Almost as though it was under cover of darkness, Australia in 2009, quietly became the beneficiary of French émigré Dj Quale (pron. Qua-lay). Since this time he has steadily been making his introductions to the rank and file of Melbourne’s techno fraternity. And now, in 2015, has racked up enough credit to be celebrated from émigré to emergent and serious talent. This should come as no real surprise as Quale (aka Seb Vanderbeken) comes to us with legitimate pedigree. 15 years at the wheel of the dj cart, his development reads like a classic rags to riches story. Listening to Jean Michel Jarre at 10. Inspired by his first hearing of underground trance in Belgium at 12, buying his first vinyl at 15 and requisitioning his parents belt drive and an ex club, rotary pitch Technics. He cut his teeth on this set up and quickly developed the requisite sense of timing and fluidity, so apparent in his work, now. Quale applied himself to the clubbing circuits of Belgium, France and the Netherlands and then a cycle of country hopping that would begin with England and whose current end resides with Australia. Recent innovations of the industry have seen Quale transition through vinyl to CD’s and most recently to the four deck firepower of the Traktor setup with multiple external devices maintaining the desired touch. History lesson over; back to the present: Quale is now riding a growing wave of recognition for tasteful and articulate, production quality compositions. His mix is acute and streamlined, full of whispering undercurrents and beguiling rhythmic structure. Intellligent is a bandied word these days…but, it applies here. A look at Quale’s gig roster indicates an apparent recognition amongst the Melbourne technocracy with regular appearances at the highly respected Machine and prestigious warm up slots for Chris Liebing on his two most recent visits to Melbourne, for Smalltown and Stranger(wearenovel.com) where he’s supported Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Steve Bug, Dave Clarke and initially for When the Smoke Clears (Quale founding member) with whom he’s supported the likes of Truncate, Audio Injection, Perc and Tommy 47. Guest spots at local nights Stable, Technoir, Instinct, Unstable Sounds, Pitch Bitch and at the Bean bag Babylon romp at Rainbow Serpent Festival 2013, 2014 and 2015 one of the most celebrated nights to hit theme camp village. Quale’s own projects include his inaugural club night of Tchupa Tchup, running out of EuroTrash and My Aeon 2010-11 and then the aforementioned When the Smoke Clears at Brown Alley in 2012-13 and Loop Bar in 2014. On the music front you can hear Quale bending the boundaries of techno around a minimal progressive tech house sound. The quality is assured. But you don’t have to take my word for it; tune in to his radio show on Belgium’s Mixindustry.fm Or keep an ear out for Quale’s recent four deck collaboration project with Technoirs Ranjit Nijjer, coming soon to a venue near you. Written by Simon Slieker