Loaded Dice have been bringing in breakbeat and drum n’ bass artists to Perth for nearly over a decade now. With some of the most successful parties and international dj’s to hit our shore’s, Beatfixx was definitely not an event to be missed. Headlining the event was The Upbeats from New Zealand and Ctrl-Z from the UK.

Since announcing their arrival on the drum n’ bass scene in 2004, The Upbeats created more of a shockwave than a mere splash with their self-titled debut album. Since then, the Wellington NZ producers have continued to forge an impressive reputation as both masters of their craft and the future of drum n’ bass. Enjoying both critical and commercial success with their 2004 debut LP, The Upbeats have positioned themselves among the highest pantheons of the genre across the world, recording and releasing through influential imprints like BC Presents, Ed Rush and *Optical’s Virus Recordings, Renegade Hardware, Project51 and Project Human.

*But what sets the partnership of Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones apart from the myriad of drum n’ bass producers both in New Zealand and abroad, many of whom have extensive record-label pedigrees in their own right, is the unique, diverse and cutting-edge Upbeat style. And despite the three-year gap between albums, Glenn and Jones have been no stranger to the studio, recording tracks with the likes of Optical, Bad Company, Noisia, Teknik, TeeBee and Bulletproof. Most recently, The Upbeats remixed Shapeshifter’s Bring Change from the fellow-countrymen’s highly-acclaimed album Soulstice. With 2007 set to be a breakthrough year for The Upbeats, capitalising on a legacy of hard work, touring and the right connections, the wickedness this way comes.

Ctrl Z are a breakbeat production duo hailing from London. They are one of the hottest acts in the breakbeat world. So hot in fact that the world’s leading drum and bass agency (Home to Pendulum, Hype, Grooverider, Dillinja, Subfocus, Noisia…the list goes on!) took them on as their first breaks act. They have become pioneers and trendsetters of harder edged breakbeat.

It is no surprise that after only a year in the business, Ctrl Z had the honour of receiving two nominations for Best Breakthrough Act and Best Breakthrough Producer at the 2005 Breakspoll Awards. Their DJ sets have to be seen to be believed, headlining Events all over the UK and Europe, Ctrl Z have crossed the Atlantic for four successful tours of the States and are rapidly spreading their unmistakable sound even further.

Such is the demand for this duo that they were asked to headline Breakspoll 2006 with the Breakfastaz. In 2007 they were one of the main drawcards in Annie Nightingale’s tent on the opening night of the infamous Glastonbury festival. This year they have become residents at The End in London for DJ Friction’s Shogun Audio Night and will be taking their brand of big bad beats through Australasia.

We got there at about 11:00pm, where the Signal Drivers were halfway through their set. This amazing Perth breakbeat duo are taking the breaks world by storm and delivered some fresh beats. There wasn’t much of a crowd early in the night – and it seemed that the gig was not going to get packed out.

Ctrl-Z then stepped up to the decks – delivering probably one of the most party-going sets I’ve heard all year. Being more of a drum n’ bass fan, I still got heavily into Ctrl-Z’s set and by about the middle of his set, Gilkinson’s was modestly filled with punters. Dropping bootlegs of Daft Punk and other various tracks, Ctrl-Z definitely got the vibe going for everyone before everyone’s highlight of the night was about to start – The Upbeats. Rolling through the set, Ctrl-Z even dropped some drum n’ bass in anticipation for the mayhem that was about to be unleashed.

The moment The Upbeats stepped up to the decks – the floor was rammed and party-goers and punters alike danced and stared in awe at the beats. Dropping such crazy tracks such as Poison and Dresden, it was probably one of the better events I have been to this year. The vibe was great, the place was not too packed out and you actually had room to dance – instead of being pushed in like a can of sardines. Speaking to a lot of fellow drum & bass lovers, they agreed that this was one of their best nights out. MCWebz and MC Stylee pushed out the lyrical wizardry with style as well. A bit of a treat for the fans, Jeremy of the Upbeat’s decided to play an extra hour as he was having fun playing to the crowd, and much to the delight of the crowd, it paid off.

It was about 4:30/5am in the morning before the set had finished, and stepping up were local boys Concept, Bastian and Daemos. By this time the crowd was all out of energy as The Upbeats took the tone to another level and the venue slowly dispersed.

All in all it would probably have be one of the best events I’ve been too. Not too packed, but with an awesome vibe – Loaded Dice definitely had another winning event on their hands. As a treat, they are also putting The Upbeats on for FREE this Wednesday at D-Styles at The Deen, so if you missed the set on Saturday then be sure to come down!