I often wonder about the lack of appreciation of drum’n’bass. It seems to fall into some sort of “underground” category, with a distinct scent of originality surrounding what I’ve seen of its scene. There’s something very dark about it all… the lack of the standard 4/4 beat… the deep, deep bass lines… the scrambled layers of drum patterns… plus it has soul to it… some sort of unique quality that just doesn’t seem as apparent, or even to exist at all in other dance music genres. Any big fan of the jungle will tell you the same – there’s just something special about drum’n’bass.



The first thing you notice when you walk into Lounge is that it isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill nightclub. In fact to call it a nightclub would have to be somewhat delusional. It’s spread-out in a very simple fashion, with nice comfy couches that aren’t claimed 24/7 by intimidating people who have overly-swelled opinions of themselves. In fact, these kinds of people can’t be seen at all, and it is something for the 40hz crew to be proud of.



The vibe of the place is much more intimate then any club I’ve ever been to. It’s not a big huge multi-level place designed to disorientate you, nor is it a fluffy visual glow-stick wonderland designed to visually distract you from the music. The chill-balcony overlooking Swanston is one of the highlights of the place, and I think that it should be a compulsory addition to every club in Melbourne. There’s always someone willing to chat and those heaters are just bliss at 2:30am.



The first time I ever went to 40hz, resident DJ Ruxspin provided the choonz for the evening, and did a damn fine job of it too. He was accompanied with the mic skills of a very talented local Melbourne MC who I can’t quite remember the name of. We didn’t stay for very long, but had a ball nonetheless.



The second time was last Thursday, for a so-called “invasion” of the dark lords of the Melbourne jungle – Krachmacher. I didn’t quite know what to expect, and was very curious as to how different each KM DJ would be with their sounds.



Ruxspin opened with some nice cruisy mellow choonz. If anyone’s heard the new London Electricity EP, they’ll know what I mean. Rux got the pace moving as the volume slowly went upwards. Took about an hour and a half before the dudes on the table that hogged the dance floor decided it was too loud. Then the floor was cleared entirely and the dancers slowly came-out to play.



We went for a little stroll around this time, and I think it was Descent who had just started playing. Can’t be certain though, coz the guy on the decks didn’t look like the photo on the KM site (http://www.krachmacher.com.au/)



Anyway, when we returned, it was none other than Doppelganga on the decks, and all I can say is BOH! That guy has some seriously wicked music in his box. It was fast, hard-hitting, evil, teasing, did I mention fast? Anyway, I think this dude deserves maximum respect. His mixing was flawless. Could only figure out the next track was coming in after it had been well-and-truly dropped.



The next up on the wheels of steel was Feind, who grabbed Doppelganga’s last kicking number, wound it to a stop, and dropped-in a much more friendly song. She built her set up from some jump-up style choonz with female vocals to start dropping some really heavy numbers. She seemed quite relaxed behind the decks, and took it all in her stride as the morning drew on.



Last up was Roln’, and all I can say is that since his set before Andy C, I’ve held the uttermost respect for this guy. Once again, he did an awesome job and I was quite the excited puppy when he let fly with the Marcus Intalex remix of this years smash “LK” There was some serious energy during that song to say the least.



The night wound-up at around 4am, which I think is ideal for a Thursday nightclub. I can’t see why anyone would want to dance at a weekly club past that hour. The 40hz crew haven’t got the type of audience where 4am on a Thursday means the party’s just getting’ started.



Oh well, t’was another great night to write down in the memory banks. 40hz is a wicked club, The Krachmacher crew are wicked DJs. The only complaint I had was that the balcony closed far too early.



Big ups to the KM and 40hz crew, you guys kick bass! Boh!