There are some that might say that hard trance had its day in 2001. There are others though who would disagree and opinion and fact are to totally different things entirely. Hard trance is still going very strong and Nik Fish & Amber Savage’s latest mix CD “HardBass Generation” is proof of this very fact. Furthermore, the tour by the same name would prove that this genre is just as strong on the dance floor and in the clubs.
Perth was to be the last stop on the “HardBass Generation” tour. The CD by the same name boasts some of the most upfront and hard hitting tracks to date are featured. Nik Fish is well known for his sumptuously evil sets whilst Amber Savage would be making her long awaited first appearance behind the decks here in Perth.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I arrived at The Church at 1am. I feared that I had missed the entire warm-up session and/or the start of the interstaters’ sets. Fortunately my fears were put to rest as Kenny L was warming up the place as I walked through the doors. I love seeing queues at clubs, they assure me that the sight of a packed dance floor will follow the short wait. The Church on this particular occasion was anything but empty!
Kenny L as ever was in impressive form as he put the stylus to a selection of melodic trance classics to ensure plenty of airborne hands and glow sticks. Kenny’s set featured plenty of classics and up front tuneage including DJ Technikal’s take on the floor-filling “Silence” by Delirium. At 1:30 the tempo increased and Kenny got things even more hyperactive with a harder track selection and some terrific scratchin’ action!
Sydney’s Nik Fish loomed large over the decks at 2:00 to deliver a one hour solo set of storming synths and stomping hard trance sounds. The energy on the dance floor could easily have charged the national grid as the music threatened to drain it as Fish served up a host of tunes that also featured on the “Hard Bass Generation” CD. Highlights of his solo set included Phillipe Rochard’s huge “Music Machine Reloaded” (DJ Noise Bandit Remix,) “G-Sigh” by Remo Con and the appropriately titled “Infectious” by Mos Phat.
Amber Savage took to the altar of The Church to deliver a sermon of even harder and faster tracks. Whilst Nik’s set was chunky and heavy, Savage put the trance back into hard trance. DJ Pavo & Blutonium Boy’s “Floorkilla” was one of many fantastic tunes played by Sydney’s best female DJ. The party at this stage was showing no signs of relenting during Savage’s 2-3:00am set.
Nik Fish and Amber Savage are DJ’s who when going solo can raise the level of energy on the dance floor to dangerously euphoric levels. When going back-to-back though, the energy they create is a sight to behold! Nik Fish & Amber Savage were to take the dance floor right up until 6 and the final kick drum… although this party could have gone on until midday!
In fact, such was the intense energy and the immense vibe in The Church that later Nik Fish and Amber Savage said that the Perth gig at The Church was their favourite DJ’ing experience on the “HardBass Generation” Tour. There was barely enough room to move on the elbow to elbow dance floor and The Church party massive rocked hard in appreciation to everything that was offered. We definitely need to see these guys out here more often! A huge thank you must go to Nik Fish, Amber Savage, Kenny L, John Paul, Riki and The Church for yet another outstanding hard dance event!
