10 Events That Define the History of Hardware

Australian digital music culture has been drastically shaped by Richie McNeill’s Hardware Group. McNeill, who’s also recognized as DJ Richie Prosperous, proven Components in Melbourne in 1991 and went on to start events such as Apollo, Two Tribes and Stereosonic.

To rejoice three a long time of events, excursions and festivals, McNeill is staging ‘Hardware 30: Legitimate Faith’ this December, with shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Along with the anniversary tour – which is headlined by Richie Hawtin – McNeill is launching the reserve, Tales from The Dancefloor, in November. For a taster of what is inside of, McNeill highlights 10 milestones in Hardware’s background.

Richie McNeill on the Highlights of Hardware’s 30-Yr Historical past

Components 1 (1991)

This is wherever it all started. Willie, Hess and I DJing on a door positioned on lockers – overlook about OH&S back again then – to a sellout group of 600 in a rowing club on the Yarra River. $15 tickets – wild.

Content Valley 2 (1992)

DJ Abel Toro’s outdoor rave in Sydney. I drove up with Richard and Heidi John from Every single Photograph Tells a Story and we experienced a blast. Amazing new music, amazing vibe and one of the very best events I have at any time been to. It was early days, the audio was pure, the scene was sincere and the area complete of vibe and like. Generational.

Cosmic Newborn (1993)

Melbourne was getting to be a world-wide hotspot at this phase. The scene was growing at a speedy rate and trance tunes was getting the world by storm. Cosmic Newborn was the pioneer of melodic trance and we had been one of the initial nations around the world outside the house of Germany he performed – and a person of the 1st nations to embrace the emotional trance sound in typical.

Components 5 – Laurent Garnier (1994)

Laurent Garnier’s very first excursion to Australia and initial rave of over 5000 people. He performed for 6 hrs (I gave him my set) and this is when I fell in like with his songs. To me, he’s the biggest and this took Melbourne to an additional level.

Transatlantic with Richie Hawtin

As a one particular off, we held it in Shed 15 at Docklands. Is there a greater technical DJ pushing the boundaries of general performance and musical building? This present was exclusive in so lots of strategies.

Apollo (1998)

This was Australia’s 1st nationwide dance festival and we managed to snag Daft Punk ahead of they were enormous, Basement Jaxx, Fluke, Fast J, Jeff Mills etc. It shed a good deal of funds and was forward of its time. It was an remarkable two exhibits and introduced into Two Tribes, Summadayze and the rest is historical past.

Two Tribes (1999)

Hardware and Upcoming joined forces immediately after a double booking of the similar venue, and a 12 months immediately after Apollo, the travelling circus of dance songs began profitable a great number of awards and we had a truly nationwide competition across the state paving the way for Very good Vibrations, Summadayze, Park Lifetime, V Pageant and more.

Welcome 2000 (1999)

Document breaking show of 15,000+ having us into the new millennium with an outstanding lineup (Jeff Mills, CJ Boland, Honeysmack, Voitek, Jason Digby) and the most effective fireworks I have observed, at any time.

Stereosonic (2008)

Worldwide Collecting and its Australian representatives tried using to consider us out on the similar two weekends of Stereosonic. It was make or crack then. We were both likely to endure or be buried by the mega-promoters trying to just take us down. It did not perform out perfectly for them.

Piknic Électronik (2019)

Nina Kraviz closing what was a enormous 10,000 pax group on our greatest period right before Covid. Fantastic climate, all woman lineup and extraordinary performances by Laura King and Kiti B2B with Chiara Kickdrum.

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