Calibre has been a busy guy – with 3 albums, 50-something EPs and numerous remixes, he’s forged a sound of his own and tweaked it to perfection. His music is an awesomely crafted blend of jazz/soul influences with a classic drum and bass foundation – minimal sounds, deep rolling basslines, and a scary amount of production quality, it’s a must-have for anybody’s dance music collection.

We arrived at Miss Libs and grabbed some beers before heading out into the back room. Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek were up first – I have to admit I wasn’t really familiar with either of the guys, aside from Spacek’s work with Commix on How You Gonna Feel?, so I wasn’t sure what to expect… but they delivered an impressively eclectic set – starting off with some 90s West Coast Beats, some Dre and Snoop Dogg, and Death Row, before steering into the deeper end of the dubstep sound. I’ve heard plenty of dubstep before, at the excellent DNBBQ parties in Sydney, and it never really caught my attention before, but this was different – coming at it from a much more subtle angle, with Spacek laying down some vocals, it was some seriously good shit. Eventually the guys moved onto a big jungle rinseout and hauled in some crazy drums, picking up the pace for the 2AM changeover.

I was expecting a next-level performance from Calibre and DRS and they absolutely nailed it. Calibre’s set sounded just like a Calibre set should – atmospheric, crisp drum sounds, and plenty of tasty low-frequency bass. The sound system was again, beautiful, delivering a great sound in every part of the room. DRS’s microphone work was definitely proof of his skills – working in the studio and on the stage with other big names like LTJ Bukem, Marcus Intalex and ST Files he’s turned them into a weapon, and it matched Calibre’s style perfectly. Definitely an example for MCs to aspire to.

Elementz Guy Joe Seven was up next and while I couldn’t stick around for the whole birthday set, what I heard was nice and solid. Another crazy night, another dose of world-class music.