The dedicated drum and bass fraternity made the pilgrimage down to the Phoenix Bar on Oxford Street on Friday night for the chance to see Chook [LU] play at one of the last big dates in every drum and bass fans diary for 2009, hosted by the No Frills and Locus Crew.

Philippe Schirrer (aka DJ Chook) hails from Luxembourg where he set up Full Force Recordings with DJ Radic in 2004, a stable for techstep and neurofunk. These genres provide the darker more industrial and techno influenced style of drum and bass which fuses synthesised and squelchy, bass rich breaks and loops to form what can only be described as a deep and minimalist sound muddled with a touch of grime to give it a unique edge. Alongside Chook played a collection of some of the finest selectors Sydney has to offer including Person 3, Bionic back to back with Reload, Vertigo back to back with Linken and Dauntless playing the final set of the night which tore the roof off the Phoenix Bar in true No Frills and Locus style.

On arrival at the club, punters were greeted with a free mix CD from Mark Bionic and a Christmas candy cane which was a nice festive payback from the No Frills and Locus Team to the dedicated soldiers who have loyally supported their events throughout 2009. It did not take long until the club was buzzing, and the crowd were contorting and marching to the diverse range of tunes being spun. The sound system down at the Phoenix Bar was crystal clear with deep and resounding bass and did the DJ sets justice with the blistering bass lines, cracking snares and hissing high hats that echoed through the venue. Lasers did battle above the mayhem, decapitating many of the punters as they scanned the dance floor.

What ensued for the next six hours was a never ending stream of hypnotic and techy seamless mixes which continued to increase in depth and ferocity throughout the night. Each DJ took the crowd on their own journey through the dark and twisted world of drum and bass.

Chook played an amazing set which incorporated scratching together with a range of effects and other techniques to work the crowd up into frenzy and created a might party atmosphere for all steppers inside the venue. My most vivid memories of the event were the sound of Person 3 dropping a very upbeat techno edged track which culminated in an acid edged roller after an almighty build up which shrewdly fooled the crowd into thinking that the calm before the storm could not end with such funky breaks amongst the pandemonium. Bionic, Reload, Vertigo, Linken and Dauntless also play nice solid sets which were executed with the precision that only techstep drum and bass DJ can achieve with seamless mixing and the most complimentary track selections I have heard in a long time.

My only criticism of the night would be in relation to the energy drink that was being served behind the bar, which had me more jittery than a raptor on crack, still it is probably not advisable to drink 4 cans consecutively. Other than that the night was truly amazing with a nice and friendly relaxed vibe.

There are rumours going around that that the No Frills and Locus crew have a special end of year surprise in store for Sydney drum and bass fans, so keep your eyes and ears open; it is bound to be a big night.

Chook is an incredibly talented producer and DJ who is not scared to take risks with the music that he produces and as a result he is releasing some extremely innovative and unique music which is ahead of our time, his popularity can surely only continue to increase with the future of Full Force Records destined to go from strength to strength.