>He came as a highly recommended and relatively unknown artist and left with >a reputation as one of the greatest DJs on the planet. Not since Luke >Slater's first visit as an artist has an artist left such an impression on >Australia.
Not sure about that - but this is a press release-speak, right? And it's by a Brit, too? :) He made a great impression in Melbourne but, alas, no one knows who Ben Sims is in Sydney - except for the DJs! The Sydney scene as a whole just doesn't embrace that music at all. Melbourne, Adelaide and you could add to that Perth are the techno cities here - according to the industry consensus. I think Stacey Pullen left by far the greater impression in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago among a wider demographic!! He played for six hours in Melbourne at the Innovator party along with Derrick Carter - and he played 'til he was so tired he was kneeling at the decks, and it was sensational. It was an appreciative, sophisticated crowd and the night had a great vibe. People are still talking about it! I think it was an inspiration to pair up these two DJs as they have a great rapport and inspired each other and both attracted slightly different crowds who ended up experiencing the other DJ for the first time and were converted. It was a good contrast of personalities, too - Derrick's droll humour to Stacey's joyful whimsicality. Derrick played deep and slipped in a few quirky R&B type records - like Mary Mary's Shackles (Praise You), which is a uptempo gospel/R&B track and a top 2 hit here, and The Artful Dodger feat Craig David. I believe he played the Mayday mix of Jaguar, too. Then Stacey played tech-house through to house and finished with a drum 'n' bass track by Goldie (we think) and Stevie Wonder during his encores. I am not sure if it's common practice elsewhere for DJs to do encores but in the clubs they often do them here due to crowd reception. Stacey received an ovation here - it was the bomb.