Press
What the media are saying...
Take Me Up (Remixed)
"The Binary Finary remix is an awesome remix of the original track. The Southend & Nik Fish remix is a classic in itself, but this remix is up there with the best trance tracks around at the moment and is one track that all trance lovers and DJ's should own. It will definitely become a classic track with its nice grooves, moving melody and good dance vibe for the clubs. Whether you listen to it on your headphones or in clubs you will appreciate this monster trance hit that is relentless in getting you hooked in and when it finally finishes you wish there was more. Binary Finary is in top form here.
The Projekt Inertia and Bexta remixes both give their intended audiences what they want: pumping relentless grooves. Three tunes well worth buying."
(djkenzo)
Buggin’
"That Vagan remix is the bomb!! Been years since I heard that.. mad goose bumps SE..."
(Soul of Sydney)
As soon as I heard there was going to be a remix of, in my opinion the ‘most classic’ rave tune ever in Australia, by the group who have created so many classics themselves – Southend I was so very eager to hear it – Utopia NYE came and I was absolutely blown away that this classic tune could be modernized and turned into a track that kept the original vibe, but was brightened up and with some fantastic Southend tweaks.
It not only represents a crazy, pumping tune but a perfect example of what Australia has to offer in the music production scene. More so, I was amazed that the kids at Utopia could enjoy something that was new to them – and how they responded to Southend’s live performance as a whole.
The arpeggiated bass is built over the top of the original bass line, bringing the frequency down a lot more giving it a very modern feel, and more depth – the bass line reminds me of their classic tunes “Fanatical” and “600 Miles From Nowhere” and the crazy synth sweep reminds me of that of “Take Me Up”
A wonderful female vocal “wooyeah, wooyeah” has been added after the “we are buggin’” sample, the drums have been beefed up considerably and the mix has been filled out nicely with well placed effects – most noticeably on the piano line, with a nice crisp reverb which absolutely sends this track home. In all, this would have to be my favourite track of all this year, if not ever. Keep it coming Southend! (DJ Logik, www.inthemix.com).
A fitting addition to our ‘4Play Anthems’ show on Saturday nights on Nova 969 Sydney.
(Jimmy Z, Nova 96.9 FM)
Having Southend revive and remix this classic for 2004 is bigger than Christ’s second coming and this remix will be bigger than Armageddon!
(Nik Fish)
Great track! We will play it.
(Ollie, Warp Brothers)
Great to hear that Southend have a new single… I’m actually a big fan!! I had all their vinyl & CDs in the 90s!
(Dan Bessant former MD, Nova 96.9 FM)
Looking forward to playing it! Rave Never Dies!
(Matt Bern, Nova 937 Perth)
Really impressed, Southend are obviously hitting the mark! The vibe when they performed was intense, the studio was packed and the footage amazing. The night was theirs.
(Mike Kerry, Room 208, Channel V)
600 Miles From Nowhere / Amerrycar
Holy whatever – this is something funsters. Turn it up loud and you’ll hear a performance that sounds like what Phil Spector meant when he said “I want my records to sound like God hit the world and the world hit back.”
(Stuart Coupe, On The Street)
600 Miles From Nowhere shows more confidence and bite on the High compilation than any other track. (On The Street)
Southend’s 600 Miles From Nowhere was the greatest rave/pop song for months and was the song that made up my mind whether I would spend a thousand plus dollars on a trip to Sydney to see Australia’s most powerful pop group. (Ashley Thomas, Radio One NZ)
Fanatical
Rhythmically huge, melodically intoxicating and going places! (Drum Media)
Definitely an act to watch out for! The outstanding feature of this band is their songs and the subtle but massive hooks implanted in every single one. (On The Street)
Southend have become firm favourites on the Sydney dance party/rave circuit delivering great live performances that have sent the crowds wild, no mean feat for a band in this setting. Their debut EP features six pumping tracks that are guaranteed to see action on dancefloors around the country. (Juke Magazine)
‘Intelligent techno’ with some stirring female vocals throughout, it’s obvious that much love and care has gone into it’s production. It now makes sense as to why they’re ‘everybody’s favourite band’ in the Sydney party scene. CD of the Week (3D World, August 1993)
Putting Australia firmly on the map as far as electronic music is concerned. (3D World)
Stun! On Wednesday was jammed to the rafters for Southend’s EP launch. Live techno is not, on paper at least, generally what you’d call a concept born in heaven, but I’m pleased to report that Southend were a convincing argument in favour. (3D World)
Last night I saw a new band, Southend, play to a full house. Southend are a band of their time. Rhythmically huge and melodically intoxicating, they favour retro-synth technology over guitars and deliver pounding techno pop. It’s the Mohammed going to the mountain syndrome and it’s the way of the 90s. Southend are probably the best live rave band in Australia. (Marcus Leadley, Drum Media)
An absolutely brilliant album which has a song for every occasion. Combining catchy rhythms and infectious melodies along with phat basslines and some wicked analogue sounds, there is a definite acid/trance flavour throughout most tracks. It’s irresistible. Album of the Week (ICON, September 1993)
Dance music that is inspiring. (Forte Magazine)
Southend rip into their set with ‘Fanatical’. Live it’s the most rushing fizzing Techno kick in the teeth I have ever felt. They then proceed to bend minds with immaculate melodies backed up by trade mark ascending bass patterns and fine tuned keyboard riffs. But the best thing about a Southend gig is that you’d never notice any of the above description. The 130+ bpm’s don’t give you a chance to think and every second is a shock to the senses. To explain Southend live, it’s easiest to compare them to a science experiment. They place exact measurements of bass, rhythm and reverb loaded vocals inside individual test tubes. They then put these test tubes inside a centrifuge, and proceed to spin at 600 times gravity. The result is a 45 minute set more intense than hardcore and more beautiful than a beer on a Friday afternoon. (Scene Magazine)
The Winner Is…
Highly polished… bound to be all buzzin’ on the dancefloor. (Drum Media)
An anthem for now! (The Sunday Telegraph)
The transition from the relative underground to the commercially accessible has been an easy one for Southend, they are not suffering sleepless nights or pangs of anxiety that so many marginalized acts have the tendency to do when they achieve success. (3D World)
Who’d have thought that a novelty techno track featuring samples from the 2000 Games Announcement by the International Olympic Committee would be such a huge commercial success? Well that’s exactly where The Winner Is… by Sydney’s techno wunderkinders Southend currently finds itself. (On The Street, June 1994)
One of the best-ever Australian dance releases. Young Sydneysiders Southend (with thanks to remix guru Nik Fish) have nabbed the gold with this release. (The Sunday Telegraph, 4.5 stars)
Fanatically Remixed
This is good stuff. Its great that a young Aussie dance act has been able to crack the mainstream as Southend has and such success should continue on the back of Fanatically Remixed. (The Sunday Telegraph)
Southend are one of the only dance oriented acts taking the pure pop elements of the early 80s and melding it with 90s production values and attitude. Far from being one of those all-too-common dance records that are terminally boring to listen to at home, this is a pop record that you can also dance to if the mood takes you. What Southend are doing is taking the bare bones of techno and layering it with a sugar coating of melody in a way that only Jam And Spoon have managed to do until now. ‘The Dream’ is the work of highly developed pop minds. Melinda Page’s ethereal vocals float across a delicious bed of epic, hook-filled keyboards that keep going off on melodic tangents at regular intervals to negate the possibility of boredom. The production is flawless. (8.5/10 Anthony Horan, Drum Media)
Efficient, highly competent. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Southend proved what a great live rave act they are. (Sydney Morning Herald BDO Review Jan 28, 1995)
If You Believe
Southend’s ‘If You Believe’ is pretty much the business, having the same general sound as ‘The Winner Is…’ but shedding the novelty angle in favour of some very nice vocals and a slightly fuller sound. It’s the kind of song you can listen to a lot of times before you get bored (I speak from personal experience here). (Jonathan Wall, 3D World)
Another recurring theme: Volition has delivered more world-class techno pop. Melinda Page’s voice here is epic. Consume. (Drum Media)
If You Believe is bound to be a ‘hooj’ hit with its popular techno breakbeat, analogue sirens, crowd cheers and synth washes. Great rave anthem potential! (3D World)
Confession – The Dream
Based on what’s here, Southend are one Australian band to keep your ears and eyes open for. (Billboard Magazine Dance Top 10)
The Winner Is… 2000
Six years after the celebrations following the announcement of one of Australia’s most significant events, comes the anthem to start the party all over again. The euphoria in clubs around the country when the original 12” promo hit the turntables was probably one of the key moments in Australian dance music. The track built for almost three months in clubland before reaching the stores. The rest is history. ‘The Winner is… 2000’ remixes capture the energy and essence of the original but with a current spin on all versions. (3D World)
Compilation
The direction, energy and production values of Southend stand the test of time. Although the band’s music was sometimes overlooked because of the success of “Winner”, Compilation addresses the balance and delivers an excellent snapshot of the period that provided the foundation to the local dance scene as we now know it. (The Music Network)
Smalltown Boy - Southend feat Michal Nicolas
Included on Jimmy Z’s (Nova 96.9) Buzz Chart
Der Grun Apfel
Magical! (William Bowden, Australia’s foremost electronic mastering engineer) |
Southend performed at Big Day Out 1993 -1996 as well as most major dance events at the time including Happy Valley, Field Of Dreams, Prodigy, Tribal & Big Love (Brisbane). They returned to the stage at Utopia on NYE in Sydney in 2004 and were then invited to be the first band ever to appear live on Channel V’s “Room 208”.
