An extensive line-up of local DJs and artists supported Berlin-based DJ/Producer Shackleton at Bar Soma on Sunday, showcasing two stages of diverse beats for the afternoon session that followed through till early evening.

Both the Inside ‘Bass’ Stage and 4/4 Outside stage received a massive turnout for a Sunday afternoon show, with more and more people showing up at the doors later in the evening to the relaxed party scene.

The music for each stage completely differed in music styles, the outside stage unfortunately remained a bit too basic and repetitive throughout the evening, playing a mixture of techno and house that became a little more flexible and easy listening closer to Shackleton’s appearance.

The main line-up for the outside stage were Brisbane DJs Adam Swain back to back with Dan Abbott (Subtrakt), Fergus Alexander (Logic), Robohan (Lets Get Minimal), Chris Peart (Auditree), Leo Hede (Kana), Elliot Clarke (Kana), Alex James (Me+You), Fuzion (Kana), finishing with Lone Pariah (White Rhino).

Whilst inside, the night kicked off with Arku (White Rhino), with Herts Solvent (Amecca Records), Irikanji (Breaks n Enter), D.Appleseed (Illegal Value), Danck (Dank Morass), Interval (Case Records/Byron Bay), Frosty (Hard Graft), 3RDEYE (Subcontinental Dub), Citizen (Residentadvisor), Shackleton (Skull Disco/Perlon/Berlin), ending with Samedi Soundsystem (Triple Zed).

The night started to get interesting as soon as Danck from Dank Morass hit the decks with his mix up of oldschool hip hop, dramatically increasing and pulling back on sound smashing basslines for a set that got people moving. From sampling raw hip hop to dropping thick bass infused beats, Danck always puts on an impressive show.

There were no visuals to accompany Sunday’s event, however the atmosphere of Bar Soma is enough to draw audience attention, with artwork lining the brick walls and comfortable seating all round, the venue was perfect for a relaxing early afternoon event turned evening rave.

Interval, Frosty, 3RDEYE and Citizen were a massive lead up to Shackleton, with Interval dropping various dubstep tracks and differing beats, fitting in reggae style dubstep that turned tranquil and less intense randomely before throwing in some slimy thick basslines and sampling the popular Indian dubstep before Frosty took over, playing a heavier set that went fairly ambient towards the end.

3RDEYE and Citizen kicked off a great leadup to Shackleton, hyping up the audience with an intense and diverse set, 3RDEYE starting with slow, soft, ambient music that was dark and divine, creating an effective mix of differing dubstep tracks with elements of hip hop. Citizen provided a laid back lead up to Shackleton, that was incredibly individual in style, and became more ambient towards Shackleton’s appearance.

By this point, I began to notice the speakers were becoming a little unbearable. The heavy bass literally rattled your rib cage, so when it came down to hearing the intricate layers of Shackleton’s music, the speakers were just too intense, pushing forth the booming bass and nothing else.

For an early 9pm start, Shackleton entered Bar Soma for a set that was to be incredibly unique in the diminishing world of dubstep. He iinjected a bassy, layered, built up set of tracks that switched from tribal, jungle beats to an escalating madness of dense bass heavy rhythms. Shackleton was enthusiastic about the music he played and it reflected in the dance-crazed audience.

Overall the night had great numbers and White Rhino held together the evening, keeping people enthused throughout its’ entire line-up of incredibly diverse DJs, pleasantly kicking off the week to a great start.