Melbourne’s brightest new techno talent will get top billing on July 13 with the first Hardware Urban Assault. This new initiative is about giving up-and-coming artists the recognition they deserve.

Hardware’s Peter Daris aka PDT says, “Urban Assault's main objective is to offer fresh talent a pathway to gain experience. There are many artists out there with alot of talent and great ability, but just seem to have an unlucky run with landing gigs. We aim to help those who deserve the recognition and will help those artists establish themselves within our ever growing industry.”

The Urban Assault branding will not take a regular format. Hardware’s TransAtlantic 5 party will feature an Urban Assault room. The first Urban Assault night on July 13 will kick off a series of gigs every five weeks.

But expect the unexpected. Peter says, “Regular formats tend to become stale. We are looking at the Urban Assault series as ‘shows’ and not ‘dance parties’ or ‘events’, hence they are being promoted more as a chance to see these artists ‘perform’ rather than play a ‘set’. Each Urban Assault will feature one or two live acts and DJs that have the ability - or the willingness - to experiment with the audience. We are looking for DJs who play a style that they believe in and feel very passionately about and that’s what separates a lot of the talent here - both established and non-established.”

I venture that the Urban Assault concept is to Hardware as Materialz is to Wetmusik. What sets UA apart?

“Materialz and Urban Assault both have a similar viewpoint regarding the up-and-coming talent. I think it’s fantastic that more production companies are now looking at the younger market of talent and the establishment of Urban Assault and other concepts like it is a major step in exploiting the stars of tomorrow. Urban Assault will be very much different to Materialz in the production department and the marketing department. It’s only a matter of time when the younger artists, either on Materialz or on Urban Assault, receive the attention they deserve and thats what I believe both concepts are about.”

So then, to the first party. The lineup, the venue, here’s the lowdown:

Lineup

Dave Pham
"Electronic Industrial Pop" is how Dave defines his style but don't be misled by this description or his cheeky grin and boyish energy behind the decks: this man will kill you with a relentless onslaught of hard beats. A master of the turntables, Dave Pham's sets have cemented his reputation as one of Melbourne's best. Super hard techno tossed with fresh electro and a few surprises - punters keep on coming back for more of his delicious mixing.

Cecille
Cecille Waters has been labelled by many as the most talented rising star of 2002 and if you've ever seen this gorgeous gal in action you'll know why. Hard techno and dark electro is what she does best, mixing the two in a style inspired by fellow locals such as Dave Pham, Ben Cromack, Toupee, and the Teriyaki crew. Since stunning the crowd at War of The Worlds 3 her records, from Dopplereffekt to Michael Forshaw, have been slaying dancefloors.

Degenerator
Since a fateful house party in 1999, Nick's progression within the industry has turned heads of promoters and the techno-loving public. He has a techno style which is always fast, chunky and funky. Going from the Hip Hop orientated booty house style in to the furious heart attack like sounds of Andrei Morant, one of Degen's biggest influences musically, to the deep manufactured electric sounds of The Hacker.

Robert Anthony
The career of this young gun began in 1995 at just 12 years of age. Rapidly he rose to upstage older DJs, winning the 'Battle of the DJs' competition in 1997 and 1998, judging with Dexta in 1999, and in 2000 beating the likes of Ben Cromack and Nexus to win the Melbourne Metro/Sanity DJ competition. An @mosphere resident, he's won many fans in techno circles, but multi-talented Robert also scratches and programs for a "psychedelic trip-hop" band!

Serotone (live)
21 year old Adrian Pistritto has been DJing since 1996 but it's his live performances that have been getting people talking since 1999. At present, the @mosphere resident finds himself writing a diverse array of styles, ranging from dirty tekno to hard dirty trance, including a bit of dirty acid in there too. Some of his work blends elements from each, and this is what gives Adrian his characteristic sound.

DJ Neo
Richard Macumber remembers what it's like to lose it on the dancefloor. Even now after four years of DJing, his favourite place after the decks is the dancefloor. Combining the elements of hard and funky acid techno with a touch of tech-trance, Neo tries to take people to a place where they can lose themselves in the music and let go of all their inhibitions, and most of all have fun dancing their asses off!

DJ Pete
Pete describes his style as "anything and everything". With inspirations as diverse as Richie Hawtin, Cypress Hill, the Beastie Boys, Aussie hip-hop, and the Chili Peppers, it's a safe bet that you're not going to know what to expect when he hits the turntables. And it doesn't stop there. When asked about his future aspirations, Pete says, "I'd like to succesfully cross over to become a Hip Hop MC!"

Steve Strangis
Mainly known as a morning trance DJ, Steve's track selections encompass superstars like Dj Tiesto, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, and John '00' Fleming. His style is described as uplifting and positive vibed, giving partygoers a euphoric feeling, and is the product of years of passion for the dance scene. He counts everything from Goa trance to Oliver Lieb to Robert Anthony among his many influences.

Lil' Dave
At first Lil' Dave was playing techno records, but then he caught the house bug. He's had many influences during his three years DJing, such as Christian Smith, Erick Morillo, Carl Cox, and Derrick L. Carter. Not content with simply DJing, Dave wants to try his hand at producing, and believes that "with persistence and hard work I can get my tracks on shelves."

Venue: The NutHouse (Colonial Hotel)

Hardware have selected Colonial Hotel’s NutHouse as the venue for Urban Assault because of its intimacy and unique atmosphere. Peter says, “The NutHouse is a fantastic venue, set out in a rectangular room with ceiling rafters and an all out ‘warehouse’ feel. The venue itself has three rooms but we are only focusing on the one room because we want our artists to gain as much exposure as possible, hence focusing the event on the ones playing in the main room. We have a limited capacity of 500 people and the response we have had so far is fantastic, so I advise anyone who is looking at coming down to get there early, as we will have to close the doors once it is full.”

Hardware are always on the look out for new talent and seek demos for future Urban Assaults.

Peter says, “We have received many demos since the introduction of the concept to the public and are urging anyone to give it a go and forward us a demo. Please send an email for mailing details to pdt@hardwarecorp.com.au.”

Full Event Details - Urban Assault