By James Murray
:: Diplo
:: Vector Arena, Auckland
:: September 29, 2011
Note to all aspiring DJs, if you want to spice up a bit of a ploddy DJ set just drop Harry Belafonte’s ‘Day-O’. That will almost always turn things around.
You know the song it has the catchy verse that goes:
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
I went along to see Diplo at the Rhythm and Vines soundcheck because he is a scintillating RnB, hip hop and electro producer, remixing the likes of M.I.A., Kanye West, Spank Rock… the list goes on (and can be found here).
He also does a good line in remixing more mainstream pop – from the likes of Madonna, Lil Wayne and even Maroon 5.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of his DJ set. Would he go quite poppy or be more hardcore.
The first half of his set lacked some oomph, I’ve heard electro-house DJs do it all before. Pretty standard in terms of his drops, not enough invention.
The crowd didn’t seem to care though – they were very much up for it and despite Vectors eerie, empty warehouse atmosphere, were responsible for a pretty good atmosphere.
Halfway through though Diplo dropped Harry Belafonte and opened up a bit, chucking in a few of his better known remixes and ended on a bone-shaking drum and bass/dubstep track that I couldn’t identify but brought the house down.
So a tale of two halfs for Diplo, I can’t help but think he is best heard outside in the sunshine or in a much smaller club that would allow for a more personal touch. There is something off-putting about DJs when they shout out to a massive crowd – it’s much nicer when they are embedded and close to their audience.
Dance music and good DJing is all about knowing your audience – it’s tough to do that when you are miles away from them. Diplo did a good enough job, but would have been a lot more fun closer up.
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