It’s been a season of last-minute cancellations this summer (ok, only two so far, but I can’t even listen to Prydz on my iPod anymore, the wound is still too raw). Fans of Fred Falke would have been equally disappointed to hear that he had pulled out of last weekend’s gig at the Prince at the eleventh hour, but he had his reasons – his sister was involved in a serious car accident. In any case, Falke’s name on the bill had been somewhat obscured by the announcement in late December that Boys Noize himself was joining the line-up, an artist more generically similar to the other headliner, D.I.M, also of Boys Noize Records.

With Harris Robotis’s set being extended to fill the gap left by Falke, the stage was set for a night of banging, clanging and very Noize-y electro. Robotis ably stepped up to the plate, playing his signature bleepy mash-up mix to a rapidly filling dance floor. Distorted cuts of MGMT’s ‘Time to Pretend’ made fleeting appearances amidst a frenetic blend of ear-bleeding techno, and the crowd absolutely lapped it up. Speaking of which, the crowd themselves played a starring role at the party. As a self-imposed designated driver, it’s fair to say that my sobriety may have made the party seem more colourful (in every way) than normal, but the energy in the place was palpable. Hip young things representing the Melbourne electro fashion set rocked out in suspenders, neon caps with upturned brims (as sported by both Robotis and Boys Noize themselves), long shorts paired with crew socks (a look usually favoured by Gramps), and I even spotted a girl in a rainbow sequined cap, the kind you used to buy in primary school from the local craft market. Worn askew with a side ponytail, this chick somehow managed to make it work. Kudos. Accessories aside, fluoro’s halcyon era of 2007 seems to be on the wane, thankfully.

But, back to the music, it was time for Hamburg’s D.I.M. to provide some more bone-crunching basslines, mixing some Fake Blood in with his own tracks like ‘Is You’ and ‘Airbus Baby’, as well as the more mild-mannered ‘Sysisphos’. To the delight of all, The Presets ‘My People’ received a D.I.M reworking, and there was even an old-school hip-hop classic thrown in for good measure. By this time of the night the kids were absolutely raring to go, pulling out ALL the stops on the dancefloor and leaving puddles of sweat behind in their wake. Prince in summer is stuffy at the best of times, and tonight was no exception. No air con in the bathrooms means you’re losing fluid even before you take a leak, but although your brow may have been damp, spirits most certainly were not.

Enthusiasm was at peak levels all night, but the man we’d all been waiting for – Alexander Ridha aka Boys Noize – drew excited squeals from both the assembled boys and girls when he finally assumed the throne at 2am. Teasing us with the opening bars of his remix of Feist’s ‘My Moon, My Man’, he soon launched into the trademark nu-rave clang of Lava Lava, and off the crowd went again. A tall, skinny kid wearing the aforementioned cap and a black t-shirt that hung off his slight frame, Ridha appears the physical manifestation of revenge of the nerds. In an interview I did with Ridha in 2007 he confessed to being a bit of a “Casper” at school and simply wanted to be different to everybody else. There are plenty of Ridha imitators hankering after his sort of fame these days, but last weekend’s set demonstrated that there is only one boy capable of making that kind of noise. Learning to play the piano at the age of six and drums at ten, Ridha is no slouch musically, as the more symphonic ‘Shine Shine’ and releases under his Puzique moniker are testament to. But what Ridha is renowned for above all else is his ability to throw a damn good party, and that is what fans were treated to last night.

I saw Boys Noize for the first time at Global Gathering 2007 in the UK (Prydz too, sob). ‘My Moon, My Man’ had just been released by Kitsune and it was being thrashed in London’s coolest indie clubs. I wandered along to the Boys Noize stage hoping to catch my then-favourite track. It was never played. Instead, Ridha delivered a blistering tech-electro set, the likes of which I’d never seen (or heard) before. The irrepressible Ridha leapt ON TOP of the decks and rocked out for a solid two hours with his headphones frequently obscuring his vision – a look that has since become a favourite photo pose for the German. Absence of fave track notwithstanding, I was entranced. Last weekend sobriety got the better of me and I left the party early. At that stage Ridha was yet to get back up on deck, but already he had the punters eating out of the palm of his hand as the anthemic ‘&Down’ incited further frenzy as I slipped out into the night. Boys Noize by name, and by nature.