The Earthdance Launch party presented by Royal Doof featured many of Melbourne’s finest DJs, so a big Friday night was definitely on the cards. The launch was to promote the upcoming Earthdance main event in September, which is the eleventh for Melbourne and promises to be a fantastic party held in an all-weather shed at the Docklands. With good vibes and a beer in hand, I approached the dancefloor.
The artist to kick things off was Rythmik, playing live, and they already had the crowd getting excited. With an earlier start time of 10:30pm, it provided us with some great tunes to warm up. The Cook & The Chef were next on the decks downstairs, immediately pumping out scintillating tracks that got the crowd off their seats with funky and phat basslines and percussion rolls. Tim Harvey continued the party in fine form and doused us in some sound waves, which got the crowd grooving to his set of uplifting progressive. Being a Melbourne DJ/producer and performing at notable festivals such as Rainbow Serpent and Royal Doof, he lifted the vibe of the party and as we got deeper into the night.
Making my way up the spiral staircase to the upstairs stage, there were some funky freaks jiggling along catching the last of Simon Slieker’s set. With a bit more of a down-tempo swing to the music and a tip-top view of the main stage below, lasers penetrated from every angle. Brown Alley always provides a great venue for events like this, and it did not disappoint tonight. The large banners and general trippy, brightly colorful décor lit up the place. As I made my way downstairs Interpulse’s live set had already begun and the crowd seemed immersed in their progressive journey. Being a Melbourne veteran and a personal favourite, I made the most of checking Interpulse out. The main stage setup was fantastic, with out of this world imagery displayed on from two massive LCDs – the VJ should be applauded. It definitely added that extra dimension to the night.
At 4am Trolley, aka Wayne Baker, exploded onto the decks in his usual fashion and took us from the funkier end of progressive into the realm of psychedelia. With high energy and an infectious presence behind the decks, Wayne is always a crowd pleader. Playing a storming closing set in the red bus at Rainbow Serpent Festival earlier this year, once again he showed his talent on Friday. A personal favourite of the night!
The Earthdance launch was a great, with the usual suspects making a presence and getting us excited for the coming main event. It was awesome to see some of Melbourne’s talent serving it up to an appreciative crowd, so keep your eyes and ears open for the festival next month at the Docklands, it will definitely be worth making your way down.
