The Likes of You have been consistent in the level of talent they have been able to attract, and this round of festivities was no different. With no less than 4 international acts confirmed, at the Brown Alley, this time saw the likes of Chicago deep house legend Chez Damier; German tech / electro DJ / producer Marc Romboy and new kids on the tech-house block Super-Flu; and French house techno wizard Agoria.

Entering via The Terrace, Virginia Le was spinning some nice, funked-up, tech-house. We decided to stay and chill on the couches a bit, enjoying the varied selections she dropped throughout her set. Heading upstairs to the main room, Daniel Tardrew & Oliver James were just finishing up, with a few eager punters on the dance floor already having a boogie. Chez Damier hit the decks at 12am, and from out of nowhere people came spilling into the main room. It was heartening to see that everyone wasn’t there just for the techno.

Chez is known for his lush deep house selections, and over a 2-hour period, he did not disappoint. He covered everything from straight-up Chi-town, deep house, and even 80s vocal house. Not even a waft of cheese was in the man’s set. Chez was my main draw-card and apparently so for many of the other punters too. So it was a little disappointing that the sound was quite muddy, and a bit too bass-heavy for his style of music. Almost every track sounded like it was banging – when clearly that was not the intention.

Meanwhile outside in The Loft, Super Flu were keeping the crowd nice and happy and on the dance floor. They started off their set with cruisy, minimal tech, and gradually built up to a more phrenetic tech-house sound. The patchy rain outside did not appear to be killing the vibe for anyone out there. Heading back into The Main Room, we were hit with a wall of electro by the man himself: Marc Romboy. As one punter described it, “Romboy is not for the faint-hearted” – and one would definitely have to agree. He kicked off his set with creeping, menacing tech-house, working into that intense, pulsating, electro-groove for which he is so well known. Romboy never lets a track just play out. He is always tweaking and editing the tracks live or moving about the stage, letting the crowd know how much he was relishing it. As the end of Romboy’s set drew nearer, everyone was talking up Agoria. I must admit I knew little about the French maestro, other than he had canceled back in May, due to some damn pesky volcano in Iceland!

By the time Agoria took the stage at 4am, the anticipation from the crowd was almost palpable. The main room was jam-packed, and the atmosphere was crazy and loose. Agoria clearly picked up on the mood, dropping up front, and often dark techno. Just when I thought it was becoming a little too dark, I heard the familiar, dettached German vocals of ‘Age of Love’. “C’mon… dance with me… Move your body, life’s a beat…”. I do not know how he managed to mix in an early 90s trance anthem without coming off fromage. But it just worked, leaving the night on a nice note. Other than a few sound glitches, I have to say it was yet again another crazy, and fun party from the Likes of You crew.