Club Filter, based upstairs at the Lounge bar and nightclub at 243

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

in the heart of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, holds the record as the city's (and also

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's) longest-running

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

music night, having run every Wednesday night from 1992 to 2003.

Background

Run by DJs

ason was a prestigious hereditary noble title in Japan, used mainly between Asuka and Heian periods. At first, it was the second highest, below '' Mahito'', which was given to members of the Imperial family, but after Heian period it became the high ...

Rudeboy and Mad Rod, the night reflected global styles in techno and club music. Borrowing from the

gay scene The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

, they lent towards the obscure and taboo performing arts. The club always regularly had shows and live performances from electro poets to male strippers and drag shows. Early on pursuing a more acid house sound, pre-nascent hardcore techno and drum & bass, then filtering across into the sounds of Detroit, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Cologne, London, Sweden, Scotland, and Melbourne. Filter's sound also cut across record labels as varied as

Djax Saskia Slegers (born 1962) is a Dutch DJ and producer who has run the influential music label Djax since 1989. She deejays dance music as Miss Djax. Career Based in Eindhoven, Slegers started to DJ, make and release dance music in the 1980s. ...

, Force Inc., Tresor,

Relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

Purpose Maker Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. Thanks to his technical abilities as a DJ, Mills became known as ''The Wizard'' in the early to mid 1980s. In the late 1980s Mills founded ...

, Sativae,

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

, Nova Mute,

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

Drumcode Drumcode Records is a Swedish techno label managed by Adam Beyer. The label was founded in 1996 and has enjoyed a streak of success in its releases, talent scouting, radio efforts, and general international label camaraderie ever since. As of Au ...

, Stayupforever, and Pharma. Dom Phillips, the editor of the UK's ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'', visited the club in late 1995 and referred to it in a subsequent article on Melbourne's underground scene thus: "Filter is a wicked club, one of those long-running midweek specials that are, somehow, always cool. ... Some things are international." ''Zebra Magazine'', the dance/nightclub music insert in Melbourne's ''

Inpress ''Inpress'' was a free weekly tabloid-sized music magazine (street press) that was published in Melbourne, and was released in the Geelong and Mornington Peninsula areas of Victoria, Australia. The magazine was published by Street Press Austr ...

'', wrote in 1997 that "Club Filter at the Lounge has virtually established itself as a cultural icon within Melbourne's dance music fraternity." In June 2001 the club celebrated its ninth anniversary with a

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

to a dance music site.

International and local DJs and live acts

International DJs and live acts who played at Filter include

Claude Young Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant p ...

, Jammin' Unit,

Dave Angel Dave Angel (born David Angelico Nicholas Gooden; 13 May 1966) is an English techno musician. Angel was born in Chelsea, London, England.Cooper, SeanDave Angel Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 15 June 2011 He is the son of a London-based jazz mus ...

, Colin Dale,

Rob Gee Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

Biochip C In molecular biology, biochips are engineered substrates ("miniaturized laboratories") that can host large numbers of simultaneous biochemical reactions. One of the goals of biochip technology is to efficiently screen large numbers of biological a ...

Khan Oral Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

(Bizz OD), Ree.K,

Stacey Pullen Stacey Pullen is an American techno musician based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Pullen was raised in Detroit, where he became interested in electronic music early in his life. He began working on the Detroit techno scene in 1990, studying ...

, Lenny Dee,

Space Dj'z Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...

Dave the Drummer Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

and

Joey Beltram Joey Beltram (born 6 September 1971) is an American DJ and music producer, best known for his pioneering singles "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" and for remixing Human Resource (band), Human Resource's "Dominator (Human Resource song), Dominator". ...

& Authechre. The club also supported many local live acts and DJs, including Terrence Ho (), Steve Law (

Zen Paradox Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text=:ja:禅, 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a East Asian Buddhism, school of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Ch ...

), Voiteck,

Honeysmack David Haberfeld (born 1969, in Melbourne) is an Australian electronic dance music producer, performer, DJ and educator. Best known for his productions and live performances as Honeysmack, he is a proponent of acid house and techno music styles ...

, Andrez Bergen (

Little Nobody Andrez Simon Bergen is an Australian musician and writer. , Bergen lived in Tokyo, Japan with his wife, Yoko Umehara, and their daughter Cocoa. He has performed and released electronic music as Little Nobody. Biography Andrez Simon Bergen, ...

), Soulenoid, Guyver 3, Liz Millar, Arthur Arkin,

Ollie Olsen Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orches ...

, Bwana, Scott Alert, DJ Trooper, Nick Dem Q, Ransom, Cara Caama, Lani G, DJ Ides, Dee Dee, Halo Produkshuns, Slieker, Richie Rich (Richard MacNeill), Zanna Mazzitelli, Andrew Till, Eden, Fiery Eye, Dan Woodman, Derek Shiel, Dom Hogan, Toupee, RSK, Miss Krystal, Graham Mono, Juju Space Jazz, Krang, 8-Bit, Ben Shepherd, Katy K, Matt Sykes, Rob Wu, MBug and Blimp, and most likely the adorable Kate Bathgate Filter also collaborated regularly with other Melbourne-based labels such as IF? Records,

Psy-Harmonics Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orche ...

, Smelly Records, and Messy Creations. The club closed in 2003. "Earlier this year a blank stare of disbelief swept over Melbourne’s dance community as news spread that after 11 years and nearly 600 consecutive Wednesdays later, the most enduring club in worldwide electronic music – Club Filter - would be closing forever," reported DJ Ides that same year in an online article at Australian music website inthemix.com.au. Filter was superseded in November 2003 by Jack the Basics, which was operated by another Melbourne techno outfit, the Melbourne Techno Collective."Melbourne Techno Collective join forces with Jack The Basics"
by Sara Giampa. inthemix, 10 November 2003 Jack the Basics did not live up to its predecessor and was abandoned in late 2004.

References

{{coord, -37.8123, 144.9649, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Nightclubs in Melbourne Music venues in Melbourne Electronic dance music venues Clubs and societies in Victoria (state)

Background

International and local DJs and live acts

See also

References