Review is finally in:
High Fidelity – HardBass Generation CD Launch
On Saturday night Scattered Productions held their biggest party to date as they played host to the HardBass Generation CD Launch featuring Nik Fish and Amber Savage. Going from strength to strength, the Scattered Productions crew have definitely been making their presence in the Melbourne scene felt with a string of highly successful parties and a dedicated following that continues to build with each event. The third party in the popular High Fidelity series saw the return to Brown Alley and the stage was set for what was sure to be a huge night. As I headed down to the venue my expectations were high and I was keen to see what the duo from Sydney had to offer.
Arriving at the venue early, I walked up the stairs to Brown Alley I could already hear the bass booming down the stairwell. Opening up the proceedings in the main room was Scattered resident Nic Macs who played a great opening set to the faithful crowd who seemed to be turning up in droves early on in the piece. Nic Macs worked the crowd with some tough electro and techno before moving through to some quality tech trance. Tracks from producers such as Tiga, Oliver Klitzing and Benjamin Bates had the floor moving from start to finish. Nic Macs showed once again why he is one up and comer to look out for as he warmed the crowd up in style. The laser and light show enticed the crowd from the shadows as Master Kaos, who has been in fine form as of late, picked up the pace with some banging hard trance. Kaos was on fire, playing a great party set including a mix of new tunes and crowd favourites with some trademark scratching and tricks thrown in for good measure.
Upstairs Ruckus and his merry men had the Scatterfunk faithful rocking all night. A mashup of all things phat and funky had each and every booty bouncing as the Scatterfunk boys dropped a great selection of tunes that ranged from house to electro, techno to breaks, and everything in between. Ruckus kicked off the show with some tasty phat and phunky tunes and was then joined by Able K, both strutting their stuff and in fine form. Dave Pham took over the reigns and played an absolute corker starting out with some synthy electro before moving through to some grinding glitch and techno then back again. Boydex took over and added some funk and breaks, slipping in some of his own productions and working the crowd that lapped up every beat. Dirty D took over from Boydex and Timmy closed out the night, both keeping the vibe alive and the punters happy.
Back in the main room, Amber Savage was next up on the decks, coming on with a bang and treating the crowd to a solid dose of relentless hard dance. The full dancefloor was lapping it up as Nik Fish took off just where Amber had left off. Moving through from uplifting to harder trance sounds with some relentless hardstyle, Nik Fish had the foundations shaking and the punters were lapping it up. After the phenomenal success of their last CD, Hardstyle Generation, Nik and Amber were keen to showcase the new sounds being pushed on their HardBass Generation CD as they played a massive two hour versus set which definitely packed a punch. With a focus on hard dance with a healthy dose of hard trance and hardstyle, the crowd was treated to a banging set with tracks from the likes of Walt, Joy Kitikonti, Proteus, Yoji Biomehanika, DJ Isaac and of course Commander Tom’s monster “Attention”. Going track for track the energy in the air was huge as the system pumped out the hard stuff. Finishing on an interesting note including Chemical Brother’s “Push The Button”, the Sydney pair stepped aside and were given appreciative applause and cheers.
With the huge task of playing close in the main room, Kelsta and Scott Alert seemed to revitalize the crowd with a closing set to die for. Kelsta stepped up first banging out a mix of tech trance and banging techno dropping a personal favourite of mine in Electrochemie’s “Schall” to start things off. From where I was standing it seemed the crowd loved what the Sydney-siders had to offer but definitely seemed to pick up another notch and go into overdrive when Kelsta took over, dropping tracks like Mark Sherry’s monster “Vengeance” and Public Domain’s take on the classic “Love You More”. Scott Alert joined in and rose to the challenge too playing some hard trance and some tech trance. The two worked extremely well together with tight mixing and an incredible track selection. Just when things looked like they were drawing to a close, tracks like Mark Sherry’s “Cosmic Freefall”, Public Domain’s new rehash of “Operation Blade” and Oliver Klitzing’s “Kamistaad” had the punters on their feet and begging for more. Closing out the night with Marco V’s remix of “Café Del Mar” was the perfect conclusion as the full dance floor gave a round of thunderous applause that showed their appreciation for a great party and a closing set that in my opinion was the set of the night.
I went into the night with high expectations and not only were they reached but they were well and truly exceeded. The venue looked amazing with a light show that complemented the music and transformed Brown Alley into a HardBass wonderland. Musically speaking I was extremely impressed. The Scatterfunk room was rocking all night and the party vibe was awesome. The main room was a sea of people dancing to a great blend of hard trance, tech trance, hard dance and hardstyle that filled the room from start to finish. There were some points where things got a little packed for some people but it didn’t bother me in the slightest as there was still plenty of room to dance. The crowd was great and the friendly staff ensured there were smiles all around. I had an excellent night and am definitely looking forward to seeing what the Scattered Productions crew has lined up for the next one. Well done to all involved for what was an excellent party and definitely one to remember.