The night was billed by Ministry Of Sound as ‘the spanking hot annual warehouse party’, so the Sydney dance faithful turned up in their droves to experience this major dance event. The evening was oh-so-close to selling out and great things were expected. The Horden Pavilion and the Dome are two of the better venues in Sydney to put on a massive event of this scale, and the Ministry weren’t pulling any punches in bringing in some of the hottest talent we’re currently enjoying from around the world.

Local DJ’s fired up the crowd to get them into the mood, and set the stage for the international crew. First up was Booka Shade from Berlin. Cofounders of the Get Physical label and one of the most popular examples of the minimal sound we’ve ever seen, the duo were of course playing live and they didn’t disappoint. They kept the crowd rollicking along with a set of classic beeps and bleeps, accompanied by some very chunky beats. This was European house music at its minimalist best, and the breakdowns were complete, urging the crowd to get behind the incandescent drumming that was indecently manic in places – with one of the members bashing away behind a series of synthetic drum pads for the entire performance. Pulling oput all their hits like Mandarin Girl, In White Rooms and the final encore of Body Language, the set flowed and the crowd were digging it.

Next was a quick stopover to the Dome to witness new Danish electro/tech wunderkid Trentemoller. The Dome itself is a more intimate venue, lending itself to the more energetic performer. Again performing live, with a full band backing him up in this case, Trentemoller certainly led the crowd a merry dance, getting in the face of the attendant throng and firing them up. His set was a little bit edgier, darker and snarlier than Booka Shade and instead of keeping the house beats rolling the entire time, he built it up from a deep and dark beginning. Being another live set, the flow seemed a bit disjointed at times but when he needed to step it up, he delivered with both guns blazing. His set was definitely worth the sprint and meant like many others, we had to rush back to the pavilion to catch the B-Boy extraordinaire Armand Van Helden.

Having seen Van Helden many times before, I knew what to expect and he did not let anyone down. He delivered, as promised, an awesome set that sent the crowd into a delicious frenzy and the seated terraces along the side of the Hordern were jumping right along with the cavernous dance floor. Throwing out a whole bunch of tough new electro tunes, as well as a large selection form his back catalogue, Van Helden knew how to hold the crowd and they loved him for it. Endless clapping and smiley happy people was his reward for his ‘New York City Beat’ sound.

Rushing between venues was becoming an Olympic sport that night, as DJ Mehdi from the French Ed Banger crew stormed onto the stage of The Dome. One of Paris’s finest, Mehdi was exactly what a DJ should be: enthusiastic, driving but most of all ‘into it’. He was famously quoted as saying, “I like to be the DJ, I love it so much. I love to try new things. You would never get into this business to be bored, or you would hope not.” And boring is something that Mehdi was not. He stepped to the edge of the stage and exhalted the crowd, worshipping his fans right back. They loved him and his French electro funkiness, influenced by a few unique dashes of hip hop, and for me he was definitely the highlight of the night. France certainly produces some extraordinary talent and Mehdi is definitely an honours graduate from the Parisian school of house. It was a shame that he lost a lot of his crowd to Van Helden, as his set was worthy of the main arena.

Unfortunately, I had to break my french sojourn short to catch up with the last big European of the night, Fedde Le Grand. The Dutch master reworked his hits and dropped them in with the precision of a Jedi tech house warrior. Kicking things off with his more recognisable (and accessible) dance floor hit Let Me Think About It, this wasn’t actually a sign of things to come – he belted out two hours of crankin’ tech house and some of the more upfront variations on minimal. The dancefloor, although slightly jaded and tired after Van Helden, took his set and ran with it. His tunes ebbed and flowed, nudging the Ministry of Sound faithful into a joyous climax.

So, final comments: Ministry of Sound delivered with their Annual event, creating a brilliant launch pad for this year’s CD release. The international DJs gave Sydney some great memories and some everlasting tunes. Roll on the next Ministry of Sound event so we can see all the surprises they’ll be bringing!

Check out this awesome clip of Armand Van Helden’s opening tune last Saturday night!