Command D (Charley Fester) has been making the right kind of sounds lately with club heads across Australia and the rest of the world latching onto his deep, dubby and delightful creations. Recently, Charley has played Bizarro’s MODE Festival, supported Facta & K-Lone and is currently gearing up to play NYE in Perth at Freedom Time alongside the likes of Marcellus Pittmann, Moopie and Cry Baby.
An Eora native, Charley is also the founder of Park Dub – a community initiative that sees him set up decks and speakers at lush natural spots around the city, pumping dub rhythms to people sprawled out on picnic rugs. Big vibe.
We’ve been watching the progression in his output with a close eye and we’re wrapped to have him present 5 records that have resonated lately.
Take it away Charley…
The latest Mad Professor release. I found this one the other day digging for Park Dub and immediately thought it was really good. I listened to the vocal version first and it was pretty heavy. It talks about the destruction of the ecosystem and how humans carelessly take from the Earth which is nothing new for dub reggae. I loved that version but of course, when there’s a dub on offer, I’m there. I was happy that the dub still retained some of the essential lyrics.
Some more badass dancefloor sounds from some of the best in the business. I’ve always been a massive fan of Roza and D. Tiff’s productions and when the new Tapestry of Sound snippets went up I was particularly drawn to the B1. The filtered percussion loop was speaking to me and it was no surprise that the rest of the tune had effortless flow and that classic swag the duo are so well known for. I asked Katie for the promo so I could play it at Mode Festival and she was kind enough to send it to me before it came out. It went off, thanks Katie! Lots of the new Roza (Roza Terenzi) and D Tiff (D Tiffany) tracks sound to me like they were really fun to make and not taken too seriously (not to say that it’s not a serious end result). It makes me want to make more dance music and that’s always an exciting feeling.
Even though I’ve known about this tune for a while I’ve only just “got my hands on it” so I’ve been listening to it more. I absolutely love this tune and the fact it was made in 1998 makes it even better for me. I wish they made some more dubbed-out ambient stuff like this but it seems like it may have just been a random studio session on a whim, which is cool now that I think about it. It’s the perfect opener for a mix. If you know me and haven’t heard me talk about Gi Gi’s Motion Ward mix before then I suggest listening right away.
Feel like there isn’t too much to explain here. Driving, floaty dub vibe. Nice bassline and rim shot, cool stuttery vocal hits. Perko’s the man! I was lucky enough to play before Perko (b2b with Lizzynice, thanks Prion <3 ) at a party here in Eora and it was a great time. This track is 130bpm and I’d love to throw it in the middle of a DJ set with a full dancefloor before going back in on the heavier grooves. I found this one in an ISAbella mix. I’ve been following her ever since her closing set at Solstice festival which I’ll never forget.
The first track off Sanguine’s album on Moonshoe is incredible stuff. I had enjoyed all of Sanguine’s releases before this one but think there are some special tracks on this record. I think this is another epic contribution to the label after Angus’ release, and along with the Cousin tunes, I feel like the overall sound has become a balance of meditative, soulful tracks, and more stimulating, dub-influenced minimal club tracks. This description basically covers my greatest delights when it comes to listening and dancing so I hope the label continues in this direction and I also hope I can make a worthy contribution to it myself one day : )