Conquest & inthemix pres. Astrix @ Palace Theatre, Melbourne (04/06/08)
On Friday night Conquest hosted the psychedelic Israeli dynamo Astrix at the Palace Theatre, which was a long-awaited party for most punters and did not disappoint. Astrix, AKA Avi Smailov was voted #18 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ Poll in 2007, and with his soon to be released new album entitled Red Means Distortion the crowd was noticeably energized for the psychedelic beats they had come to hear.
The air was filled with excitement on entering The Palace, and good vibes were noticeable as I approached the bar and several people were offering high fives, pats on the back and general enthusiasm for the night to come. Conquest showed a great amount of initiative and creativity in the setup of the venue, which had obviously been thoroughly thought out. From the big multicolored glowing stars hanging from the ceiling, to the canvas of lights against a black backdrop of black that created a star-like affect, to the incredible light show of lasers, the venue was decked out to rock. EL from Conquest was the first to kick off the night on main stage and provided the crowd with impetus to move to the dancefloor. At 11pm FREq from Iboga Records continued the pounding beats with a greater tempo and twisted psychedelic edge to showcase his new live set. Playing many classic tunes with a constant BPM of no less than 140, the dancefloor started to immediately fill as more party-goers began to trickle in and the energy of the party began to rise in pure anticipation. FREq played a great set with a masterfully mixed combination of progressive to full-on psytrance, whilst never letting the atmosphere or intensity dissipate. Orpheus was next on the list at midnight with a live DJ set that set that led to a flood of people filling the dancefloor. Orpheus’ set took us on a psychedelic journey and all that was on everybody’s mind was right now – the moment.
Going on a walk through the venue to the Chai Tent stage, I was even more impressed with what Conquest has achieved. Turning the third floor into a cordoned off ‘penthouse’ of the party, there was ample couched seating, a secluded lounge area and many more decorations like colorful banners that transformed this room from a side-stage to a buzzing dancefloor. With a lower BPM than main and a groovier more progressive streak to the music, it was a great room to take a quick breather.
At 1am RYO from Solstice Music Japan provided a stellar performance with some pounding bass and acidic melodies that built the intensity of the music which peaked into a frenzy of dancing from every single person in the place. The sound quality on the night was magnificent, with every frequency heard in its rhythmic glory, even the bass was perfect and not overpowering the synths or percussion. RYO was undoubtedly a stand-out of the night, playing full-on psytrance that was tailored to a club night, which was impressive after seeing him rock-out at Rainbow Serpent earlier in the year.
At 2:30am the man we all came to see approaches the stage. The atmosphere is vibrant and in a roar of bass Astrix begins our hour long journey into time and space. Astrix has a wider appeal than just the subgenre of full-on psytrance, as he infuses elements of psytrance, trance, ethnic and rock. He’s got fans across the musical spectrum, and the crowd represented that well. From bass drop to bass drop the crowd was on their toes in anticipation of more, and it has been awhile since I’ve witnessed a crowd ‘go off’ as much as this. Playing tracks old and new, including the well-known and loved GMS vs. Wrecked Machines remix of Rounders, the crowd was visibly in a cloud of euphoria. With the BPM up around 140-150, the tracks were electrifying and deliciously pounding, playing a few tracks from his soon to be released album Red Means Distortion that left myself and my fellow party-goers frothing at the mouth in ecstasy. His transitions were seamless, his music all-appealing while catering to the clubbier side of psytrance and his tunes moved in a perfect way that exceeded all expectations.
Following up the mainliner was Gilian of Conquest, who after we gave applause to our man Astrix, maintained the energy of the party, with the aid of a great setup behind the decks that consisted of about 8 large LCD screens that projected trippy psychedelic landscapes. The V-DJ definitely was on the ball with his swirling colours bouncing to the beats. Playing many well known classic tracks, Gilian was continually engaging the audience. It wasn’t until Coomzy came on at 5 that the audience actually started to dwindle, but he still kept up the intensity with plenty of escalation and tantalizing synthlines. Before Coomzy, even at the busiest part of the night there was a great number of people while never getting too packed.
It was a fantastic night of twists and turns of psychedelic music that left me more than satisfied. One of the best indoor psytrance events of late, it featured an international caliber of DJs to cement the standard of Conquest parties. Offering a recovery-party from 7am to 5pm at Motel Nightclub, with buses to transport keen partygoers, breakfast provided and a 2-hour Astrix set on the rooftop dancefloor, but unfortunately I couldn’t physically pull off another ten hours of music. The only downfall of the night is that perhaps more than a one hour set for Astrix would have been great to engage the audience and allow him to play more of our favourite tracks that we were all dying to hear. But besides that, the night was tip-top and the promoters and organizers can be pleased with their efforts. Definitely looking forward to what Conquest comes up with next. Awe inspiring. Intense. Astrix.
Kat_in_Japan says...
Maaaaaad party!!!