The latest instalment from Australian
collective Freedom Time had its
second innings on Sunday, and boy was it special.
The Coburg Cycling Velodrome played as the
home for this open-air extravaganza, proving to be an incredibly unique and
suitable space, and only a small walk from nearby Batman station. The venue
proved to be stellar, with seating naturally occurring due to the velodrome
itself, leaving space for punters to relax before heading back into the
spacious, grassy dance floor.
Arriving just in time for Wax’o Paradiso
proved to be a perfect time, as tracks such as People kept the crowd bumping along, amongst several other gems. J’Nett popped on stage
at six, and with her enormous grin upon entry, we were sure the set was going
to be nothing but special. She laid down some superb disco, funk and afro beats
before the mystical Sam Shepherd AKA Floating Points arrived and took helm of
the floor.
Chatting to Shepherd a few minutes before
his set, he was calm, shyly joking with a few friends and speaking incredibly timidly – it was almost hard to believe that the same guy was behind a pair of
Technics belting out all of the lyrics and tapping away at the nuances of the
songs moments later. His knowledge of tracks was incredible, and his grin was a
delight for the crowd, with his excitement at times beyond ours. His playfulness with the three band isolator on the famed DJR 400 allowed for tracks to be manipulated in whichever way desired, keeping the crowd on their toes at all times.
Despite a few technical difficulties,
namely, the breeze causing the stylus to skip out of the groove at times, the
crowd proved excited at every second, eager to hear what Shepherd had for
everyone next. The Heartical Hi Powa soundsystem
with its thumping bass and nuanced highs allowed the crowd to experience some
of Shepherd’s incredibly rare and esoteric collection in prime conditions.
Shepherd ended his set at approximately
ten, receiving a vast and extensive applause from the 1000 or so crowd. Punters
then exited and boarded the free bus service back to the CBD, for a free after-party with impeccable local and international talent - a seriously
generous addition to an already perfect day.
Freedom Time showed how all great events
should be run – with great generosity and excellent logistical talent, all
within a comfortable and well suited environment. I seriously look forward to
the next instalment from the crew, and with Freedom Time #3 already in the
works – we can’t wait.
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