Australian bred, Austin, TX-based techno stalwart Christian Barbuto is known for his smashing releases on top-notch labels such as Tronic Music, Phobiq, Unity, Funk’n Deep and Octopus Recordings. In fact, his buzzy remix of Filterheadz’s “In My Head” heard on the duo’s upcoming Hyperdive EP has been making plenty of noise in the run-up to its release this month.
Barbuto, who helms a residency at Ethics Music Lounge in Austin, is back home from a whirlwind two-month, 15-gig DJ tour supporting his “Move to the Rhythm” floor burner (Unity), which dropped in July, where he rocked dance floors across Europe and his native Australia.
Now that he’s caught up on sleep, he put together a tour diary of his recent international exploits. Read on to find out about the people Barbuto met, places he visited and dance floors he rocked on his international trek.
We started things off mid June in Holland at the legendary Techno Tuesday Amsterdam at Melkweg. This was special to me because many moons ago I lived in Holland for several years as a professional cyclist and it was here I had my first techno experiences.
The Dutch are the nicest most enthusiastic people on the planet. Before the party I was lucky to see some old friends in the town I used to live called Bergen op Zoom and met an emerging future Dutch techno superstar. DJ Ties gave us a private performance that was way better than Tiësto could do!
Linda and Dejan (a.k.a. Dexon) are the masterminds behind the Techno Tuesday event in Amsterdam and wow they really do an amazing job. The line out the front to get into the legendary party was down the block.
Techno Tuesday was bonkers and one of the most memorable DJ experiences of my life.
The next day we left Amsterdam by train and headed to Berlin. So glad we made the decision to see some countryside by train, so beautiful! Berlin was an experience rich with culture and history. We met local artists Kaiser Souzai, Albird, checked out the wall and…
drank beer…
Now maybe it was mere coincidence and a fluke, or was it fate? I don’t know but that night while in Berlin I received a return email from the legendary Andre Crom wanting to sign an EP to his well-respected OFF Recordings He also happened to be playing in Berlin that same night so we met for a beer and chat. Such a nice guy! P.S.: Excuse the shameless self-promotion here but this forthcoming OFF Recordings is fire so look out for it!
No sleep and now we are off to the magical island of Malta for the Alleanza Recordings label night at Playground in St. Julian. Cheryl and the one and only Jewel Kid made us feel at home in the beautiful island and boy what a place to party!
and a great crowd!
And…the beach, the water, the weather!
Now admittedly a little hung over at this point but it’s back to Austin for just one night for my residency at Ethics Music Lounge.
Unpack and repack and the next stop and longest leg of the tour was Australia for parties all around the country starting at the historic Burdekin Hotel in Sydney for the WeLove three-year anniversary hosted by the talented Italian transplant Nick Reverse. What a room!
Nap, shower and coffee and we are off to Melbourne. What an epic city. The scale of the place is incredible. The party was at the well-known Xe54. This was also an anniversary party and one well deserved as the place has hosted serious talent over the past 12 months from artists like Sven Väth and Anna. Slamming party. It was an honor to play here.
Another club and another club and another birthday party but this time it was mine and I got two of them back to back. The first one was at a Funktion-One powered club in Melbourne called Groundfloor. The owner’s name is Jiayden Mills, who does a terrific job. The party was hosted by one of Melbourne’s finest producers Mittens, and they really surprised me with birthday cake and floating jelly fish. Love you guys!
A quick nap and planes and trains to Season X back in Sydney. This party got my adrenaline running, bringing back memories from the early 2000s, a loud, hot, intense full speed ahead party. Wow!
Finally some rest, relaxation and sight-seeing around Sydney and the New South Wales coastline. (Warmer up here.)
A short but beautiful drive down the coast to the city of Wollongong for the Institute of Dance party.
A quick plane ride and quick stay up the North Coast to warmer lands, Brisbane and the well established Decoded magazine party at Capulet co-hosted by Dragonfruit. The stars aligned for this one as we hit all the emotions during this party. Great place to visit, and I will be back to this event one day for certain.
Literally from club to the airport next stop was Launceston, Tasmania! I’ve always been fascinated by this enchanting island off the southern tip of the country. Known more for Tasmanian devils and breathtaking scenery you would never know it’s also home to Liam Spicer’s party project, SpicyMusic. Such a great event. Even though these guys are literally the most distant techno party on the planet they are way ahead of the curve. Quality stuff and beautiful, friendly people.
Damn good beer in Tasmania, too.
We are nearly at the end here but it’s one more massive weekend in Sydney to close things out. Yes, this was our view!
Three parties starting with Raoni Lima’s “What About Thursdays?” party at the Jungle, then David Bloss’s all morning “Porridge” party co hosted by WeLove at the world-renowned Goodbar.
…and last but not least the grand finally with my brother from another mother and the main man behind this Australia tour Nick Reverse at the legendary Chinese Laundry.
Nearly two months on the road and so many great parties and amazing people! Couldn’t have finished off a tour like this without some fun so we went to Luna Park. See you again soon Australia 🇦🇺
Images courtesy Christian Barbuto
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