Dance News

Sure dB has it's own film section, but I'm not sure if this one would make it in... A new film from Hammer Film Productions (of schlocky 60s British horror film fame) entitled 'Beyond The Rave' will be premiered on MySpace as a 20 episode 4 minute serial. Featuring music from acts like Justice and Digitalism among others, the soundtrack will be provided by Pete Tong. And as for the plot, according to wikipedia.org, "Ed is a local soldier who's living his last hours of freedom; he'll fly out to Iraq the following morning. With the help of his best friend Necro, he spends his last night in the UK tracking down his missing girlfriend Jen, last seen partying with a bizarre group of hardcore night-time ravers led by the mysterious Melech. But as he catches up with Jen at a party in a remote forest, Ed discovers that Melech's crowd, who are hosting the event, are looking for more than a night of fun, and that not everyone will make it through to dawn."

The Presets 'Apocalypso' got the top spot on the ARIA charts in its first week of release, and now the band has another reason to celebrate. Down to #3 in its second week, it still managed to get over the line and achieve gold sales status, while their Australian tour is on the cusp of selling out - only tickets to their show at HQ are still available. It might be a while before they come back to out shores, though, as immediately after the Australian run, they've got a 20 date US tour that's also fast selling out and a host of festival dates in the UK.

After finally hitting Adelaide for the first time last year, the Obese Block Party has got even bigger in 2008 and will taking place at HQ on Fri 16 May. This year the label showcase will feature appearances from vets like Pegz, Muph & Plutonic, Hyjack N Torcha and host Reason as well as some newer talents like Chasm, Drapht and Spit Syndicate. Strangely, given the wealth of South Aussie talent on the label, there have been no hometown acts announced, but hopefully that'll be rectified on what's sure to be a huge night.

It's great to see Adelaide added as a regular stop on more and more national dance tours, and another festival that's added us to it's annual tour is We Love Sounds. This year's line-up is a pretty eclectic mix of genres including hip-hop, house, electro, breaks and progressive with Mix Master Mike, Dubfire, Utah Saints, A Skillz, Princess Superstar, Ajax and local DJs representing at The Shores Complex on Mon 9 Jun. Then, only a couple of months until Parklife and it's outdoor festival season again.

Speaking of outdoor festivals, only time will tell if Summer Party is back again next year, but it's a pretty safe bet that Vanilla Ice won't be back any time soon. After missing his flight and allegedly threatening to pull the plug on his appearance unless he got a raise while here in January, the owner of the world's greatest inferiority complex has landed up in jail after allegedly beating his wife in their South Florida home.

Send any dance news to gold@chariot.net.au