As a venue, Miss Libertine has well established itself as one of the city’s premium sites, hosting a diverse batch of music and dance club performances. And a regular Thursday night gig that occurs each week at Miss Libertines, MISK is bringing Melbourne techno to a wide audience. This particular night was a special occasion with MISK celebrating their first birthday. Generally, folk can expect to walk in looking for a beer and discover quality techno.

I arrived to what turned out to be a house party with as many music producers as music consumers making up the small but keen group. I arrived in The Main Room during the outset of a DJ set by Christian Vance. I have noticed that over time, Christian has steadily become more psychedelic – not so much by way of sound or technique, but in terms of the flourishing sensibility. Back to basics, on and up, and down and up. On the fringes once more. Meanwhile, Wael (pronounced ‘Will’) stirred the cauldron from The Front Bar. He had his palm on the pulse, with smooth grooves of silky softness.

Originally from Cork, Ireland, Brendan Gregoriy also known as Chymera, took a hold of all this and then pumped up the dance floor. His lean frame poised delicately yet assuredly over the decks with agility and dexterity. Thick lashings of bass spread over a crisp dry pedestal, with plenty of herbs in the rack. Having established a flowing narrative of tunes, he started to push towards a somewhat pleasantly discordant tone, twisting things in rather a good manner. With a sudden shift up to bright singing melodies, the speakers were ladling out waves of positive emotion. Chymera ripped on and built thick weightiness, then, with a sense of being lifted beyond intervals, we were delivered to a radiant and soft landing. Coming up from the deep questing syncopated rhythms that crept in like an undertow, this provided the foundation for an imminent upward rush.

This intimate event succeeded in what must have been its primary aim: To provide a close-knit party open to all.