Canada’s Brennan Green is described as the deep dub disco king, and if there’s one thing Marrickville stalwart Mad Racket is known for, it’s dabbling in the ‘deep’ end with cutting edge artists and niche producers. Deep bass, a deep loyal fan base and deep tunes are a signature combination for this eight-year-old institution, so this second visit by Mr Green was eagerly awaited by the Racket faithful.

But the last time he graced our shores in March last year, left me with mixed feelings. Yes, he’s got some amazing tunes in his crate and yes, he knows when to pull them out for maximum destructive effect. But last time, with Jamie Lloyd pulling every cat out of the bag in the locker room, he was left with hardly a dancefloor in sight as punters flooded the rear of the club, emerging only when the residents returned.

I allayed my fears this time around by reminding myself the party was marketed as slow, and thus everyone there would be up for its relaxed pace. We got to the club shortly after 11pm, braving the cold to find that we could still park right up close to the entrance and inside, seats were still there for us to recline on. The trademark Bowl-o-Sonic speaker stacks were massaging us with tunes by resident Jimmi James, whose soulful, eclectic and expertly-mixed set was perfect to put us all in the mood.

We wound our way around the club, ducking around the few who were playing pool under a black light, to find the locker room open and turned into a chill space, with the adjoining shower plastic wrapped-out, before turning again and walking up to the DJ box that was decorated with paper flowers and lit from above by red and orange lights, creating a hazy Bodega-like garden effect. One friend even managed to describe it in detail later that morning.

Green jumped on deck at the usual time – about 1am – and started on the dubby side of things, tracing across the last of Jimmi’s tracks with the effects pad and really putting the idea of stereo sound to good use by swinging effects from one side of the dancefloor to the other. He’d swing in a slower dub track, tweaking the highs and lows to build tension, then cut it under with noise before bringing in the breakdown of a classic disco number, reaching a crescendo that had the room loved up and loving it.
Then, someone would hit the decks (or he would hit it himself), and he’d wobble back to speed again. Sadly, this happened a few times before the pace bore down – slower, then slower still – and ironically the group I was with decided it was time for a rest.

We ambled up to the bar and joined a deep queue, before joining another group of punters marking the last Racket where they could light up a cigarette inside. New laws mean they’ll have to go outside come next Racket, including yours truly, and tonight wasn’t the sort of night for it at all. I didn’t see any plans for an outdoor area so it’s anyone’s guess how this might work out in future.

Tangent aside, we turned our attention back to the dancefloor where Green had delved even deeper and slower, clawing through classics like Loose Joints by Arthur Russell and others by Arthur Baker before bidding the decks adieu at about 3am, making way for resident Ken Cloud.

Ken, in this reviewer’s mind, is one of Racket’s highlights and again he proved hit mettle, sensing a weariness on the floor and lifting the tempo significantly. To the left and right of the floor once sullen bodies emerged dancing, and as he passed on to Zootie you knew this instalment would end in daylight. Not brave enough for that, we bid our farewells shortly before sunrise and made our way home through Marrickville’s frosty streets, glad to have enjoyed a more relaxed night out at Green’s slower pace – but even more glad the locals took it uptempo when it really needed to.