Name: Secret Sounds Kissing Room Take Over
Start: 2026-01-08T14:00:00+11:00
End: 2026-01-09T18:00:00+11:00
Location: The Grand Poobah

Hobart's Home of Underground Music is back in 2026. With its first party Taking Over The Kissing Room at The Grand Poobah.
Secret Sounds Of The Underground's Head Honcho Corney is coming back after a hiatus stronger than ever with a new found passion for DJing after a European festival that changed his view on music. Corney's career spans over 30 years of DJing, he has pretty much done it all. From Outdoor parties to running Raves and even his own legendary NightClub Syrup and PlanB. Except a night of cutting edge music.
Jioning him on the decks will be Fin Whitla
Bio // Finnian Whitla

Finnian grew up on Victoria’s Surf Coast, from Lorne and Fairhaven to Ocean Grove and Torquay. He began playing piano at a young age and guitar once he hit high school but around 1998 it all changed. He was handed a techno CD and before he knew it, he started venturing up to Melbourne to get amongst the world renowned & vibrant Melbourne rave scene. Raves like Hardware, Every Picture Tells A Story, War Of The Worlds and Two Tribes were incredible but it was the small capacity raves happening every weekend in abandoned buildings and underground car parks that truly made the scene what it was, Including club nights like Teriyaki Anarki Saki at HiFI bar and watching DJs like Slack, Dee Dee and Sleeker.
That CD Finnian was handed, Carl Cox’s F.A.C.T 2. This was the mix that got him completely hooked on techno, acid and trance. Hearing this music for the first time it was hard to wrap his head around a continuous 90-min mix! When 1 track ended and another started and how a DJ could add and take away elements was mesmerizing. Finnian would listen and study mixes from the likes of Ben Sims, Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills.
Finnian’s friend Dan was the first to buy a mixer back in 98. A Gemini 626 two-channel mixer. They borrowed their parents CD players and hooked them up, trying to mix from regular CDs, occasionally they would stumble over 2 tracks with a similar BPM and actually feel like they were mixing. From mixed CDs they knew they had to start buying records. Finnian would have to catch the train from Geelong, up to Spencer Street Station before transferring over onto the Pakenham line getting off at Prahran Station. Hardware Records in Prahran was the place for techno & he still remembers his first purchase - Unknown Artist (Leandro Gamez) on Ongaku Records.
Once he had a handful of records, Music Workshop in Geelong had the turntables. So every weekend Finnian would hire turntables and mix all weekend. He spent years practicing before playing a few house parties and local nights including Rip Curl’s Media nights for the Bells Beach Pro. Finnian began making his way up to Melbourne again, this time on the lineups. Some of his early DJ nights in Melbourne were run by the guys at Melbourne Techno Collective which featured other DJs like Ben Cromack and Dave Pham.
In 2001 Finnian, along with a bunch of mates from Torquay got together to create KAOS. A club night at one of Geelong’s largest music venues at the time, the Wool Exchange. With a capacity of 1500, the night ran across 8 memorable themed nights with full venue decor. It was a blast for Melbourne DJs to relive what it was like to rave in the 90s as Geelong seemed like a decade behind at the time. Artists to grace the decks included Eric Powell, Steve Douglas, Mike Callander, DJ Slack, DJ Sleeker to a packed house each night.
Moving to Melbourne in 2006 saw Finnian playing regular nights at 161, Lounge, Seven, 2 Floors Up and Revolver while supporting a bunch of International DJs. Over the next few years Finnian’s sets began incorporating many different styles and influences going back to old house tunes, deep house and disco. It was around this time Finnian completed a degree in Audio Engineering at South Melbourne’s SAE.
Finnian moved to Hobart in 2009 where he began working for Production Works. A large-scale events company providing staging, lighting and sound for events ranging from small school carols to some of the biggest concerts in Tasmania. During this time however Finnian held weekly residencies at Mobius, Ivory and at regular clubs and festivals including Plan B, Grand Poobah, Wine Machine and Soundscape. Finnian started the popular club night Skull Pop at Mobius before taking on the huge task of Rose Quartz festival at Lake Pedder. The remote and isolated lodge located on the shores of Lake Pedder was a 3-day music and art festival with acts coming from all around Australia and overseas.
These days Finnian lives in Coolangatta, chasing sun and waves. This is where he builds surfboards and makes music for the international surf brand Sharpeye. While his productions take on a more deep and melodic trip, his DJ sets are fueled with techno, house, electro, trance, disco and progressive. Taking dance floors on a journey through all the corners of his experiences.
Check Out Corney's Music Here
https://www.mixcloud.com/andrew-corney/