The Renaissance tag has brought with it some pretty memorable parties over the years, and expectations tend to be raised somewhat whenever the UK superbrand rolls into ol’ Sydney town. Dave Seaman is touring Australia at the moment with a new Renaissance CD compilation under his belt, and with a hot DJ sidekick along for the ride in the form of one Mr Nic Fanciulli, the Easter Bunny had certainly arrived early this year: a monster Sweetchilli party at Space Nightclub.

First of all, the venue was looking great. Space is mainly an Rn’B venue these days, and it has been some years since the floors have been shaken by some proper underground house music. There is something a little special about heading up to a club in an elevator, complete with smiling attendant. “Going Up?” she asked. You better believe it! With the floating central bar, there is acres of space to move and importantly, sit. Big screens were scattered around the room and almost all punters had a clear line of sight from the dancefloor to the DJ. Early on, I started to revel in the fact that I was at a party with only ONE musical choice – no back-rooms, side-rooms, searching for stages, trying to met up with friends – just one room, one choice, one night.

It seemed apparent pretty early on that the venue is used to the odd splash of violence, yet has not quite come to terms with a suitable way to deal with it. Let me present Exhibit A: my female companions ordered two champagnes and we proceeded to watch with some bemusement as the barman carefully measured said fizzy alcoholic liquid into a champagne glass before carefully transferring it into a plastic tumbler. “Can’t we have it in the glass?” we asked collectively. A solemn “no” came the reply, as the barmen sadly informed us that he could not serve us drinks in glass “because it can be used as a weapon”. Now for the illogical component let me present Exhibit B: 5 minutes later, we ordered a couple of beers that, to our utter surprise, were served in their original glass bottles. I was tempted to glass someone just to prove a point.

Inconsistent drinking vessel policy aside, it was no real surprise to arrive to find Robbie Lowe doing what he does best: laying down some deep luscious grooves. Without doubt one of the best DJs in the country, Robbie was behind the decks priming the crowd like a stoker at the furnace; not too much coal early on, just enough to keep the fire building. The crowd was nicely spread out over the venue as Robbie built the tempo for Nic Fanciulli’s slot, kicking off at 11pm.

Nic Fanciulli has risen to the top of the DJ heap in recent times based on some damn fine skills. His three hours behind the decks certainly demonstrated these skills in spades with flawless mixing and a sexy array of tunes. Early on, there was enough melody to keep me interested but I’ve got to say that as his set progressed, I got a bit lost. Fanciulli is certainly known for his tech-house stylings but for me, stretches started to sounds a little, dare I say it, same-y. There were long passages with almost no bassline to speak of, just massive thumping beats threaded seamlessly into more thumping beats. Massive build-ups led to more, well… massive beats. I felt like a frustrated contestant on Wheel of Fortune who just wanted to buy a damn bassline. However, clearly I was in the minority as the room was absolutely heaving at each up-shift in gear, and the post-mortem in the forums clearly echoed the predominate feeling on the dancefloor: Nic killed it. Leading into his final stanza, Fanciulli brought back the bass and the melody for Seaman, playing a slamming remix of Hot Chips’ Ready for the Fall.

By the time Dave Seaman started his three-hour love-in, the melody was making a relentless comeback. While some may say Seaman does have a tendency to lean towards what hardcore chinstrokers would describe as cheese, there is no doubt that Seamen brings the party. Yes, there was a surprising airing of Sweet Dreams (although it was cleverly mashed into a few different tracks), a dash of Beastie Boys’ Intergalatic and even an unknown mix (to me at least) of Kylie Minogue’s latest single, Two Hearts, but it was mixed with some proper big room prog. The incredible Mark Knight remix of Underworld’s Beautiful Burnout, the killer Popof mix of Solaris Heights, No Trace; the list goes on.

While there were plenty of sublime moments, probably none were moreso than when the latest tune from the irrepressible Pryda dropped after 4am. As the first piano chords from Pjanoo resonated around the room, there was a mad scramble on the dancefloor as people positioned themselves for some all-out big-room prog house warfare. The transcendent piano line got throats screaming and then that bassline, which dropped on the crowd like an overweight fireman sliding down a firepole was one of those moments of pure musical elation that keeps us jaded clubbers coming back for more. Thank you Mr Seamen, for your bald-headed, magical party powers.

Oddly, both these DJ’s bio-pics seem to effectively mirror both the style and personality of each DJ. Nic’s sweet, serene face was projected on the big-screens as he went about his business in a subdued, utterly professional manner. Whereas Seaman, known for that screaming bald head shot, was constantly hyping up the dancefloor, yelling and waving at the crowd like a madman being pursued by killer, yet strangely friendly bees. Two quite different personalities that combined perfectly on the night.

It must be said that Sweetchilli are one of the most experienced party crews in Sydney and always make sure that the little things are done right. Quick entry, good visuals and most importantly, sound in the room that is tuned to perfection. A venue is nothing without people who know how to use it properly. And as with many Sweetchilli events, there was something distinctly old school about this party: a room full of smiling faces all sharing the same quality musical experience. Good times, no doubt!