Aeroplane
A day in Sydney with the house bro from Belgium.
TwentyFour
Photos by April 27, 2015

While many will argue that house music has been played out over the past few years, thankfully there are a few lads keeping it a fun-filled, ass-shaking affair. Aeroplane is one of those artists commanding dancefloors with endless positive energy and dashes of throwback disco brilliance.

The Belgian lord has just released another track in ‘Let’s Get Slow‘ – an effortlessly smooth gem which will take you right back to summer, and an EP to drop tomorrow! He recently paid us a visit in Sydney, and we hung out with Aeroplane along with our pals at Zanerobe – see what we got up to below:

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Backwards hat = Business mode. We meet up with Aeroplane and head to the beautiful Sentir Studios in Alexandria. We get a little lost because it’s above a tile warehouse, but we’re not here to buy any marble flooring – we’re here to make some groove-filled tunes for the people.

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A bunch of knobs that make cool sounds. We have no idea what’s going on with regards to the technical side of things, but Aeroplane has everything under cruise control. Cool story alert: Studio owner Murray Lake had the Indiana OG Freddie Gibbs in here recently, presumably wearing a full tracksuit and making lots of gunshot noises.

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Zanerobe head honcho Rich Penny drops by for some banter. Aeroplane making that face like when your Mum asks you who stole all the choc-chip cookies from the baking tray.

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Aeroplane with the Cement Air Jordan 3’s on deck. Crispy colourway, creased leather, it doesn’t get much better than this. Swag is eternal, and if you disagree, go home and put on your fedora.

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Nine keyboards, six drum machines and a piano in the studio. We’re sitting in the corner trying to wrap our heads around a tambourine or how to start a hoedown to boost the creative energy in the room. Exclusive scoop: Aeroplane is working on a track with Kimbra that’s going to blow the bollocks off ‘Somebody That I Used To Know‘.

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We head out from the studio to shoot some hoops, street style. The games faces are ever so serious right now. Leith, the director or Zanerobe, is the biggest baller at head office. He spends his time closing crucial business deals and slam-dunking on unsuspecting citizens. He decides to accompany Aeroplane to the courts. #TEAMAEROPLANE

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When we arrive, some kids are already playing on the court, so Leith interrupts their game, calls a time out and pays them $20 to leave so that we can have a shoot-out. That’s how we roll. $20 is chump change for ballers like us, but it can get you 10 McDonald’s cheesburgers or a buffet plate at Sizzler.

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Aeroplane says he doesn’t like his chances in the shoot-out, because the national sport in Belgium is eating fries and getting pissed. We’re sure that we’d all be five-time heavyweight champions over there.

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If a basketball hoop doesn’t have a net on it, that’s when you know you’re in real man’s territory. Aeroplane doesn’t sink his free throws as well as he sinks beers, but we are all pretty terrible so it’s okay. On the other hand, Leith sinks about nine shots in a row and confirms his status as the Australian Reggie Miller. Those Air Jordans are really getting put to work.

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A good handyman never blames his tools. A shitty athlete always blames the balls. We trade Spalding for Wilson, hoping that it changes our luck on the score board. Spoiler: It changed nothing whatsoever.

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Aeroplane attempting the softball pitch technique on a basketball. Leith may have sunk the most shots, but today, the real winner is the game of basketball itself. We all take home a gold star and give each other a pat on the back.

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#SQUAD.

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We head back to Zanerobe headquarters, and it’s time for Aeroplane to hit the decks for a mix. It’s far from Christmas, but we’ve got a DIY light set-up and turn the office into a makeshift Boiler Room. Here’s the standard artistic/blurry photograph to appeal to the hipster demographic of our readers.

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LED palm trees, just as good as the real thing. With a beer in hand and surrounded by dope threads, Rich has the best seat in the house for Aeroplane’s exclusive mix.

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And here it is! 43 minutes and 36 seconds of that smooth goodness:

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Cutting sick on the makeshift dancefloor. Some serious shapes and pre-drinking going on here, and now it’s time to head to Beach Road Hotel for a mid-week gig – because waiting five days to turn up is simply too long.

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Aeroplane looking very Euro with a glass of wine to kick things off at the venue.

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Wearing that very rare, unreleased Barney Cools cap – Aeroplane doing exactly what the cap’s slogan says.

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This crowd must be unemployed or a pack of serious troopers, because it’s past midnight (my bedtime) and they have still got the club going up on a Wednesday. Is Wednesday the new Saturday? By the looks of tonight’s action, we think so.

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Merch game strong.

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The house lights come on, and now it’s clear just how packed the dancefloor is. The crowd aren’t ready to go home, but the gig ends much to everybody’s sadness. Aeroplane’s done it again, and the guy in the front row kind of looks like Moby.

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And while he’s barely stepped off stage, Aeroplane is already looking for the post-gig party spot. Salute to Aeroplane for playing a mix, a gig and a game of basketball in the same damn day. What a beast, Aeroplane – You’re the real MVP.

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