For once Sydney was being visited by Swedish techno DJs Adam Beyer and Joel Mull, the duo having skipped our city on their last tour to Australian.  And to top if off, it was on a Saturday night, in a big venue.

In the lead up to the night some people complained about the party being held at Gas.  It had been a while since I’d last been there, but how could techno fans forget such awesome nights previously held there featuring the likes of Derrick May, Ritchie Hawtin and DJ Godfather on Wednesday nights a few years ago?  And going back further, the night Laurent Garnier played there in 2000, the single gig I most wished I’d gone to!

Arriving in time for a glimpse of Mark Murphy’s set, I found a mix of techno fans and some of the regular Gas crowd mainly gathered around the edge of the dance floor, a few excited punters already dancing away.  The set up had been improved since I had last visited Gas, with a circular laser rig hung above the DJ booth, flanked by two screens displaying futuristic images.

Unfortunately I had to leave to go to an ATM, as the one inside was out of order.  When I returned Mark’s set was already over, and it was time for Biz to warm up for Joel Mull.  Standing at the bar, I grinned at the pounding bass I could feel in my feet coming from the speakers, and thought, this is a techno event!

Biz mixed it up a lot, playing harder techno at times than the generally funkier style I’ve come to expect from him.  The choice was aptly made from the night though, and I guess the times I’ve seen him at Chinese Laundry it wouldn’t have gone down well due to the cramped room.  He threw in some classics like Jaguar and Blue Monday, which were welcome treats but certainly not necessary to get the floor, which was steadily filling up, into the music.

Next up it was time for Joel Mull on the decks.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from him, not having heard him DJ before, but I was told to expect deeper sounds and that’s certainly what we got from him.  Starting out over some very low pitched drawn out humming sounds, his set was a mix of hard drum beats, low-frequency sounds and shimmering melodies that made your insides feel like they were turning to honey. 

Joel certainly seemed like he was enjoying the night, animatedly dancing behind the decks and really getting the crowd pumping.  The sound built in intensity throughout his set, the crowd erupting on the floor, and his set was definitely my highlight of the night.

Adam Beyer opened with a fuller sound compared to Joel’s deeper direction.  He mixed in tracks with lots of squelchy sounds and synths, building up the tempo and taking on an at times futuristic harder sound.  In the middle of his set, the music developed into pounding loopism, Beyer mixing up a storm on the decks.  At this point Beyer lost me a bit, especially as I was starting to feel tired and couldn’t get into the music out on the dance floor as much anymore.  The music probably wasn’t helped by the speakers, with the bass at times overwhelming the subtleties in the tracks.  

At about 4am a change seemed to happen.  Starting with Alter Ego’s Rocker, Adam started varying his sound more, introducing some filthy electro influenced tracks.  At 4:15am the music briefly paused, but his onslaught wasn’t over yet.  After a cheer from the crowd he got back into it, and kept the pace until a late finish at nearly 5am, finishing with Hertz’s Recreate barrages of sound.

N-Zed took over on the decks from Adam, but after some goodbyes, it was time for me to go home.  Many thanks must go to Hardware and Independent Reflections for putting on such an awesome night of techno in Sydney, and I’m already looking forward to when they bring us Jeff Mills next!