Having organised the tour featuring Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and Hudson Mohawke earlier in the year, it was exciting to see what the crew from Espionage would offer up next. Fortunately for those that are dubstep inclined and living in Melbourne, the platter of artists was none less impressive than the last time.

Following a day of Red Bull Music Academy-esque producer’s conferences, the sun descended on the venue and the party got started. With an array of local producer and DJs, accompanying the English duo Mount Kimbie and Brainfeeder’s Lorn, the night could not have expected to have been too shabby at all.

Although there was some confusion over the location of the party (Roxanne Parlour being printed on the tickets) and the eyebrow-raising timeslot of 9pm for the headliners Mount Kimbie, it was all made worthwhile in the end.

The Revolt Artspace, deep in the ravines of inner-city suburb Kensington, was a mystery to most attending. However, the surprise of this place was almost the highlight of the evening. The massively dark elongated hall space provided an other-worldly atmosphere; with a mishmash of industrial pillars, wood furnishings and red leather couches. Simply one of the most unbelievable venues I’ve experienced. It left everyone hoping this place were a permanent club, were it not for the strict licensing regulations of Kensington (which has the place shut at 1am).

Probably due to the early finish, the place had filled well and truly by around 8pm, with some very fresh dub/post-dub tunes being dropped by locals Mike Kay and Rambl. The speaker system was not a modest one and it was reflected in that handled the drones and wobbles these two locals were dropping with ease.

Arriving late to the stage by about half an hour, Dominic and Kai of Mount Kimbie delivered a 45 minute collage of their two EPS and the Crooks and Lovers album. Using loops and soundscapes from these creations they applied layer upon layer of gassy ambience with subtle beats in the backdrop.

They bent the physics of a lot of their tracks, like Carbonated and Would Know, experimenting and disfiguring them without losing the main hook. Other standout tracks like Maybes, with the clinking beats and underwater, wailing voice became part of the mystery of the dark art space and the slow-moving visuals behind the stage.

Following Mount Kimbie, the crowd became more dispersed. Dizz1 then delivered some heavily beat-laden dubstep, which was a welcome wake-up call after the more ambient set before it. Unfortunately the set fell short due to soundcard issues. Despite this the crowd remained patient and the vibe didn’t seem to die down too much.

With time of the essence and licensing regulations creeping up behind us, Illinois-based Lorn had to take the stage to deliver his grinding, churning brand of dubstep. Although a lot less subtle than his English counterparts earlier, it transformed the place into a grimier sort of den, which is after all dubstep is meant to be about (apparently?). Tracks like Cherry Moon, with its distorted wobbles and clicks, had the silhouettes of people in front of me moving like crazy.

The early finish was hard to swallow. The venue was one you would like to spend all night in, and the tunes could have gone on forever. However one advantage of this was people could find parties elsewhere where they could brag unashamedly to those who didn’t attend about how much they missed out.