Without a doubt one of the biggest albums in drum n bass so far this year has been ‘From Deep Space’ from Phace and Misanthrop. Both well established artists, the album sees a maturation in their sound and a progression from their dark neurofunk tech inspired sound to one embracing several other directions. This album is markedly more minimal and stripped back in approach to their earlier works, yet still retains a heavy, neurofunk-laced vibe. Thus it was on Friday April 30 that ‘Knowledge Music’ brought one half of Phace to Perth as part of the album preview tour where Phace proceeded to destroy the dancefloor at Shape nightclub to a packed, well–appreciative crowd.

Locals Deflo and Descent held the opening slots. Deflo’s set showcased some killer bass switches early on and brilliant mixing throughout. Definitely one of my favourite drum n bass DJ’s on the Perth circuit, he didn’t disappoint. Next up were Descent, Again these lads are some of the most engaging of the local DJ’s as well as being promising producers. Their set was littered with some killer dark, techy tunes as a appropriate warm up for the vibe of the night; as well as what I hear a couple of their own productions which sounded very decent. Top notch mixing and tune selection, it was a big thumbs up to these guys.

Muller was up next – a true veteran to the Perth scene. I was pleasantly surprised with his track selection. He switcied it up from his usual style and playing some tech/neuro/minimal style drum n bass well suited to the night and the patrons. A nicely built up intro consisting of some Spectrasoul tracks progressed into an epic rolling drum n bass assault with tunes from the likes of Apex and Spor getting the crowd moving.

Phace finally took to the decks, mixing his set entirely with CDJ’s. A well structured dark atmospheric intro paved the way for several tunes from the From Deep Space LP early on in the set, the title track from the album and ‘Simplicity’ being some crowd favourites. Throughout, Phace kept the energy extremely high, not relenting much from the pace and keeping things rolling along very nicely. A one and a half hour set allowed the luxury for most of the tunes from the LP to be played. My Arae (a huge tune on the international drum n bass scene) being a highlight, as well as many older tunes; with the likes of Cold Champagne going down extremely well. As one would expect from an International DJ with the reputation of Phacem there were plenty of dubplate tunes thrown in for good measure, showcasing some of the edgier, deeper projections of the drum n bass sound.

Well known and skilled Perth DJ Sempy had the closing set; keeping things suitably high energy and mixing very well to boot. Yet his set suffered slightly as half the speakers were turned off once Phace had finished. Overall the night was epic, one of the highlights for the drum n bass calendar so far in 2010 and definitely a night to measure the success of nights to come. All in all with Shape’s $10 dollar pizza and pint deal earlier in the night, these drum n bass events and indeed any club night at Shape are ‘shaping’ up to be some of the best value nights in town.