tour such fun....here's to next time!!