City Calm Down's Guide To Melbourne's Dance Scene

Upon listening to their latest single, it would probably be pretty hard for us to convince you that CITY CALM DOWN actually are indebted to the local dance scene. But in fact, the further you look back into the Melbourne band's history, the more aligned the two become.

From their humble beginnings performing in Melbourne basements such as The Liberty Social et al. and releasing synth heavy tunes, City Calm Down have slowly but surely become one of the countries finest dark-pop acts - supporting the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club and selling out shows in the process.

Now that the band are nearing the release of their debut LP, In A Restless House, we got CCD bassist, Jeremy Sonnenberg to throw back to their roots and give us a guide to Melbourne's Dance Scene. Five Producers / DJ's that you SHOULD know about...

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Queen Magic

Despite being a Melbourne local, it was actually some buzz from a few of my favourite international artists who drew my attention to local lad Queen Magic's original productions. Dreamy, laid-back but bizarrely uplifting neo-soul vibes. A recent RBMA invite to perform at Splendour In The Grass is a pretty clear indication that QM won't be slept on for much longer.

Zach PM

The night owl. Not a man of many words, but instead a gentleman who lets his eclectic taste in amazing music do the talking. As a lover of left-field, synthy, astral sounds, Zach's formidable knowledge and never-ending collection of crazy/rare Japanese records has seen me listening to his mixes non stop since his selections were introduced to my ears courtesy of some close friends (and the magical connection that is SoundCloud)

Winters

Stuart Mackinnon (aka Winters) is another gifted musician of few words. All bases are covered with this man, part crazy record collector, part beat-maker, part producer/multi-instrumentalist, Winters has been doing it all under the radar until recently. Hot off the back of a support slot for Knxwledge as Average Rap Band's producer, the man of many talents has been spinning records at some of Melbourne's best parties and also working on a debut 12" for local label/goon squad, Parallel People. Keep those eyes peeled!

Izabel Caligiore

As host of highly acclaimed radio show 'Lullabies For Insomniacs' on PBS, Izabel is no stranger within Melbourne's dance-music community. An incredibly dedicated selector and collector of some of the wildest record's i've heard to date, Izabel also has a penchant for building modular synthesisers. So yep, she certainly isn't your average DJ.

Gordy Zola

Like a rare Pokémon, Gordy Zola is another mysterious selector who's infrequent outings into Melbourne's club scene mean that opportunities to soak up his amazing record collection are definitely worth waiting for. Mr Zola possesses deep. deep crates spanning a multitude of genres, and his impeccable taste in music has me absolutely rinsing every mix he puts out. Track him down and give him your ears for even an hour... I guarantee he'll play host to 20+ amazing records you've NEVER heard before.

In A Restless House is out November 6 via I OH YOU/Mushroom.

Catch City Calm Down at the following dates for their National Album Launch Tour:

Fri Oct 2

Howler, Melbourne

TICKETS

Sat 3 Oct

Howler, Melbourne (18+)

SOLD OUT

Fri 9 Oct

Rocket Bar, Adelaide (18+)

TICKETS

Sat 10 Oct