Julien Dyne has already had a varied career as a musician. From playing in punk/hardcore bands at a young age, to playing jazz (notably with his father, Paul), then to the funky grooves of Opensouls and onto the hip hop/R&B of Ladi6.

But it was yet another side to his musicianship we saw on Friday at the San Francisco Bathhouse.  This was Julien as DJ, crafting hypnotic electronic tunes in support of his latest solo album Glimpse. His musical history serves him in good stead here. He's long known how to craft a good song, and he brings that knowledge and experience to this new style of music.

Where a lot of DJs would try and throw in all the bells and whistles they could in an effort to impress the audience, Julien knows when to hold back, to let the tune speak for itself, instead of overwhelming it with anything unnecessary.  The result is a pared back, downbeat soundscape. It's evocative, catchy and it sure got the kids dancing on Friday.

He also knows how to play to the crowd, so we got a mix of original tunes and hip hop remixes; something his Ladi6 collaborator Parks also delivered during his warm up set. These two complement each others music and work well together. So well in fact that for a while it was difficult to tell where Parks' set ended and Julien's began, except that more people seemed to turn up as Julien started, which was a shame for them, as Parks had a great set and really worked hard to hype the crowd up.

Before Parks, we'd had young Nat Walker, who had a heavier style and really got the small crowd moving - although at times it was hard to know who was more into it, the crowd or Nat himself, with his energetic dancing and arm waving.

Alphabethead rounded out the night (for us at least, the music continued through the night for those hardy souls who managed to keep up). I've said it before and it's worth repeating: the man is a musical wizard.  This time round, he lived up to the wizard description with a dramatic opening, face concealed and arms flying as he directed his tools to make their magic.

He seemed to inspire a new surge of energy from the weary crowd - watching him perform you couldn't help but want to join in, like turntable voodoo.  With hair flying, hands an invisible blur, and intense, doomy yet dancy tracks, he continued to show why he's on another level to the majority of DJs plying their trade around the country.

It was a great end to a night of top end musical talent; it's not often we get so many talented musicians in the hip hop/electronic genre performing together in one night.

• 1
  Six60
• 2
  The Black Seeds
• 3
  Katchafire
• 4
  Tomorrow People
• 5
  Herbs
• 6
  Scribe
• 7
  John Rowles
• 8
  Nesian Mystik
• 9
  The Feelers
• 10
  Elemeno P

• Matt Langley
  HILLTOP TAVERN
• BBQ (CAN)
  DARK ROOM
• Secret Walls Aotearoa
  CASSETTE NUMBER NINE
• The Black Angels (USA)
  BODEGA
• Conch Records
  BRITOMART COUNTRY CLUB
• The Nark Collective
  1885 BRITOMART
• Parvyn and Josh
  FAIRFIELD HOUSE
• Tender Moonlight
  MIGHTY MIGHTY

• 
  Classic Hits Winery Tour 2013
• 
  Jim Beam Homegrown 2013
• 
  Parachute 2013
• 
  Vodafone NZ Music Awards 2012

• 1
  TENNIS COURT
  Lorde
• 2
  BLURRED LINES
  Robin Thicke feat. TI And Pharrell
• 3
  SKINNY LOVE
  Birdy
• 4
  GET LUCKY
  Daft Punk feat. Pharrell
• 5
  A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY (ALL WE GOT)
  Fergie, Q-Tip And GoonRock
• 6
  BULLETPROOF
  Stan Walker
• 7
  LET HER GO
  Passenger
• 8
  RADIOACTIVE
  Imagine Dragons
• 9
  TATTOO
  Titanium
• 10
  SWINGIN' PARTY
  Lorde

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