Saturday nights at the Chinese Laundry have become a regular thing for me over the past few months, with the venue boasting a consistent stream of A-grade international and local acts. I was telling friends and family of my plans to slow things down and ‘have a bit of a quiet weekend’, jokingly so as all the while I knew very well the Laundry would once again be featuring another of my favorite acts come Saturday evening. With Sydney veteran Mark Dynamix also onboard on resident duties it made it even harder to bail out sit at home reading Shakespeare, sipping on a dry vermouth and nibbling on a platter of imported cheese. That may very well be how a middle-aged washed up soap star spends their weekend, but in my youthful ignorance I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather been than the good ol’ Laundry.

Last Saturday night in particular saw the dynamic duo known as Lostep at the top of the bill, comprised of Phil K and Luke Chable who are indeed some of the finest talent our country has to offer. Known for producing some of the most virtuous examples of progressive/tech you’re ever likely to hear, including the headcaving classic Because We Can and the epic Burma (which was later remix by Sasha no less), the Melbourne bred producers have just about everything going for them.

Arriving at the Laundry not long after the doors opened, I was able to make my way into the venue easily and head straight for the bar in the Cave to order a dry vermouth. They didn’t have any so I settled for a Heineken instead; close enough I guess! Mark Dynamix was bopping up and down behind the decks, creating a very nice melodic/tech grounding for the evening and already drawing the attention of many enthusiastic punters. I also had the pleasure last weekend of hearing his warm up for Nathan Fake, and he’s always been able to get me dancing straight away. His intricate selection of tech house and progressive is most definitely hooked straight up into my brain, and he even played one of my all time favorite tracks in the form of Petter’s Robotfood. I had never heard this in a club before and I was almost ready to pounce on him and smother him in kisses when he dropped it on the Cave’s remarkable sound system.

Just when I thought my night couldn’t be any more complete, Lostep suddenly appeared behind the decks and threw some deep chugging techno into the mix. By this time the Cave was beginning to pack out, but there was still plenty of room to spin around and bust a move. It’s a good thing too, as these guys blew proceeded to blow everyone three feet into the air with some of the stuff they were playing. Utter madness it was!

It actually reminded me of Hybrid’s massive set in the Cave on New Years Eve, as it carried a very similar atmosphere. Track after track it just kept getting heavier and harder, and I had to take a breather up against the wall on a few occasions because it was just that crazy. I didn’t expect them to keep it so heavy duty fir the duration of their set; I guess I was secretly hoping they would pull out some of their more melodic sounding tracks as well, because I really do enjoy this part of their sound. But alas there wasn’t much of that at all on Saturday night, although I did enjoy the set nonetheless.

After stepping through what was left of the slaughtered crowd on my way out, it was time to reminisce the night in a closing paragraph. Mark Dynamix was a pleasure to hear from start to finish but Lostep, I have a bone to pick with you! We know you love it hard and twisted, but please remember to think of the melody. Even just a little bit? I need a new brain now after Saturday night and they don’t cover that under my private health insurance cover. The End.