- The Australian label celebrates the vibrant community it helped to create.
- When I first heard of Butter Sessions it was via their mix series, around 2016 or 2017. Immediately drawn in by their simplistic logo—at that time, a vectored slab of butter branded with the label's name on a backdrop of margarine yellow—it seemed reflective of a quirky grassroots aesthetic. I wanted to know more about the Australian outfit, and digging deeper, I was pleased to discover Butter Sessions is much more than just a mix series with cool artwork.
Started in 2010 as the project of two wide-eyed 17-year-old bedroom producers (Sleep D) who were beginning a lifelong love affair with dance music, Butter Sessions is now celebrating a decade in the game. Over that period, Butter Sessions has catalyzed the Melbourne scene, maturing as a well-loved label, event series, 100-strong mix series and a blog—all while maintaining the laid back charm and scrappy approach that has endeared them to fans and artists in Australia and beyond.
To mark the occasion, they’ve pulled together a hefty collection of tunes split across three parts. Ten Years of Butter Sessions springs out of an Australian underground scene increasingly known for psychedelic house, bubbling trance and slapping electro. But this 22-track compilation extends far beyond that, showcasing a broad Antipodean aesthetic that starts with Dunedin-based Vanessa Worm's Italo-influenced "To Be Continued" and stretches across to the UK-informed percussive swing of Melbourne group Turner Street Sound's "Time."
Butter Sessions' far-flung network of friends and well-wishers also pitch in for the occasion. Over 22 tracks, we see appearances from Haruka (Japan), D. Tiffany (Canada-Berlin) and Ivy Barkakati (Barcelona via Maryland). Erstwhile Melbourne legends like Tornado Wallace and Rosa Terenzi make an appearance, the latter with a major highlight in techy roller "Lava Flow." And of course, label founders and Melbourne hometown heroes Sleep D contribute a track, "041111," which is a dubbed-out, hair-raising DJ tool. It reflects the duo's gradual transformation from the floating house style of their earlier releases to a harder late-night vibe.
Sleep D's label is an unfiltered representation of how far scene building can go when it comes from the heart, instead of business techno ambition. The Butter Sessions blog is a constant stream of content bigging up new artists and contributors from the local scene. Ad true to form, rising local artists like Sedgwick are featured on Ten Years of Butter Sessions. Ten years in, Butter Sessions is a springboard and a showcase for a bustling Melbourne scene, and the expansive collection is a testament to the label's twin tenets of community and good vibes.
TracklistTen Years of Butter Sessions - Disc 1
A1 Vanessa Worm - To Be Continued
A2 Guy Contact - Kickflip Bouquet
A3 Ewan Jansen - Back To Blood
A4 Ivy Barkakati - Descarga
B1 Sleep D - 041111
B2 Haruka - Ishinoko
B3 Albrecht La'Brooy - Buttersoft
B4 Low Flung, DJ Mind Leaf & The Herbalist - Take Out
Ten Years of Butter Sessions - Disc 2
A1 Cale Sexton - Mania
A2 Roza Terenzi - Lava Flow
A3 Mousse - You're In Belgium
A4 Tornado Wallace - Satellite
B1 Nummer - Clouds
B2 Polito - Divine Obsolescence
B3 Sedgwick - Affluent Intelligence
Ten Years of Butter Sessions - Disc 3
A1 Turner Street Sound - Time
A2 Mosam Howieson - Influx
A3 D. Tiffany - Cast The Trance
B1 Ben Fester - Tumbo Rumblin
B2 Makeda - Fable
B3 Furious Frank - Blue Light
B4 Ben Keynes - Doordrms