After a successful year of dance music in Australia, inthemix decided to do what they always do best – celebrate! What better way to do so than to put on a party and invite all the hardworking and dedicated music fans (yes, us trashbags) to The Academy club in Canberra. The inthemix50 Party was a night to get down, dirty and put your hands up for the awesome talent that Australian dance music has to offer. This year saw the success of not only talent from interstate, but the shining stardom of our local Canberra heroes. The line up boasting crowd favourites: The Potbelleez, Milkbar Nick and Ashley Feraude.

So here’s how it all happened…

After a very long process of getting ready to go out (yes it takes a while to make myself look worthy of leaving the house), I was off to Academy to check out the electric cocktail of DJs who had been voted by the ITM party people as the best in the business for 2007. On arrival, the first thing I noticed was the amount of people who were congregated around the dance floor. It’s always pleasing to see people actually up and moving instead of lurking around the place; so well done to the punters who brought their energy and enthusiasm to kick off the inthemix50 Party.

To open the evening, local talent Milkbar Nick was the one to get the party started. Milkbar has played in superior style to the Canberran crowd for many years now, making his mark as an Academy resident DJ, and this year, dominating the Podwarz event at Transit Bar. Milkbar Nick placed third in the ITM ACT DJ Poll and ranked in the top 100 of the Australian Poll. Milkbar always knows how to warm up the crowd, and warm it was…

Things started to bubble, boil and cause some turmoil when the Irish stew, better known as The Potbelleez took control of the decks at around 1:00am. These boys, although Irish, hail from NSW, where this year they have dominated the ITM NSW DJ Poll, coming in sixth place. In addition, they have been guzzled down like Guinness by the many punters who have loved their madness; being voted in 13th place on the overall Australian Poll. An improvement of 22 places from last year, good work boys!

Anyway, in light of the Irish duo, they certainly lived up to the reputation they had made for themselves this year. After seeing these guys play at Academy club in July, I was pleased at their ability to once again, turn it up for the crazy party people who wanted to shake it up electro style. Crazy was definitely the word to describe what was going on. By this time, the dance floor was crowded with the punters busting some moves, dancing like leprechauns. It seemed that each person had made many stops at the bar before cutting loose. It was in true Irish style!

The sound delivered had a friendly electro, tech house feel with a bit of breaks thrown in to give it some flavour. The boys took turns working the decks and complimented each other in what they did. The tracks selected were a combination of club favourites like La Musique by Riot In Belgium mixed in with some darker and dirtier sounds like Waters Of Nazereth by Justice. The music was mixed in a way that was smooth and somewhat refreshing; with tracks like Golden Skans by The Klaxons having a bit of breaks splashed in to give it a funky edge. The after taste of the main course was electric and fun.

I must make a special mention about the things that always seem to impress me about gigs at Academy. It was a well-chosen venue for this particular ITM Party as the Friction @ Academy nights were voted most popular event in the ACT poll. The sound quality was top notch and the visual displays were engaging. Kudos to VJ Jim who can always set the mood with the selection of visuals that just seem to capture my attention and add to the mood and atmosphere of the evening. With the good comes the bad, my only complaint about the night was that it got a bit too trashy towards the end. The presence of intoxicated punters staggering across the dance floor can be a bit annoying when you just want to dance.

Just after 3:00am it was time for the last course of the party – dessert! Who better to do the job than the sweet sensation, Ashley Feraude, who placed sixth on the ACT DJ Poll this year. Ashley has proved his worth as an up and comer over the last twelve months, making many appearances across the Canberra party and club circuit. As usual, Ashley plays with a smile upon his face, giving off a unique sound that was somewhat perfect to conclude the evening.

Can I just put it out there that ITM deserve a big thank you as they always ensure that their beloved followers always get exposure to the latest and greatest sounds that dance music has to offer. It’s an added bonus that we receive discounted entry to these events. It was fabulous to see the return of the handsome Irish boys, The Potbelleez in the Nation’s Capital. Better still, the highlight for me was watching them ‘get into it’, dancing, smiling and having a mad time. I truly enjoy the enthusiasm that people have for music and I hope that it only continues to grow. Bring on inthemix50 2008!