Shrug pays homage to Robbie Lowe

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    Tue, Nov 16, 2010, 22:00
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  • The Sydney club night will host the long-standing DJ for an extended set this Friday.
  • Shrug pays homage to Robbie Lowe image
  • Veteran Sydney DJ Robbie Lowe will take to the Civic Underground's hefty sound system for a special extended set for Shrug this Friday night. Lowe has been one of the Australian dance music scene's most venerable jocks for over a decade. For much of the '00s, the Sydney native has held down a reputation as one of the city's most called upon warm-up DJs, playing opening sets for several international DJs each month. This being the case, headline slots playing to large-scale crowds aren't generally a regular occurrence for Lowe, so this weekend will give him a chance to flex his musical muscles at the top of a Civic Underground bill. Shrug will be hosting Lowe for at least five hours, with warm-up duties handled by resident and promoter Dave Stuart. We recenlty caught up with Lowe over e-mail, where he told us about what he was up to in the late '90s, how Sydney has changed, and what he enjoys about extended sets.
    Tell us about the parties you were playing at in the late '90s. What were some of the main club nights you were frequenting? Sounds Of Sydney, Moretons, Soho, Underground Cafe and The Icebox, just to name a few. Ben Korbel and Paddy Nash's Sounds On Sydney parties were my favorite back then. They focused mainly on the more progressive house sounds at the time, and that's where I wanted to be. Moretons is a pub, but on Sundays it was converted to an all day house and techno party. It pumped every week with the cream of the crop of Sydney DJs playing. How would you describe Sydney's electronic music scene to someone who hasn't experienced it? Diverse, exciting and growing fast - it’s come along way in the last 10 years. There’s something for everyone's taste. Musically, how have you seen Sydney change over the past decade? Can you notice any major differences between your sets ten years ago, and your sets now? Like any part of the globe, there have been lots of musical twist and turns. Genres like funky and deep house, electro, breaks, tech house and minimal have all been popular in Sydney at some point. Though, throughout the last few years, there does seem to be a constant deep house and techno trend, and this could be partly responsible to some good local promoters pushing this sound. For me, I'm playing a lot more house and disco in my sets than, say, a decade ago. Over the years who have your favourite Australian producers and DJs been? Some producers would be HMC, PQM, Luke Chable, Kriece,Matt Rowan, Katalyst and Tim Jirgenson. DJs would be Paul Flex Taylor, Phil Smart, Sugar Ray, Ben Korbel and Tim Culbert, just to name a few. You're spinning for at least five hours this weekend. How long has it been since you played a set that long? You must enjoy getting the chance to spin an extended set. In this type of environment, not since my three-hour sets at Sounds On Sunday. Sometimes it would be five hours if the next DJ didn't show up, which happened regularly! As most DJs do, I love playing longer sets, so as you can imagine I'm really excited for this gig. It's enough time to get warmed up and build my set the way it should be. Finally, going back a few years, is there a gig that comes to mind that you could call a definite highlight? It’s a tough one, but I would probably narrow it down to my set before Danny Howells at the Greenwood in 2003. It was one of those days where the stars lined up. I was really happy with how I played and had a fantastic crowd to play for.
    Advanced entry to Friday's party can be had at RA Tickets.

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