Popular modern opinion dictates that firing up festival crowds with good music is a fun and worthy pastime. Just as widely accepted a fact is how fickle festival crowds can be and how the firing up of them might not always be the easiest thing to do. So far this hasn't been an issue for the Vinyl Slingers, who have built their reputation precisely on turning large crowds into frenzied mobs. These particular talents are renowned from Queensland's sunshine coast to the CBD of Sydney.

Spawning from the mind of Soren Osterman (DJ Rasp) and what is now comprising a bunch of instrumentalists, Vinyl Slingers isn't your conventional dance outfit. Emerging from the breaks scene five years ago, the musical range of the band now ventures beyond labels and genres. To wit, the Vinyl Slingers sound is founded in bass-heavy funk, but given its members an African Drum drummer, a regular drummer with a full drum kit, an MC, a scratch DJ and a didgeridoo player its easy to see how the group might stray from a singular sound. Then there are the special guest performers who regularly join the crew for festival rabble-rousing. These guests have so far included flautists, bass players, DJs, trumpeters and MCs the more the merrier!

While the Slingers are obviously at home in front of a crowd, they've done their fair share of behind-the-scenes work as well. Hosting and promoting party nights around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the outfit is no doubt partly responsible for the rising popularity of breaks in the area. Featured guests at their parties include the following notable artists: Elite Force, Chris Carter, Meat Katie, Slyde, Dub Pistols, Klaus Hill, Ransom, EK, Kid Kenobi, Mark Rae, and Beat Traffikers.

So what can you expect from a Vinyl Slingers set? Right now, the boys base their gigs around established tracks, embellishing and re-invigorating familiar tunes to create a completely unique live experience. Relying mostly on improvisation, they're the first to admit that what goes down on stage happens largely as a result of them flying by the seat of their pants. The Vinyl Slingers style might be a constant, but no two sets of theirs will ever be the same.

The natural follow-up to such success in the dance business is production. Right now, the band is moving into the studio, working on an EP of some original tunes. The outcome will no doubt encapsulate a lot of what their live sets are about: improvisation, spontaneity, and some good old Aussie ingenuity. And dancing lots of dancing.

Members of Vinyl Slingers:
- DJ Rasp: on the decks
- Sampology: on scratching duties
- MC Handy: on the mic
- Didgeri-Fuze: didgeridoo
- Mohair: percussionist
- Bushboy: drums

Festivals/events they're played:
SummaFieldDayze 03/04/05/06, Valley Fiesta 03/04/05, Two Tribes 04/05, Terminal 9, Parklife 05/06, Good Vibrations 06/07, BBQ Breaks 05/06/07, Gold Coast Indy, Dirty Vegas, Ocean Dance (Great Keppel Island), Kink @The Arthouse, (Sydney) Sounds on Sunday, (Sydney)


Some of the Internationals they've supported:
Krafty Kuts, 2 Many DJs, Mylo, De La Soul, A-Skills, Plump DJs, Lee Coombs, Meat Katie, Elite Force, Dub Pistols, Soul of Man, LTJ Bukem, Scratch Perverts, Chris Carter, Freestylers, Rennie Pilgrem, Timo Mass and more!