It was a case of bring it back to the old school, when techno was hot and electro was not. There was a definite buzz in the air as eager beaver tech junkies were approaching the Ambar. Once through the ID check and stamping you could instantly hear the up tempo beats throbbing through the small cavity made from the stairs. After walking down the stairs, which will later be seen as challenging to some as the night progresses, red lights were shining through the club with just a touch of smoke in the air that was discharged by the cleverly hidden smoke machine. As you approached the dance floor the thumping got louder and louder, an instant nodding and smirk to the complex beats could not be avoided.

First spinster to warm up the crowd was local man Travis who never fails to please, and has a reputation of having one of the finest vinyl collections in the city. Being a connoisseur of techno, his selection of tracks entwined flawlessly and it was smooth sailing throughout his set as each pitch, each tweak and each track perfectly complemented one another. His specialised style is one that is a rarity in Perth and can be overlooked by the masses, but in spite of this there are those in our city who are extremely loyal and passionate about euro tech. He pumped out modern tracks that could only be out sourced by spending numerous hours and dollars on the net. He spun out Oliver Hunteman’s remix of Underworld’s new track named after a reptile, Crocodile. He added Marco Resmann’s Gouche, along with District One’s The Shining and Fusin produced by industry favourites, Technasia. All the tracks named were completely remixed: this was a techno set after all.

Tech professor Puff mixed up an extended set in Kriece’s absence, and he was delegated the task of being second in line to get the stomping started. His set consisted of a refreshing combination of tech and tech house tracks. Deep bass lines, raw percussions with just a hint of vocals were articulated in the one and a half hour session. By this time the dance floor was being inundated with enthusiastic lovers of the genre: a definite dark, dirty, underground vibe that is synonymous with techno infiltrated the Ambar night club. Being one of the most recognised and esteemed tech representatives in Perth, Puff emitted now and then sounds from the 1200s. Just to name the few compositions that he randomly integrated were Mark Houle’s Techno Vocals, Air Frog’s Mazuka released under Swedish label Svek Records, Granulate by Heiko Laux and Breaker by HERTZ, released on yet another Swedish tech label, Sway Sweden.

At the stroke of one, the main men were visible on stage and an immediate applause of appreciation and salutations erupted as the reins were handed over to the highly respected internationals. The crowd had been eagerly anticipating the two Swedish imports, as there has been an extreme dry spell of international techno headliners on the west side. As Adam Beyer and Joel Mull familiarised themselves with the equipment and crowd, the dance floor was already full of tech heads in mid stomp.

Joel Mull confidently approached the decks and went straight to work on the crowd. By this time the Ambar was pretty much at capacity and you could immediately feel the temperature rise in the club as the punters movements became more erratic and ironically flowed with the palpitating beats and artificial synths. The tracks were far too fresh and sophisticated to name, however he did play various remixed tracks from his unreleased artist album that he is currently promoting.

Partner in crime Adam Beyer mixed up to the already heavy breathing crowd as they were hard at it, insisting on keeping up with every drum beat. There were random outbursts of cheering and people clapping throughout the red lit room. Some time during his set, Adam dropped a techno classic by Jerome Boom Bap that was released in 2006. For the final hours of the morning both men combined their talents and performed a chop and change set. This really got the crowd going as both men were enthusiastic in this mighty battle on the decks.

That night, the Ambar was sucked through a time portal which led the club back to early 2000. The crowd was full of the more mature and familiar faces from the experienced tech club scene, coming out of retirement for this boutique gig. However, it was a definite boys club that night as this genre seems to attract more guys than girls; Hence the apparent sausage fest as the girls were clearly out numbered and resulted in a ratio of approximately 10 to 1.

Overall, everyone was right into the sets, getting dark and dirty with each techno track, I can only imagine how many sore heads were leaving the Ambar that night. It was an awesome night with impeccable sets from both the Swedish imports and local boys, so Perth promoters, make sure you bring some more interantional talent ASAP!