So with the onset of autumn comes another installment of party juggernaut: Interview. These vents have long held a reputation for having some of the best vibes among both crew and punters alike, and it made sense that with a new venue I should make my virgin appearance and see if the party actually delivers. And it’s
safe to say that it does. Very safe in fact.

Arriving at 12, I did a quick scout of the venue to see if things had changed much from the proven formula at Miss Libertines. The front room was decked out for comfort, with plenty of seating for those wanting a chat, while off to the left there was a dedicated contingent bopping away to the likes of Julian Reynolds, Steve May, and Scott Bateman. And the backroom was decked out for a party. With two screens, a smoke machine and lasers aplenty, Blinky had the crowd fired up for a great show, and by the time he unleashed some signature Farnham, the floor was close to capacity for Richie Rich’s set.

A Melbourne favourite, you could see the crowd grinning as Richie took to the decks. Your always in for a treat with an oldskool set and Richie didn’t disappoint. And what a show it was – Richie layered anthem upon anthem of trance to an extremely pleased crowd. Young and old were synchronised as they nostalgically reached for the lasers with tracks like Dark Monks Insane.

After two hours, it was time for the dreadlocked Mr Tom C.O.S.M to take to the stage, and after a slow start he soon consolidated the floor with the good work already completed by Richie. The crowd was greeted with funk-heavy boops, bleeps and psychedelic glitches up against a fine backdrop provided by the talented VJs. In a psytrance style set like Tom’s it’s inevitable you are going to be surprised by what might get played. I had a good chuckle towards the end when he unleashed a sped-up and broken down version of onehit wonder *Snow’s * Informer. As always with a live show, you find yourself craving a bit more and was slightly disappointed with the one-hour set: it would have been great to hear an extra half-hour or so.

*Mexican’s * Chwen brought the floor back with some more orthodox trance, but by then it was time to call it an innings. For anyone yet to go, Interview puts on a great fusion of all things that’s good about trance without excluding other genres, and you’re in for a real treat. And for those of you who had already tried to tell me this, I wish I listened to you earlier!