A relative newcomer in Melbourne’s techno underground, Search Party chooses its moments wisely. Surfacing whenever there’s a good enough reason, the small-scale party focuses on getting the basics right: programming, venue, mood and music.

Or as Search Party’s main man Christian Vance puts it: “You get a decent sound system, smart selectors and it’s almost impossible to not have a good time.” Ahead of this weekend’s session with the esteemed Daniel Bell, we delve a little deeper.

What inspired you to start Search Party? Was there a niche in the Melbourne scene you felt needed to be filled?
I’d been hatching a plan to run some small parties for about a year. Parties for music lovers. People that dig the history of dance music. A space for anyone with a soul to find something a little deeper on the dancefloor. To be honest, I returned from Europe last year and felt really sad at the state of clubbing, the parties and the lack of a distinct flavour in my own city – something Melbourne was renowned for in the not too distant past.

“Was this the way forward?” – I’ve always had this vision of how things could be. I’m ruled by that with all the music in my life and wanted to throw that vibe out there in the form of a party again. Something I hadn’t done in a while. It’s less about a niche and more about a feeling. These things find you sometimes.

What have been some of the standout memories from Search Party’s life so far?
We’re still in our infancy. Baby steps and plenty of smiles. John Daly dropping the 1979 classic Space Bass by Slick stands out for me. I love a record as old as myself mixed thoughtfully among the latest dub techno. A nod to the past embracing the future. The clash of generations is something I hope these parties will always allow. The appreciation of quality.

Your headliners are always surrounded by some complementary locals. Is there a good thing going on in Melbourne at the moment for house/techno talent?
There is an amazing thing going on right now for house and techno talent. Amazing. It may take the big clubs and festival promoters a while to properly cotton on to that, but there is some serious undercurrent flowing. We have never been so fertile in terms of local talent. Our music is getting played by so many revered ‘names’ it’s quite astonishing. It has been received by our peers abroad with open arms and ears. Our vibe is really out there and there are some key people that want to drive that vibe home. It’s an inspiring time for both new and established artists, labels and DJs. The idea of ‘complementary’ local DJ is so foreign to many popular promoters. The blind leading the blind to a secret stash of peanuts.

Mercat Basement is the spot for Dan Bell. How important is the venue in guiding the feel of the night?
Really important. The last party was at Miss Libertine and it has a really great sound system. The Mercat Basement has a Funktion One and a really dense vibe. You get a decent sound system, smart selectors and it’s almost impossible to not have a good time.

What’s the vision from here on in? Any guests that you’ve got your eye on for the future?
The vision is to keep searching. There will always be some special guests that we have our eye on. The Search Party has begun and we have to keep our ear to the ground.

DJ PROFILE: Claire Morgan

Having uprooted from Sydney to Melbourne earlier this year, Claire Morgan’s talents aren’t going unnoticed in her new hometown. As well as turning in a typically excellent mix for ITM-FM, the vinyl-lover fielded some of our questions.

First up, how have you enjoyed the move to Melbourne?
The actual move itself was a bit of an ordeal. Moving studios is a headache. It was also hard to move to a city where I could count on one hand the people I knew well enough to call up and meet for a beer. Having been here for a few months now I am pretty settled, and I’ve met some lovely, talented, eccentric and loose individuals who have been keeping my weekends plenty busy.

How different is the scene from what you knew in Sydney?
Wow, it’s really different. Melbourne is much more split into crews and there are a lot more venues open to underground music. I think there is a greater depth and variety of talent in Melbourne, somewhat hidden by a mass of clone DJs all rocking tight black jeans, textured hairdos and playing the same brand of disco-tinged deep house.

Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has complained of larger promoters and the negative effect their monopoly has had on the strength and diversity of the local scene here. It’s not the Melbourne I remember from 5 or so years ago, but there seems to be a positive, collective desire for change so I think it’s only a matter of time before fair Melbourne’s glory days are restored. I have been to some cracking parties like Search Party, the Blow Your Own Way boat party on New Year’s Day, Andee Frost’s various shindigs and C-Grade.

Killing Time operates in some hilarious parallel universe, Friday nights at Revolver keep reeling me in week after week, and coming up is Strawberry Fields which looks to be thoroughly epic.

The quality of music at these parties is consistently high and I’m sure there’s more that I haven’t discovered yet. One thing I really miss, however, is the don’t-care attitude and unrestrained enthusiasm of Sydney’s dancefloors. They know how to party like no-one’s business up there and give a lot of love to the DJ, and to each other, even if the music at that moment in time isn’t particularly interesting. And when the music is firing, shit is lost. Maybe all that sun and sparkly water just gets under your skin.

What is it about playing on vinyl that’s exciting for you as a DJ?
Everything about vinyl is exciting (aside from the outrageous expense, constant disco back, and more-often-than-not broken turntables in clubs which cause you to mix like a muppet and frown/sweat excessively). I have downloaded wavs from Beatport and the end result of a burnt CD with my handwriting on it is pretty soulless. CDJs have no looseness at all, mixes don’t drift, needles don’t skip, the challenge and therefore the excitement is lacking – for me, anyway.

Visible fingerprints, scratches and dings on my records are all attached to precious memories and experiences. I can’t remember half of the track names but I can describe the cover art and the pattern of the grooves, and point to all the bass drops. It’s a visual, tactile, personal medium and, yes, it does sound better. Plus, taking a punt and buying some old record that you can’t find a sample of anywhere is always fun. I’m currently waiting on the arrival of one of Claude Young’s first releases and I have no idea what it’s going to sound like!

Anything in particular you’ll be packing in the record box for Search Party?
Four Tet has recently done a remix of an old favourite of mine, Bob Holroyd’s African Drug, which I love, Moodymann’s It’s 2 Late 4 U & Me gets a hammering at any given opportunity, and John Daly’s Organ Track’ 12” is pushing my buttons. Conforce, Space Dimension Controller and Kirk Degiorgio are all blitzing 2010, and I just bought a couple of smashing records by Tazz and Marco Passarani. On a local level, tunes by the Loin Brothers and Lewie Day are consistently melting dancefloors for me, which is really exciting.