RÜFÜS DU SOL

Written By Marco Bombaci

Last week Sydney was blessed with three back to back nights of SOLD OUT shows by none

other than our very own RÜFÜS DU SOL & Willaris. K as part of the Vivid festival.

Vivid Sydney is the largest festival of light, music and ideas in the Southern Hemisphere.

Celebrating its eleventh anniversary in 2019, Vivid Sydney is continually setting the

benchmark for world-class events, creativity and innovation.

Vivid Music curator Stephen Ferris stated,

“There’s no doubt that RÜFÜS DU SOL is one of the world’s most exciting and innovative

acts of today. Their bold approach to electronic music and broad, cross-generational appeal

will make their shows among the most popular of the 2019 program,”

RÜFÜS DU SOL

It is amazing to see how far John, Tyrone, and James have come as one of Sydney’s finest

three-piece electronic bands. Being one of only a few artists to have played at Coachella two

years in a row. At the end of 2018, they release their third album, the excellent and very

spacey ‘Solace’ which was recorded in their new home, California. RÜFÜS DU SOL has also

caught the attention of BBC Radio 1 legend, Pete Tong, and in late 2018 released a

spectacular Essential Mix that I still listen to from time to time.

Following a sold-out national tour in front of 70,000 fans and much anticipated Coachella

and Lollapalooza South America festival appearances. In late 2018, when the Solace album

and tour dropped, Sydney-siders were left in the dark, with only a festival set at Field Day as

part of their tour. Many fans turned to social media in anger, but we were promised

something special in 2019! Little did we know that we were going to receive three nights of

glory.

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The event was held at The Carriage Works, a converted old warehouse space that now hosts

events throughout the year. The audio and visuals perfectly matched the performances and

venue, I was completely blown away by the setting created for a Thursday night! (Who says

you can’t party on a Thursday?)

The boys definitely knew how to play to a home crowd, playing many popular tracks from

their new album; opening with one of my favourites ‘Eyes’ and others such as, ‘Underwater’

and ‘No Place’. Of course, there was a mix of old and new, the night could not be complete

without hearing a live version of ‘Innerbloom’. The set was undeniably one of my favourites,

it was very interesting to see a constant flick between old and new material.

I am interested to follow these boys on their North America and European tour later this

year...

Willaris. K

What can I say about this young guy from Northern NSW, 25 year-old Jack McAllister better

known as Willaris. K. the master behind 'Alchemy' and ‘Natural selection’. I first heard about

Willaris. K on Triple J unearthed and through friends that had seen him at boutique festivals.

I was always just missing his shows when he played local gigs in Sydney.

Known for his hypnotic and bass-driven soundscapes, Willaris. K has created a signature

sound by seamlessly merging together futuristic textures with organic field recordings and

an incredible ear for detail and digital processing.

Gaining support from legendary Pete Tong, the east coast Australian producer continues to

leave his sonic footprint in the electronic sphere on account of his progressive, eclectic

productions and widely acclaimed live shows. Tong singled out Willaris. K as the next artist

to watch from Australia, and after seeing him perform twice in the last month, I couldn’t

agree more with that statement!

McAllister was on support duties for RÜFÜS DU SOL at last week’s shows, and will continue

alongside them in North America and Europe and part of the Solace tour. He cemented his

spot as a support act about a month ago, when he released his remix of ‘Underwater’, a

very spacey and atmospheric take on the track. I couldn’t think of a better artist to tour with

the boys from RÜFÜS. Keep your eyes and ears out for this guy!