Kid Kenobi and Splitloop will wow the crowds after the Cairns Cup races this Saturday

There’s no disputing the transient nature of the DJ: many hopefuls come and go, but few actually remain. You could attribute this to one of many vague criticisms of the dance scene but the truth is DJs who quickly and quietly sink into obscurity just don’t have what it takes.

When the lights go on, the job isn’t all guest lists and groupies and not many people love the job enough to persevere.

Jesse Desenberg (aka Kid Kenobi) does and this weekend he’s bringing his skills to Cairns. He’s been DJing for 10 years and during this time, his contributions to the Australian dance scene can be matched by few of his peers.

A quick look at his rap sheet shows he was voted No.1 DJ in the Technics InTheMix Top 50 three years in a row, he’s chalked up so many mix CDs for Ministry of Sound Australia they made a special sessions series just for him; and he’s even got a Dance Music Award under his belt for his remix of Green Velvet’s La La Land.

He fields inquiries from every inhabited continent and is booked every weekend until late 2008. Most people don’t achieve this much in a lifetime, but for Kid Kenobi it is still just the beginning.

While Kid Kenobi is the DJ adored by fans, fellow music maestros Phil and Bren, of Splitloop, are the ones respected by their peers.

The duo will also be at the Cairns Cup this weekend, entertaining racegoers after the horses have all gone home.

But what you hear from these guys might not be what you expect.

Phil and Bren admit to exploring other genres when writing their latest album, Pleasure Machine, and the broadening of their horizons has had a profound influence on the Splitloop sound.

"You can’t be looking only to one genre to get inspiration for your music," Bren reckons. "We’re at a stage where we really just wanted to make music we thought was really good and moving our sound forward, not worrying about what
anyone else would think."

Dipping their toes into other styles of electronic music has certainly paid off.

Pleasure Machine has a velvety sheen, touching on "sexy D Ramirez-type electro-house, juddery Justice riddims, old skool electro and Plumpy breaks".

There’s a consistency to their sound that glazes the whole album – sexy electronic dance music that’ll be rocking floors from Brighton to Beijing.

Taking their name from one of their first productions together, the guys quickly started gaining recognition.

"We’ve just always played live, we never really wanted to do anything
other than showcase our tunes in the
best way we knew how," Phil says.

Bren adds: "Although playing other people’s tunes is fun, it doesn’t compare to doing a good show with your own stuff."

• Kid Kenobi and Splitloop will perform at Club Course the Annual at Cannon Park as part of the Cairns Cup on Saturday. For tickets, phone TicketLink on 4031 9555.

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