Barsoma was the perfect afternoon venue for a Saturday filled electronic/dubstep/old school hip hop event; the sun was shining and Corona’s were firmly in the hands of the various aged crowd. Young and old attended and it was refreshing to see a mixed demographic.

On first entering, the venue seemed a little quiet but it quickly picked up just in time for the end of SymbioteK, whose electrofunk set was haunting and smooth. It was a shame the DJs weren’t set up outside as the flow of music didn’t quite reach the majority of the crowd at this particular time. SymbioteK’s set was a perfect soundtrack to the beautiful weather and warm up for the afternoon’s festivities, with his beats building up in time for Frabric residents Instra:Mental. The Fabric boys are touring Australia for the first time to promote the newly released FabricLive.50 CD

Unfortunately, only one half of Instra:Mental was present for this afternoon, but a solid set was still delivered by Damon Kirkham. By 5pm, the venue was bustling with people who were already positioned on the dance floor. There seemed a lot of respect for Instra:Mental as everyone on the dance floor stood facing the DJ in horizontal lines, watching him work at his craft. He took us on a roller coaster ride, peaking, then bringing his electrotronic beats back down again; all the while manipulating the crowd. When Damon incorporated some dubstep, whistles and shouts filled the dark venue. Clearly, everyone was appreciating the music.

Towards the end of Damon’s set, the music cut out once, and then again after another few minutes which caused a few people to leave the dance floor and stop dancing. However, Instra:Mental’s set delivered and reached expectations, satisfying the crowd. While Barsoma is a versatile venue, some visuals and lights wouldn’t have gone astray – particularly to compliment this particular genre. The sound system has always been satisfactory. This time however, the bass was a little overpowering; It switched to being the main focus while the windows and floor vibrated.

Following Instra:Mental was De la Haye who has been making a name for herself in the dubstep/drum and bass scene. While SymbioteK and Instra:Mental both used CDJs and turntables, De la Haye took the digital approach by DJing with Serato. By this time, the afternoon sun had set and most of the crowd had spread out across the venue. The few hardcore fans that hadn’t moved from the same spot, danced to her first, heavy tune. De la Haye then went on to fuse reggae with dubstep, mixing smoothly between the different genres.

All of the DJs had a mellow front, nodding to the music and concentrating on their mixes. The afternoon crowd approved, with similar nodding-type dance moves back. The crowd is definitely there for one thing: the music (and maybe the exotic cocktails and cold Corona’s too).!113g@1 v@1u3 – a taste of something different in Brisbane.