There is something unique about parties held in spring and summer. The sun, the atmosphere, the music and the personality tend to come together in an extra special way. Recently honoured by 3D World with the Young Inventors Award for Most Innovative Club Night/Event in Sydney, and following their continued success of their three previous D&BBQs, the Foreign Dub crew delivered yet another top notch installment of what is quickly becoming one of the most reputable and favourable parties out.

Cold, wet, tired. It had been a punishing week of endless rain. Driving to work in the early hours of Saturday in the freezing and sodden weather didn’t exactly render me to place much faith in what the rest of the day would turn out to be. What a godsend it was to see the blue sky, sun shining and pavements drying when I finally stepped out of my windowless building in the late afternoon… I was very much looking forward to the remaining hours of my day that were due to follow.

Arriving at 730pm (the party was held from 4pm-4am) the place was already swarming with people inside the hotel and outside in the beer garden lining up for food and drinks, and getting down to all manners of musical styles. Initially disappointed that I could not arrive in time to witness the live dub and reggae performance of The Caca and the nu jazz and broken beat sets from Twoup and Minus, a smile was quickly planted on my face when I realized Minus had decided once again to grace the audience with an encore mix of what I can only describe as tastefully smooth and distinctively eclectic tracks to set the laid back tone of the party that I have always expected these drum and bass barbeques to be.

The sun was now well and truly gone, and probably the most pleasantly surprising act of the event stepped up next. The Random Designers Terranine (Tempest Recordings live) kicked on from where the broken beat style action was left and continued to move and awe the entire outdoor area with a brilliant live performance of leftfield, abstract sounds, amalgamated with a resonance of hauntingly beautiful violin improvisations, very much akin to some instrumental reverberations of inspirational UK’s Faultline.

Despite having a vague recollection that the last D&BBQ had been most certainly more packed to the rim that what I could see around me, taking the hotel’s legal capacity restrictions into considerations, the entire venue had sold out by 830pm. So at this point I decided to take advantage of the numbers and find a place to sit and have a chat. The drum and bass that ensued inside the Australian was more than satisfying, and provided a great backdrop for the fantastic houseparty vibe that this night had once again turned out to be.

Most notable mentions have to firstly go to upcoming Sydney producer Freddy Fred’s back to back set with MisRee – a storming selection of heavy drum and bass tunes, to which people wasted no time in filling up the dancefloor and having a bounce. The 50/50 duo Joose and Murda1 then stepped up to the challenge, and every track thrown down was a pleasure to bear witness.

Murda1’s ability to fuse absolutely slammin’ drum and bass with hip hop inspired beats and scratching are simply amazing. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the pair kicked it onto two of the most technically proficient and talented lads in Sydney drum and bass. Ed Gee and Vice Versa (Good Looking Records) completely took me with surprise with a solidly heavy, rocking and driving selection of tunes.

The rest of the night really is a blur, but can you really blame me? A 12 hour party, cheap alcohol, delicious food cooked on the barbie, fruit platters continually passed around, friendly smiles everywhere you look. I remember venturing back into the beer garden to listen to a weird, eclectic, but thumpin mixture of pheonomenally dynamic beats dropped for our delight by Eli, and a fantastic variety of jazz and drum and bass beauties by B.Hopps, to carry the momentum of the party into the wee hours of the morning.

For sheer atmosphere, vibe and quality of music, this night will live long in the memory of those who were fortunate enough to witness it.