Just a few short months ago Future Entertainment announced that Two Tribes was no more. Quite the scare went through Australia’s dance music community. As it happened though, Australia’s favourite electronic music festival had simply been repackaged. Two Tribes would hence forth be known as Future Music Festival. A few extra ingredients would be added this year, namely a bigger lineup than ever before. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to review the main stage, which would host some of the world’s biggest names in dance including; LTJ Bukem feat. MC Conrad, Nick Warren, Felix da Housecat, Sharam (Deep Dish) and Ferry Corsten. More than just a fun day out in the sun was on offer on Sunday, March 4th as Future Entertainment broght Future Music Festival to Perth’s Supreme Court Gardens.

On a personal level, the line up for the main stage featured names who have been at the forefront of my love for dance music since day one. Ferry Corsten and Nick Warren led the way before LTJ Bukem and his Good Looking imprint highlighted 2003 and then Sharam of Deep Dish and their sound ensured that I would always stay in love with the four to the floor beat. A day to remember was guaranteed. The line up wasn’t the only thing that would be hot on this particular day; Sunday March 4 recorded a maximum temperature of 35 degrees. Fortunately there would be plenty of free water and a sprinkler on hand to keep everyone cool. My crew and I arrived extra early so as to soak up the sunshine as well as the plethora of exceptional local support.

Kenny L was up first. The warm weather wasn’t a deterrent to most but it would take a couple of hours before the numbers really began swelling. With a beer in hand, I decided to take a good look around the Supreme Court Gardens to see what was going on. The Famous tent caught the attention of my crew as some pumping, driving and filthy dirty techno sounds were on show whilst the locals arena and the Smirnoff tent looked the goods. With the temperature increasing by the second, we collectively decided that it would be wise to sit in the shade and observe the happenings on the main stage so as to conserve our energies. Kenny L’s set was great for nodding the head to; my crew and I didn’t want to listen to anything too heavy early on.

Melbourne’s John Course stepped up to the decks at 1pm to deliver his trademark brand of clubby electro house. A number of punters were not afraid of the heat or their pride as they shook what their momma gave them right in front of the stage. I really wanted to join them, but there were eight more hours of action to get through, so I grabbed another beer and passively soaked up the ever-building atmosphere. As always, John Course was having a ball behind the decks, doing what he loves to do best.

The inclusion of LTJ Bukem on the main stage to some might seem a bit unorthodox, but in my opinion I think his sound worked an absolute treat in terms of keeping things interesting and entertaining. My friends and I made our way right to the front of the stage for the first dancing session of the day. We were joined by many more eager punters. MC Conrad gave it his all behind the mic to get the crowd pumped whilst Bukem mashed, scratched and slashed his way through a selection of liquid jungle. I originally thought that LTJ Bukem would select an array of the more laid back tunes that I knew him for, but this was not to be. This was proper, fully fledged drum & bass with no frills. The crowd could not get enough of it. Bukem’s hour and a half long set seemed to pass as if it had only gone for ninety seconds!

Up next was Nick Warren. One of my friends pointed out how tired he looked behind the decks. This was highlighted when early on, Warren made a complete mess of a simple backspin. I can understand though, given as Perth is the most isolated city in the world. In a perfect world international visitors would have a schedule that would allow them to give it 100% behind the decks but this is Planet Earth, and we are lucky to see these big names every eighteen months. To make up for this, Nick Warren played a great selection of tracks which included a number of choice cuts from his latest Global Underground CD (GU#030: Paris.) Having not seen Nick Warren since his Summadayze 2004 appearance, I was happy enough with his performance and track selection despite his uncharacteristically below-par mixing.

At 5pm it was Felix da Housecat’s turn. I was completely and utterly shocked by his set. I was expecting a set choc full of vocal house classics, or classics in the making, but what we got instead was a beautifully mixed set of vocal-free, underground electro house. It was by no means cheesy which made it even more pleasurable. At 6pm I really needed a drink as the heat was taking its toll and as I wandered over to the bevvy stand, it was hard to resist the temptation to have a jiggle to Gully & Axis’ tech-house grooves in the local heroes tent. Having heard what the warm up and local hero DJ’s can do throughout the day, it has to be said once again that Perth’s local talent is more than just up there with the international elete.

By 6:30 the Future Music Festival crowd was really pumping. There was hardly an inch to move. The atmosphere was electric. As Sharam of Deep Dish took to the decks at 6:30, it was impossible to make one’s way to the front of the dance floor. On a few occasions, Sharam dropped samples of “Say Hello” into his set. Suffice to say, the FMF massive went absolutely crazy. Sharam’s set went from chuggy, ploddy progressive beats to up-tempo trance and then back again, all in the space of an hour and a half. I am unsure of its title but during Sharam’s set I heard the tune that was produced by Deep Dish whose lyrics echo “party all the time.” Again the crowd went utterly berzerk.

The hands-in-the-air stuff wouldn’t end there though, the final act to grace the main stage was indeed Ferry Corsten. No other DJ’s sound is as entertaining, for me, as Ferry’s. His energy, style and sound is unique in a scene in which everyone wants to be Armin van Buuren or DJ Tiesto. Even during his longer sets, Ferry ordinarily doesn’t like to dabble around in the softer, more subtle melodies. Instead; it’s trance, straight to the point from go to whoah. On this occasion Ferry Corsten had his audience rocking, singing and waving their hands to one of the most memorable trance sets Perth has ever seen. When I looked behind me, all I could see was a mass of people. It seemed as though the vast majority of the FMF massive was right there, in front of the main stage, having it large to the euphoric and heavenly sounds of trance.

Highlights throughout Ferry Corsten’s set included a fantastic remix of “Another You, Another Me” by Lange & Gareth Emery, “Beautiful” by Ferry Corsten, System F’s timeless classic “Out of the Blue” (which followed on immediately from “Beautiful”) and “Punk”, which is also by Ferry Corsten. Ferry Corsten also injected a healthy dose of electro into his performance. Some hardened critics mightn’t have enjoyed this element of Ferry’s set but I did. The same run of the mill sounds will eventually get boring, so why not spice things up by crossing over into different genres, so long as the sound in one way or another remains true to trance? The FMF massive lapped up every minute of it and I even joined in with a sing along to “Beautiful” with a fellow punter who appeared to be having the time of his life.

My crew and I, like so many others, left Future Music Festival 2007 with a bag full of memories, blistering sunburn and an ear to ear grin. We had just experienced one of the most memorable dance music parties this fair city has ever witnessed. It really didn’t matter that Perth’s line up didn’t include some of the names as seen on the Eastern states bill because the names who were there, plus the locals, did an absolutely sterling job of creating the ultimate festival atmosphere. Move over Two Tribes, Future Music Festival is here to stay!