“I am the Remaster of the Universe!” is what Todd Terje would say if I grabbed a sound bite from him after his corker of a set at Barsoma last Saturday night. If you hadn’t picked up on the intended pun, Mr Terje has a speciality as his weapon of musical choice. Maybe it’s his Scandinavian roots since Todd is of Norwegian origin, that has led to his fascination with remastering disco beats of time past. One thing that many Brisbane punters do know is that when Todd’s in the town, they’re bound to enjoy his amalgam of hits of the past revisited in very interesting and sometimes twisted flavours. Disco was the music of the 1970s. The genre was simply about great songs you could sing and pull an awesome dance move to. After all, Todd has said he likes his music fruity with lots of percussion and lots of silly effects. This is what we expected when we headed into Barsoma.

Walking into Barsoma is like finding a rare, never-before-seen record among a pile of Top 40 hits. If you want to get away from the hubbub that late night Fortitude Valley can have, this is the place to be. you could say it’s like a posh, indie bar where the people are very cool and down-to-earth. I knew it was going to be a fun night – the place was heaving with people as far as the eye could see. If you make an early start in Barsoma, you’d understand why it’s a chameleon of nightlife. Earlier in the night, it was like a Melbourne-style watering hole for the very cool crowd, and as the night progressed, the vibe progressed to something more club-like. I was expecting a relatively placid event. You know – the type where the DJ’s set (no matter how famous they are) is really just barely audible background music to complement the incessant chatter of the crowd. To our luck, the music was set loud enough to give it an almost nightclub type feel, and the dance floor was vibrant. When Todd turned up for his set, I could tell the crowd was in for a treat that night. There were some familiar tunes, but for the most part I couldn’t tell what was running on Todd’s playlist. Nonetheless, I got what I expected based on what Todd had to say about his musical tastes. It had a fruity feel to it with lots of unusual yet funky sounds to boot.

Fulfill your desire to dance the night away in a slightly different setting from the usual and check out Barsoma. As for Todd Terje – hats off for a fine performance. But there was something missing – the disco dance-off. Oh well – there’s always next time.